Events

The Institute’s library director, Thomas Lannon, discusses the orderly book of Edmund Bancroft—the first orderly book acquired by the Institute for its library collections. Initially a non-commissioned officer in Col. William Prescott’s Regiment from May-December 1775, Edmund Bancroft was likely a participant at the Battle of Bunker Hill before becoming an ensign in the Seventh Continental Infantry in 1776, and eventually became a first lieutenant in the Fifteenth Massachusetts Regiment before he died in service. Although his orderly book was not kept during a period of concentrated military action, Bancroft made record of several notable events during the first year of the Revolution, including the British landing at Lechmere Point on November 9, 1775; the inquiry into the conduct of the spy Dr. Benjamin Church; the arrival of the Congressional Committee of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Lynch, and Benjamin Harrison; the siege of Boston; and the surrender of Montreal to the Americans on November 13, 1775, among other clerical items. This presentation will discuss Edmund Bancroft’s service and the significance of the orderly book in not only the context of the Revolution, but also within our library collections.

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