Sir George Cranfield Berkeley papers

Collection

Identifier: MS 0011

Staff Only

Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Scope and Contents

The Berkeley collection consists of seven manuscript boxes of letters and naval orders spanning the years 1808 to 1813. All of the letters in this collection concern the naval operations under Berkeley's command. They include naval appointments, administrative orders, dismissals, discharges, conscription of U.S. seamen, and coordination of supply ships with the British Army.

The letters in the collection were written primarily by men associated with the British Admiralty, the British Embassy in Portugal, or the British Army in Portugal. These men include Sir John Barrow (1746-1848), Second Secretary of the Admiralty from 1807 to 1845; Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave (1755-1831), First Lord of the Admiralty from 1807 to 1810; John Charles Villiers, 3rd Earl of Clarendon (1757-1838), envoy to the court of Portugal from 1808 to 1810; Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), eventual conqueror of Napoleon; and William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington (1763-1845), Secretary of the Admiralty from 1807 to 1809.

Most of the letters are written to Berkeley; however, a few are initialed G.C.B. and some appear to be in Berkeley's hand. The letters are arranged alphabetically according to the author; within each author section the letters are arranged chronologically. Copies, as well as originals, are arranged in this manner.

Dates

Creation: 1808 - 1813
Creation: Majority of material found within 1809 - 1811

Creator

Berkeley, George Cranfield, 1685-1753 (Person)

Access Restrictions

This material is open for research.

Conditions Governing Access

Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish materials from Sir George Cranfield Berkeley - Papers must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Biographical Note

George Cranfield Berkeley (1753-1818) served in the British Navy from 1766 to 1812. In 1799 he was appointed Rear-Admiral and in 1805 he became a Vice-Admiral. In December 1808 he was appointed to the chief command on the coast of Portugal and in the Tagus, which he held until May 1812. On July 31, he was promoted to the rank of Admiral, and in acknowledgement of his services to Portugal was named Lord High Admiral of that kingdom. While on this assignment Berkeley's main duty was to command the supply ships and naval support of the Duke of Wellington in his Peninsular campaign against Napoleon Bonaparte. In May 1812 Berkeley returned to England and retired from public life.

Extent

3.5 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract:

The Berkeley collection consists of letters and British naval orders spanning the years 1808 to 1813. All of the letters in this collection concern the naval operations under Sir George Cranfield Berkeley 's command. They include naval appointments, administrative orders, dismissals, discharges, conscription of U.S. seamen, and coordination of supply ships with the British Army. The letters in the collection were written primarily by men associated with the British Admiralty, the British Embassy in Portugal, or the British Army in Portugal.

Arrangement

This material has been arranged in the following series:

Missing Title

Series I: Letters from Sir John Barrow, 1808-1813 (Boxes 1-2)
Series II: Letters to John Wilson Croker, and Berkeley Order Book, 1807-1811 (Box 3, 3 items)
Series III: Letters from Casamajor and Earl of Clarendon, 1809-1811 (Box 3)
Series IV: Letters from John W. Croker, 1809-1813 (Box 4)
Series V: Letters from the Admiralty, H. Green, Earl of Mornington, Earl of Mulgrave and others, 1808-1811 (Box 5)
Series VI: Letters From Baron Stuart de Rothesey and others, 1811 (Box 6)
Series VII: Transport tonnage stmt. and letter from Lord Castlereagh, 1809 (Box 6, 2 items)
Series VIII: Letters from Wellington, 1809-1811 (Box 7)
Series IX: Letters to Wellington, 1809-1811 (Box 7)
Series X: Troop lists and report, 1809-1811 (4 items, Box 7)

Acquisition Information

Purchased from Myers and Co. in 1953 by The Friends of Fondren (Whittington gift).

Related Material

For additional information on the collection please consult "A Guide to the George Cranfield Berkeley Collection" by Laura Little, 1976 (call #: WRC REF Z6616.B495 W54) and The Flyleaf v. 9, no. 3 (April '59).