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[Cd. 2201.] Price 2s. 3d.

1904.

-J

INTRODUCTION.

THE American Manuscripts preserved at the Royal Institution,
London, sometimes spoken of as the Carleton or Dorchester
Papers, are, briefly, the Head Quarters Papers of the successive
British commanders in chief in the American War of Indepen-
dence and are thus described on a flyleaf of the first volume:-

"AMERICAN OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS"

"Presented to the Royal Institution of Great Britain
"by JOHN SYMMONS, Esq., of Paddington House,
"MDCCCIV."

"These papers belong'd to Mr. M. Morgann, Secretary
"to Sir Guy Carleton (since Lord Dorchester), during
"the last years of the American War, and consist of
"many curious and unique documents relative to the
"transactions of those times. By him they were
"given in 1798 to John Symmons and by Mr.
"Symmons to the Royal Institution, 1804.

"Maurice Morgann died March 28, 1802, aged 76.
"For an eloquent memorial of him see Dr. Chas.
"Symmons's Life of Milton, pages 81-82, and also
"Sir Eg. Brydges's Censura Literaria, Vol. 4, p. 178.
"Wm. H[arris] Aug. 27, 1811."

In the library of Harvard are a few transcripts of these papers made by Mr. Jared Sparks. They were also consulted by the historian George Bancroft. The attention of the late Mr. B. F. Stevens was early called to these papers in the course of his researches for his comprehensive catalogue of manuscripts relating to the American Revolution, and he immediately set to work to examine, catalogue, and collate them with his other historical material.

The complete collection comprises 58 bound volumes and 4 cases or rolls-62 in all. They are bound with a certain regard to subjects. The dates thus overlap, and the papers themselves