Physical Description:
1 volume, 196 pages. Notes:
This journal kept by Cadwallader Colden II during the American
Revolution. It includes the following periods: early 1776 to his
arrest and confinement in Kingston jail; August 1776, paroled at
his home; December 1776, appearance before the Continental
Congress; March 1777, ordered to take the oath of allegiance to the
State of New York, charged with committing overt acts of loyalism,
sent to fleet prison; September 1777, paroled to Hurley, New York;
July 1778, exiled to New York City. While he was living in New York
City, he pleaded with state leaders, including Governor George
Clinton, for his release, which did not come until 1784. Biographical Note:
Cadwallader Colden II, son of Lieutenant Governor Cadwallader
Colden of New York from 1762-1776, lived in the precinct of
Hanover, Ulster County, New York. In addition to farming, surveying
and mercantile interests, he held a number of positions including:
major during the French and Indian War; judge with the Ulster
County Court of Common Pleas, 1769-1775; and justice of the peace,
1769-1775. His life changed dramatically with the coming of the
American Revolution. In early 1776 he was arrested for his Loyalist
sympathies, confined in the Kingston jail and on a prison ship, and
later held as a parolee at homes and country inns, before being
banished behind the British lines in New York City in August 1778.
In 1780, he was appointed, Commissary to the British Prisoners in
the Possession of the Enemy and continued in this capacity until
the British evacuation in 1782. In 1784, the New York authorities
finally allowed him to return home to Hanover, now called
Montgomery, where he died on 18 February 1797. Subjects:
Colden, Cadwallader, 1722-1797. ; United States. Continental
Congress. ; American loyalists -- New York (State) -- History --
Sources. ; Exiles -- United States -- History -- 18th century. ;
Parole -- United States -- History -- 18th century. ; United States
-- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Personal narratives. Form/Genre:
Diaries United States Revolution, 1775-1783. (aat) ; Manuscripts
United States Revolution, 1775-1783. (aat) Physical Collection:
Orderly Books of the American Revolution.
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