| Background: |
From 1696 to 1782 British colonial affairs were the responsibility of the Board of Trade and the secretaries of state in partnership. During the American Revolution a secretary for the American department was responsible for the affairs in British North America.
The Original Correspondence, or in-letters, are those sent from the colony to Great Britain, and are one of 6 groups of documents pertaining to a colony. The others are: Entry Books (letter books recording out-going letters from Britain), Acts, Sessional Papers (printed proceedings of local legislatures), Government Gazettes (official government newspapers), and Miscellanea. Apart from the first 285 volumes, the CO 5 records have been classified under the names of American colonies, for example; Carolina (Propriety) is volumes 286-292.
From 1768 to 1782 responsibility for the American colonies came under the care of the following colonial secretaries: the Earl of Hillsborough (1768-72), the Earl of Dartmouth (1772-75), Lord George Germain (1775-82), and Welbore Ellis (Feb.- 8 Mar. 1782). The secretaries of state were assisted by under-secretaries of state.
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| Contents: |
Original Correspondence contains reports and papers from, and orders and instructions to, the responsible officials in each colony, especially the governors. They contain not only correspondence with the colonies, but also with other officials and private individuals in the United Kingdom and between Secretary of State and Board of Trade. Colonial Office 5, Volume 1110, is a volume of reports and papers from, and orders and instructions to, the governor in New York. They contain not only correspondence with the colony, but also with other officials and private individuals in the United Kingdom, and between the Secretary of State and the Board of Trade. It is comprised largely of letters to the Secretary of State, Lord George Germain, from Governors William Tryon and Major-General James Robertson of New York. They contain valuable correspondence and enclosures on many subjects such as: military activities, descriptions of campaigns, troop movements, details on the strength of the British army and the Continental army, intercepted letters, provisions and supplies, numerous reports, and other records including one which gives the distances between locations. Of particular interest are a considerable number of very detailed intelligence reports received by Governor Tryon and transmitted to Lord Germain.
The reel also contains: a map/plan of General Washington's Winter Cantonments and Environs, March 1780; a complete copy of the Council Minutes appointing General James Robertson as Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of New York to succeed Governor Tryon, and also appointing Andrew Elliot as Lieutenant Governor; and tabulated military records that were enclosed with the correspondence. The tabulated records include: State of the Troops that Embarked for Canada, New York, 15 May 1780; and State of the Following Corps under the Command of His Excellency Lieutenant-General Knyphausen, New York, 15 May 1780. Listed by name and/or number in this record are thirteen British regiments, twelve German regiments and nine Provincial corps. The last military record on the reel is entitled, Distribution of the Following Corps. New York, 15 May 1780. The final three documents are signed by Frederick Mackenzie, Deputy Adjutant-General of British forces. |
