This collection contains correspondence, reports, and memoranda relating to Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane's role in the War of 1812. The letters are largely to and from Sir George Prevost; General George Izard, the North American Commander; Major Edward Baynes; American General Alexander Macomb; Sir James Kempt; Sir Thomas Picton; and Francis de Rottenburg. The papers deal mainly with British plans to advance on Plattsburg, as well as orders and reports of troop movements, and proposals to attack various American positions. The collection contains a detailed plan, with maps, which Brisbane designed for the destruction of the American fleet at Whitehall, New York, in the winter of 1814.
Of special interest is a batch of letters from General Prevost that includes a confidential and treasonous letter from Cadwallader Robert Colden. The forward is a transcription of a letter written in invisible ink that details three ways of destroying the American Fleet at Whitehall.
Miscellaneous materials include a newspaper clipping dated October 25, 1814, that discusses the current state of the war, and a four-page printed General Orders document from Quebec, dated January 13, 1815, and signed Frederick.
Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane was born in Ayrshire, England, on July 32, 1773, to Thomas Brisbane (1720?--1812) and his wife, Eleanor Stenhouse.
Brisbane was an ensign in the 38th Foot in 1789, and was promoted to lieutenant in 1791. Four years later, he was promoted to major and was stationed in Barbados. By the time he came to America in 1813, Brisbane had become a major general, having distinguished himself as an officer serving under Wellington in the Peninsular Campaign. He was a subordinate of General George Prevost in the British offensive from Canada in 1814, and was present at the American victories on Lake Champlain and at Plattsburg, when the British were forced to retreat to Canada.
Brisbane married Anna Maria Makdougall (1786--1862) in 1819. In 1820, he was appointed governor of New South Wales, where he studied astronomy, cultivated agricultural and viticultural development in the region, and promoted exploration beyond the colony's borders.
Brisbane returned to England in 1826 and was appointed colonel of the 34th Foot. He died at Brisbane house in Ayrshire, England, on January 27, 1860.
