Journal of the operations of the American War
Culture:
Haudenosaunee includes: Iroquois, Onkwehonwe
Language: English
Date: 1778
Contributor: Sullivan, Thomas, 1755-
Subject: United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783 | Warfare | Great Britain. Army | Bunker Hill, Battle of, Boston, Mass., 1775 | United States. Continental Army | Burgoyne's Invasion, 1777 | Philadelphia Campaign, 1777-1778 | Long Island, Battle of, New York, N.Y., 1776 | White Plains, Battle of, White Plains, N.Y., 1776 | Brandywine, Battle of, Pa., 1777 | Germantown, Battle of, Philadelphia, Pa., 1777 | Red Bank, Battle of, N.J., 1777 | Fort Ticonderoga (N.Y.)--Capture, 1777
Type: Text
Genre: Journals
Extent: 422 pages
Description: A firsthand narrative of the early years of the American Revolution written by Thomas Sullivan, an Irish-born sergeant serving with the British 49th Regiment of Foot. Sullivan describes the events from his arrival in North America just prior to the Battle of Bunker Hill through his participation in the Long Island, Philadelphia, and New Jersey Campaigns. Sullivan's journal is written in a meticulous hand and may originally have been intended for publication. It does not appear to have seen print, however, until extracts appeared in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography in 1910. In 1997, the complete journal, edited by Joseph Lee Boyle, was published by Heritage Books. Among the engagements described are Bunker Hill, Long Island, White Plains, Brandywine, Germantown, and Red Bank, but he reports as well on events that he did not personally witness, drawing liberally upon published sources to fill out his narrative. The "diary" ends abruptly with the entry for July 28, 1778. In terms of Native American content, Sullivan describes Indians acting as scouts and Indian military aid in the battle of Germantown and with Burgoyne near Ticonderoga, 1777.
Collection: Journal of the operations of the American War Mss.973.3.Su5