Collection search - James Wolfe collection [textual record (chiefly microform), graphic material (chiefly microform)]

Record information – Brief
1
James Wolfe collection [textual record (chiefly microform), graphic material (chiefly microform)]

Hierarchical level:

Collection

Date:

1701-[ca. 1930], predominant 1701-1762.

Reference:

R4770-0-1-E, MG18-L5

Type of material:

Textual material, Art

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

100108

Context of this record:

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James Wolfe collection
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Record information – Details
Collection includes:

9 lower level description(s)
View lower level description(s)

Date(s):

1701-[ca. 1930], predominant 1701-1762.

Place of creation:

Various places

Extent:

18.2 cm of textual records.
3 microfilm reels : negative and positive.
1 print : collotype.
1 watercolour.
1 painting: oil on canvas 19.9 x 15.9 cm.

Language of material:

English

Accession:

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General Wolfe portrait [graphic material]

Scope and content:

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Collection consists of papers relating to James Wolfe and his campaigns accumulated from various sources together with family papers and documents relating to his memorial. Photocopies, 83 pages. In addition, there are microfilmed records: Wolfe's journal of the Quebec expedition, 10 [June] to 7 August 1759 and journal kept by Wolfe, 19 June to 15 August 1759, microfilm reel M-1910; order book, ca. 1748-1759, 1762 including orders and instructions, ca. 1748-1759, and an account of General Monckton, 1762, microfilm reel A-575; letters from General James Wolfe to Captain William Rickson which includes microfilmed portraits of General Wolfe and of Captain Rickson, microfilm reel A-1780.

Also included is a print depicting the coat on which Wolfe died as well as a sword, and a watercolour portrait drawing in half-length of James Wolfe that is a copy of a minature belonging to the Rev. Theo Streatfield.

This collection also includes a posthumous portrait of James Wolfe (1777) depicting him as a young man. This painting, attributed to Benjamin West, was given to the Archives in 1939 by H.M. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Consort, during the Royal Tour. On the same occasion, H.M. Queen Elizabeth presented a letter from James Wolfe to his mother, dated 31 August 1759.

Provenance:

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Wolfe, James, 1727-1759
Additional name(s):

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Murray, James, General

Rickson, William, ca. 1749-1758
Biography/Administrative history:

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Wolfe, James, 1727-1759 : James Wolfe, born 2 January 1727 at Westerham, Kent, England, the son of Lieutenant-General Edward Wolfe and Henrietta Thompson, received his early education in schools at Westerham and Greenwich. In 1741 he received his first military appointment as a second lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Marines, then commanded by his father. In 1742 he took up a commission as ensign in the 12th Regiment of the British Army and soon saw active service in the Low Countries, Germany and Scotland, notably at the battles of Dettingen, Falkirk and Culloden. Having risen to the rank of Captain and transferred to the 4th Regiment, he became aide-de-camp to general Henry Hawley. By 1748 he had attained the rank of Major and served as acting Lieutenant-Colonel of the 20th Regiment, then stationed in Scotland. There he studied Latin and mathmatics while the regiment engaged in road-building. He visited Ireland and France in 1752, then moved with the regiment to the sought of England. Confirmed as Lieutenant Colonel in 1750 and promoted Colonel (his highest substantive rank) in 1757, he saw active service in 1757 as Quarter-Master General for the expedition against Rochefort. He then took command of the 67th Regiment on its creation out of the second battalion of the 20th Regiment.
In January 1858 when general Jeffery Amherst took command of the expedition against Louisbourg, Wolfe received the local rank of Brigadier in America. He took an active role leading troops during the siege and laying waste neighboring regions. Returning to England that autumn, he soon received a commission as commander-in-chief for the expedition against Quebec, with local rank of Brigadier General in North America under Amherst. Relations with his three brigadiers and other subordinate commanders deteriorated through the summer, probably exacerbated by Wolfe's ill health. On 13 September 1759, he successfully landed his forces above Quebec, met and defeated the French army in battle on the Plains of Abraham. Following Wolfe's death during the battle, George Townshend took command of the British forces and negotiated the capitulation, signed 18 September. Wolfe's body was returned to England, to be buried next to his father who had died in March 1759.

Finding aid:

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(No finding aid)

Additional information:

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General note:

The National Library of Scotland reference for the letters from General James Wolfe to Captain William Rickson and the portraits is: MS 2207, ff. 37-69.

Location of originals note:

Originals of the journals of the Quebec expedition are held in the McCord Museum, McGill University, and Quebec Citadel Museum (M-1910); originals of the letter and portraits are located in the National Library of Scotland, (A-1780); and originals of an order book and an account are held in the National Army Museum, London, England, (A-575).
Subject heading:

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Great Britain - Army - Appointments and retirements, 1701-1758 Earl Nugent, 1762

Land grants - 1712-1770 Earl of Shelburne, 1766

Family, 1712-1770 Guy Carleton, 1770

Memorials, 1930 Thomas Bell, 1759

Military policy, 1748-1777 Edward Wolfe, 1701-1747

Order Book

Instructions for Young Officers

Lord Barrington, 1766

Charles Gould, 1766

John Burgoyne, 1777

General Monckton, 1762

Québec Campaign, 1759

Canada Seven Years' War, 1755-1763

Canada 1755-1763 (Guerre de Sept Ans)

Québec (Québec) 1759 (Siège)
Source:

Private

Related control no.:

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115-020343-9
1939-137 PIC
1939-414 PIC
1990-133 DAP

Former archival reference no.:

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MG18-L5
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

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Textual records

[Consultation90 Open]

Volume [MG18 L 5] 11

[Consultation 90 Open]

Textual records: microform

[Consultation90 Open]

Graphic (art)

[Consultation96 Restrictions vary]

Terms of use:

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Textual records: Researchers must use photocopies.
Print: No restrictions on use or reproduction. Documents must be consulted under close supervision for conservation reasons. Copyright is expired. Crown copyright on reproductions. Credit: National Archives of Canada.
Watercolour: No restrictions on use. Copyright is unknown.

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