Redcoats in New York and Rhode Island: Letters and papers of Lord Percy 1776-1777

Much has been written over the past 250 years on the subject of the American Revolution, the majority of which has been commentated on through American eyes. But, how was the conflict seen through a contemporary British perspective. Reading the words of British soldiers who lived through the period, provides the modern reader a different point of view from the story that has been created, from the time of the revolution to the present day. A number of notable diaries, journals and letters from British officers who were present at various events during the period, allow us to see the conflict through their eyes . Understandably, often what they recorded was not the truth, but what they believed to be correct at the time, which again was often coloured by their own personal opinions.

One of the British officers who experienced at first hand the first three years of the confrontation, was Lieutenant General Earl Hugh Percy. This well educated and dedicated soldier was the eldest son of the Duke of Northumberland. Descended from an ancient family with a long line of warriors, Lord Percy, as he was commonly known, would add his own name to that of his heroic forebears by his actions during the American War. Perhaps his greatest legacy however, is that of the treasure trove of manuscripts that he amassed during his time in America and which still lay in the archives of his ancestral home in Alnwick Castle in Northumberland.

Within this collection, there are many hundreds of manuscripts made up of letters, journals, diaries and miscellaneous military papers. Albeit around 30 of Percy’s letters were published at the beginning of the last century in: Letters of Hugh, Earl Percy, from Boston and New York 1774- 1776, the vast majority has never before been published. With the 250th anniversaries of events that have shaped the world now upon us, it is perhaps the right time to make available many of the documents that few have seen. It is therefore with the generous permission of the current Duke of Northumberland, that many of these manuscripts have now been selected and transcribed.

This book is therefore the second of two volumes, that chart the progress of the war as it occurred and as General Percy perceived it. The first book entitled The Road To Lexington, follows the events that took place from Earl Percy’s arrival in Boston in July 1774 to the British evacuation of that place in March 1776. This second volume follows his journey from Halifax, Nova Scotia to New York and finally Rhode Island. While his personal letters reveal Percy’s own take on the circumstances that developed around him, it can be seen how other documents such as intelligence reports, which were not always correct, coloured his judgement. In addition to the British related papers, the collection holds an American regimental orderly book which was taken after the British landed at Kip’s Bay in New York in 1776. A portion of this has been included which reflects the situation of Washington’s army in the days prior to the British attack.
These miscellaneous records have been placed in chronological order alongside a narrative to explain the context of events surrounding them. In addition there are notes and an appendix that provides more information on many of the lesser known names that are mentioned.

Sunderland-born Bill Openshaw has lived in Northumberland for almost 30 years and is married with two children and an American grandson. A retired civil servant, he has worked at Alnwick Castle as a State Room Guide for 12 years. A bedroom songwriter and musician, Bill has also held a lifelong interest in military history and has been a Napoleonic re-enactor for many years. His knowledge of this period and his position at the castle led him to research the Percy Tenantry Volunteers, one of many defence corps raised during the Napoleonic Wars. This study resulted in the publication of his first book, To the Call of Bugles- A history of the Percy Tenantry Volunteers, published by McNidder & Grace. His second book, The Road to Lexington - Letters and papers of Lord Percy 1768-1776, was published in 2025 on the anniversary of the events at Lexington and Concord.