Contents and Arrangement
Clinton, James, Draft of a Letter to Haudenosaunee Leaders, 1779
Collection Overview
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Scope and Contents
Consists of a handwritten draft of a letter from Continental Army Brigadier General James Clinton (1736-1812) to a group of Haudenosaunee leaders in advance of Sullivan's Expedition, a genocidal 1779 campaign intended to destroy and remove the four nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy that sided with the British during the American Revolutionary War. Major General John Sullivan (1740-1795) led the campaign with Clinton as second in command. In the letter, Clinton addresses leaders who had not aligned themselves with the British, attempting to influence their participation and suggesting that they stay on the sidelines or offer minimal assistance. He mentions the Oneida, Tuscarora, and Onandaga nations specifically, but also references the Six Nations, a British term for the Haudenosaunee, which the French referred to as the Iroquois and which also included the Mohawk, Cayuga, and Seneca nations.
- Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by the name of the creator or by the date of acquisition.
Collection History
- Acquisition:
Purchased from Sotheby's in 2020 (AM 2021-64).
- Appraisal
No material was separated during processing.
Access & Use
- Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research use.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
Clinton, James, Draft of a Letter to Haudenosaunee Leaders; General Manuscripts Miscellaneous Collection, C0140, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Location:
-
Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- Firestone Library (mss)
- Boxes B-001559
NoteBoxes 59 and 63 are stored in special vault facilities.
Find More
- Existence and Location of Copies
Parts of this collection are available on microfilm, cataloged separately as RCPXM-7497696.
- Separated Materials
Citizens of Coculco & Tempatetetzintla v. Antonio de Padilla, 1624, previoulsy in Box 10, has been removed and transferred to the Princeton Collection of Mesoamerican Manuscripts (C0940).
- Subject Terms:
- Sullivan's Indian Campaign, 1779
- Genre Terms:
- Correspondence -- 18th century
- Places:
- New York (State) -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Sources
