Kept chiefly by Sergeant Matthew Drury
from January 3 to April 7, 1780 at winter encampment in Morristown or its
vicinity. The records pertain to the unit commanded by Lieutenant Colonel
Edward Carrington of Virginia under Major General Henry Knox.
Gift of Reeve Schley, Sr., 1953.
On December 1, 1779, the Continental Army
under General George Washington encamped in Morristown, New Jersey.
General Washington chose this area for its logistical, geographical and
topographical military advantages, in addition to its proximity to New York
City. The Army, after years of supply shortages, was just beginning to
feel changes brought about by new Quartermaster General Nathanael Greene, but
the overall conditions at the winter encampment in Morristown was perhaps the
most brutal of the entire war. On June 22, 1780 the Army broke encampment
and the following day, they defeated the British in the Battle of
Springfield. The Continental Army continued to advance through eastern New
Jersey toward the coast and New York City. The encampment for the
following winter began in November 1780 in the Hudson Highlands.
Lieutenant Colonel Edward Carrington (1748-1810) of Virginia under Major General
Henry Knox (1750-1806) commanded the First Artillery.
Boatner III, Mark Mayo, Encyclopedia of
the American Revolution, (David McKay, New York, 1966).
Who Was Who in America,
Historical Volume 1607-1896 (A. N. Marquis, Chicago, 1963).
Who Was Who in America,
Volume IV, 1961-1968 (A. N. Marquis, Chicago, 1968).
Payson, Edward, Nathanael Greene and
the Supply of the Continental Army, The Quartermaster Review May-June 1950,
on the U. S. Army Quartermaster Museum at:
This volume was the gift of Reeve Schley,
Sr. in 1953.
This volume is an orderly book kept by
Sergeant Matthew Drury for the First Artillery Regiment at the winter encampment
in Morristown, New Jersey from January 3 to April 7, 1780. The second item
in this collection is a typed transcript of the orderly book made in 1953.
An orderly book is usually used by the
orderly sergeants or the aide de camp to enter general and regimental orders,
and there is usually one for each company. Typical orders recorded regard
troop formation, maintenance of camp, guard duty, and court marshal
proceedings. Most of the court marshal proceedings were held for offenses
such as theft, drunkenness, card playing, or ungentlemanly behavior. Of
note is the March 26, 1780 entry that reports a court marshal proceeding held in
Philadelphia. “The Court Unanamously found Capt. Leut. (Theopheliss)
Park Guilty not only of fraud but of Repeated Forgeress & Sentence him to be
Casheared with Infamy, by having his Sword brock over his head On the Publick
parade in frount of the Regt. To which he belongs by the Adjt. of said
For other orderly books see: