Chamier, Daniel

Papers relating to his duties as Commissary and Auditor-General to the British Army in North America. London & Baltimore, 1778-1795



22 manuscript documents, consisting of 1 scroll on 14 skins of vellum, 11 1/2 x 516 in.; 288 x 154,800 mm, 8 documents and 13 letters on paper, various sizes of 4to and folio, see list below. Two half-morocco drop-boxes, one turquoise blue, the other dark blue with red morocco spine labels, both spines gilt.

Highly detailed accounts of British military expenditures during the Revolutionary War.

Daniel Chamier (d. 1779) served as Commissary-General and Auditor-General to the British Army in North America from 1774 to 1778. His papers show disbursements under the commands of Sir William Howe and others between 1774 and 1777, from Halifax to Charlestown and westward to Detroit, including such points as Fort Erie, Ticonderoga, Boston, New York, Brunswick, Amboy, Albany, Flushing, Brooklyn, Turtle Bay, Staten Island and many others. These list purchases of cattle, forage, baked goods, and payments to overseers of small craft, coopers and laborers. The record gives particulars of rents paid for offices, storage and warehouses in New York and Boston, and for the brewery in Boston, with names of many merchants who traded with British forces during the earliest period of the war.

These papers were evidently gathered to support the claims of Chamier's family for reimbursements. At his death, his estate was held by the Chancery Court and settlement not made until 1794. Amounts paid out by him during the war, for which there were no vouchers, were charged against his estate, and his heirs were left with only £2000 out of a huge fortune, estimated to have been around £1 million.

The documents are as follows: 1) Daniel Chamier ... his account thereof between 25th May 1774 and the 24th May 1777.  This is the Quietus roll required to settle the family accounts with the Exchequer. 2) Eulogium on the late D. Chamier, Esq. Folio, manuscript, 3 pages, addressed to the printer of the Morning Post, 11 February 1779. Possibly the work of his brother Anthony Chamier (1725-1780), financier and friend of Samuel Johnson. 3) Accounts of Moneys Expended on the Public Service in America by Danl. Chamier, Decd., late Comy.-Genl. together with the final settlement of these accounts. Manuscript, 56 pages, folio, 1782-1798, partly in the hand of Henry W. Perry, accountant for the Commissary-General's office. This document is apparently the source for no. 1, but includes declarations regarding money due Chamier which had not been repaid. These were drawn up and sent to still another brother John Chamier at Fort St. Forge, India who accepted them in September 1798. 4) Major John Morrison. Autograph letter signed, 2 pages, 4to,  Newport, Rhode Island, 30 January 1778, to Daniel Chamier, regarding disbursements as deputy commissary. 5) Daniel Chamier. Letter copy, 1 page, 4to, New York, 8 August 1777, certifying appointment of Samuel Rogers as Deputy Commissary at Perth Amboy beginning December 1776 until May 1777. 6) Ashsah Chamier [widow of Daniel]. Power of Attorney signed, 2 pages, folio, with 1-page attestation of notary Zachariah Allen, Baltimore, 22 October 1784. 7) Daniel Chamier (nephew?). Autograph letter signed, 3 pages, 4to, London, 10 January 1787, to John Chamier, on settling the accounts with government. 8) State of the Money attached by the Government belonging to Dl. Chamier, in hand of Henry W. Perry, 2 pages, 4to, [c. 1789]. 9) State of the Money attached by the Government belonging to the Estate of Danl. Chamier, 3 pages, 4to, [c. 1789]. A fair copy of no. 8. 10) Daniel Chamier (nephew?). Autograph letter signed, 2 pages, folio, London, 22 January 1789, to John Chamier, supplying information about the estate. 11) Statement of Account of the exact calculation of pay due to Mr. Chamier, 2 pages, folio, in the hand of the younger Daniel Chamier, January 1789. 12) Daniel Chamier (nephew?). Autograph letter signed, 3 pages, folio, London, 25 May 1790, to John Chamier, secretary to the Military Department, Fort St. George, Coast of Coromandel, regarding payments for accounting services. 13) Exact Account of the Monies impressed to Mr. Chamier, during his Commissariat. Manuscript, 3 pages, folio, no date, in hand of Daniel Chamier the younger. A list of accounts delivered to the auditor's office with vouchers. 14) John Wigglesworth. Autograph letter signed, 1 page, folio, London, 26 March 1791, to Edward Smith (agent for John Chamier), on the accounts of Daniel Chamier. 15-16) Edward Smith. Autograph draft of letter. 4 pages, 4to, London, 14 June 1793, and a copy of same letter signed, 3 pages, folio, with a proposal for settling accounts. 17) Edward Smith. Autograph draft of letter, 7 pages, 4to, London, 30 November 1792. 18) John Wigglesworth. Autograph letter signed, and Account, 6 pages, folio, London, 14 June 1793, regarding surcharges on the accounts amounting to over 17,600 in "New York Currency." 19) Charles Long [later Lord Farnborough]. Autograph letter signed, 1 page, quarto, London, 14 August 1793, to Edward Smith. Long was at this time Secretary to Treasury. 20) Edward Smith. Autograph draft of a letter, 2 pages, tall 8vo, London, 16 August 1793, to Charles Long, referring him to Wigglesworth. 21) Edward Smith. Draft of Memorial to the Lords of the Treasury. 4 pages, 4to, London, 21 November 1793, also Draft of Accounts of Daniel Chamier, 4 pages, 4to, transmitted with letter. 22) John Wigglesworth. Letter signed, 1 page, folio, London, 16 July 1794, to Edward Smith. The Exchequer has determined that the Chamier estate owed £9,467, and states that the account cannot be finally settled until it is lodged in the Pipe Office, "where the Quietus must be made out [see no. 1]."