JOHN GLOVER ( ) PAPERS, , undated. MSS 314 Processed by: Robert F. Craig August 2001

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1 JOHN GLOVER ( ) PAPERS, , MSS 314 Processed by: Robert F. Craig August 2001 Volume: 1 box.5 Linear feet Provenance: Conservation: Copyright: The orderly books were donated to the Essex Institute by a grandson of General Glover, circa The letterbook was donated to the Essex Institute by a greatgrandnephew of General Glover, circa The 1792 receipt (B1 F6) was donated on 29 February The 1781 Glover letter (B1 F6) was donated in The material in Folders 7 and 8 was donated on 17 January The material was placed in acid-free folders. Requests for permission to publish material from the collection must be submitted in writing to the Manuscript Librarian in the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH John Glover was a fisherman, merchant, and military leader from Marblehead, Massachusetts, who served as a Brigadier General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Glover was born in Salem, Massachusetts on 5 November 1732 (baptized 26 November 1732), the son of Jonathan and Tabitha (Bacon) Glover. His father died when he was four years old, and shortly thereafter his family moved to the nearby town of Marblehead. As a young man, Glover became a cordwainer and rum trader and eventually a ship owner and merchant. He first married Hannah Gale of Marblehead (baptized 17 June 1733; died 13 Nov 1778), daughter of John and Susan(na) (Dennis) Gale, on 30 October They were married by the Rev. Simon Bradstreet. John and Hannah had eleven children, all born in Marblehead: John, baptized 23 March 1755; Hannah, baptized 15 May 1757; Daniel, baptized 8 April 1759; Hannah, baptized 19 April 1761; Samuel, baptized 19 December 1762; Jonas, baptized 1 April 1764; Tabitha, baptized 8 December 2001, Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum Page 1

2 1765; Susannah, baptized 28 March 1767; Mary, 8 January 1769; Sarah, baptized 10 March 1771; and Jonathan, baptized 9 May Glover was active in the militia for many years before the Revolution, with his earliest service dating back to In 1775 he was elected lieutenant colonel of the 21st Massachusetts Regiment from Marblehead, and became commander of the unit after the death of Colonel Jeremiah Lee in April Glover marched his regiment to join the siege of Boston in June The Marblehead militia or "Glover's Regiment" became the 14th Continental Regiment. This regiment became known as the "amphibious regiment" for their vital nautical skills. It was composed almost entirely of fishermen. In 1776 Glover went home to tend to his sick wife and look to business affairs. He turned down a promotion to brigadier general in February 1777, but rejoined the war after a personal appeal from General Washington. He served in the successful Saratoga campaign in 1777 and the failed Battle of Rhode Island in He was stationed along the Hudson River for the remainder of the war, guarding against British moves up the river from New York City. After his first wife's death in 1778, Glover married Mrs. Frances (Hichborn) Fosdick of Boston, the widow of Thomas Fosdick, on 1 March He retired from the Army in 1782 in poor health. Failing to secure a job with the U.S. federal government, he served in various local offices in his remaining years. He died on 30 January 1797 at age 64 in Marblehead, Massachusetts, after contracting hepatitis and was buried in Old Burial Hill (Marblehead, Massachusetts). SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE The papers of this Marblehead, Massachusetts, Revolutionary War general consist almost entirely of military materials. They are organized into four series. Series I. Revolutionary War Orderly Books consists of six orderly books kept for General Glover during the Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1781, with breaks. The orderly books contain such information as daily orders for the regiment commanded by Glover, results of courts martial, the dispersion of troops, problems with provisioning the troops, circumstances for the evacuation of Boston, and extracts from congressional resolutions and from General Washington's orders. Series II. Letterbook contains copies of General Glover's letters to family members as well as military recipients, covering the period 16 September 1776 to 3 December Subject matter includes requests for provisions, condition of troops, information regarding strategy, and statistics of those killed, wounded, lost as prisoners of war, and enemy prisoners taken. Series III. Personal and Business Papers is a very small collection of receipts and letters (original, typescript and photographic reproductions) for the period Series IV. Memorial to John Glover and Nicholson Broughton is an 1860 memorial to these two men by Glover Broughton, grandson of General John Glover and son of Commodore Nicholson Broughton. The section relating to John Glover is titled: Extracts Relating to General John Glover of the Continental Army. The material related to Glover covers the period 22 April 1785 to 16 March The content of the copied letters is of a business nature and deal with his financial difficulties concerning the payment of debts owed, primarily securing enough fish to pay his creditors, and the collection of a debt for a piece of land from his late brother's heirs. The location of the original letters transcribed here is unknown. The material concerning Nicholson Broughton was copied from the Essex County Mercury, 23 July Page , Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum

3 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RELATED COLLECTIONS MSS 314: John Glover Papers Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone, eds., Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. 7, New York: Charles Schribner s Sons, , pp Knight, Russell W., ed., General John Glover s Letter book, Essex Institute Historical Collections, 112 (1976): i - viii, This article includes all the text of the letterbook with annotations, footnotes, and an excellent bibliography. Upham, William P., A Memoir of Gen. John Glover of Marblehead, Essex Institute Historical Collections, 5 (1863): 49-72, This contains excerpts from the orderly books and letterbook, as well as an outline of General Glover s military career. Additionally, Upham gives a synopsis of the donation of this collection to the Essex Institute. This article was published in booklet form under the same title, with additions, in Salem, Mass. by Charles W. Swasey, Vital Records of Marblehead, Massachusetts. Salem, Mass.: Essex Institute, 1903, "John Glover (general)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Apr Web. 25 Apr < JOHN GLOVER ( ) PAPERS, , SERIES LIST SERIES I. Revolutionary War Orderly Books A. Orderly Book #1 B. Orderly Book #2 C. Orderly Book #3 D. Orderly Book #4 E. Orderly Book #5 F. Orderly Book #6 SERIES II. Letterbook SERIES III. Personal and Business Papers SERIES IV. Memorial to John Glover and Nicholson Broughton 2001, Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum Page 3

4 CONTENTS LIST SERIES I. Revolutionary War Orderly Books A. Orderly Book #1 Box Folder Contents Date 1 1 Deals with daily orders for the 21 st Regiment of Foot of the Army of the United Colonies, of which Col. Glover was in command. The regiment was headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Included are general orders, results of courts marital, the dispersion of troops, etc. July-14 Sept B. Orderly Book #2 1 1 Similar in content to volume 1, however, the incidents of courts martial increase substantially. Charges include disobedience of orders, fraud, desertions, instilling a new mutiny, etc. Regiment headquarters continue at Cambridge, Massachusetts 15 Sept Jan 1776 C. Orderly Book #3 1 2 Headquarters located at Cambridge until 29 March 1776, shifting to New York on 31 March Contents include circumstances for the evacuation of Boston 9 June-26 July 1776 D. Orderly Book #4 1 2 Headquarters were Mile Square, New York and North Castle, New York in 1776; Fort Arnold, New York and Providence, Rhode Island in Contents similar to previous books, with the addition of frequent comments regarding the difficulty in provisioning the troops. Courts martial were also frequent. 19 Oct-24 Nov 1776 E. Orderly Book #5 1 3 Headquarters locations: Providence, Rhode Island, and Middle Brook, Milford, and Ridgefield, Connecticut. Most entries do not have a location listed. Contents are similar to earlier volumes, except that it contains numerous extracts from Congressional resolutions as well as extracts from General Washington s orders 9 Mar Jul 1781 Page , Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum

5 F. Orderly Book #6 Box Folder Contents Date 1 3 Regimental headquarters locations: Philipsburg, Peekskill, and Continental Village, New York. As in previous volumes, this one contains general orders, etc.; again there are frequent courts martial as well as courts of inquiry mentioned. 3 Aug-26 Nov 1781 SERIES II. Letterbook 1 4 Contains copies of letters by General Glover to a wide variety of individuals, including family members, General George Washington, Timothy Pickering, General Philip Schuyler, and James Warren. Contents include requests for provisions, condition of the troops under his command, information regarding strategy, and the persecution of combat including the numbers of killed, wounded, lost as prisoners of war, as well as enemy prisoners taken 16 Sept Dec 1777 SERIES III. Personal and Business Papers 1 5 Miscellaneous correspondence to, from, and related to John Glover: Typescripts of original letters in possession of the Marblehead Historical Society: General Benjamin Lincoln, General William Heath, B. Hichborn (believed to be a relative of General Glover s second wife whose maiden name was Hichborn), Rev. William VanHorn, T. Larned Letter to Mr. M. M. Hays, Marblehead, 23 April 1790 from John Glover (the letter is not in Glover s hand). On the reverse of this letter is one in Glover s hand to Mr. John Mitchell, Marblehead, 10 April The bottom of the letter sheet is missing. [Typescripts of these two letters.] 6 Account of Boston merchant Thomas Fayerweather with John Glover 10 February 1764 letter from John Glover to General Benjamin Lincoln (reproduced in Essex Institute Historical Collections, 36:38-40) 11 December 1781 receipt for loan payment from Commissioner of Loans in the State of Massachusetts, signed by John Glover 3 January Photographic reproduction of a 3 April 1778 letter from John Glover to his son, John Jr., who appears to have been 2001, Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum Page 5

6 a prisoner of war. The letter infers that John Jr. should seek out General Burgoyne and ask for parole or exchange using his father as a reference Photographic reproduction of a letter from Jonathan Glover (son of John Glover?) to his father, presumably from England, expressing some observations regarding conditions between France and England over the present war situation, as well as his desire to return home. [circa 1793 and 1796] Photographic reproduction of a portrait of John Glover with typescript commentary attached to the reverse SERIES IV. Memorial to John Glover and Nicholson Broughton 1 8 Relating to General John Glover of the Continental Army and Commodore Nicholson Broughton of the Continental Navy, This collection of copied letters and commentary is a memorial to Glover and Broughton by Glover Broughton, Town Clerk of Marblehead, Massachusetts, and son of John Glover s daughter Susannah and Nicholson Broughton 18 May 1860 Page , Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum