so john andreโs wartime journal is viewable for free online hereย in its original form, and here are some highlights from it in a post lol!
the journal dates from 1777-1778, while andre was charles greyโs aide-de-camp. the front cover is barely a few inches wide, and clearly saw a fair amount of wear and tear during its use.
the inside cover design is pretty cool, but it isnโt an original part of the book. w.k. bixby (you can see his name near the bottom of the illustration) was the former owner of andreโs journal. it was in his possession during the nineteenth and early 20th centuries.ย
inside, the most immediately eye-catching thing are the maps, and there are a lot of them! andre clearly took the time to make them neat, detailed and correctly scaled. on some, he even uses watercolors to create the illusion of mountains.
wartime accounts make up the largest portion of the journal. andre witnessed a few major conflicts during the time he was writing in it, including monmouth and brandywine, so his accounts are actually really important to understanding how the battles went down. most of itโs pretty technical, explaining exactly how the army moved and in which locations they encountered the enemy. he does complain a few times about the hessians constantlyย โemploying the use of strong liquor,โ though, which is pretty funny lmao.ย
sections of the journal are taken up by catalogues and organization, which andre evidently used to keep track of british numbers and supplies.
andre even stuck a printed declaration into the journal! you can see that itโs dated august 27th, 1777, approved by general howe, and deals with the safety and protection of loyalist civilians living in pennsylvania, maryland, delaware and the chesapeake bay. it also offers to pardon any former patriots willing to admit that their participation in the rebellion was wrong and join the kingโs cause instead.ย
and finally, one of the parts i found most interestingโฆ a list of british ships, including their names! hannah, brilliant, aurora, nancy, clementina, archer, and stag are some of my favorites.ย
(under the cut is just a citation and more resources, in case youโre interested! :3)
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