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University of Michigan William L. Clements Library

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Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Thomas Gage warrants, 1763-1775

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Summary

Creator:
Gage, Thomas, 1721-1787
Abstract:
The Thomas Gage warrants are financial documents authorizing payment for the British military forces in North America from the conclusion of the French and Indian War through the beginning of the Revolutionary War. The warrants are one series within the larger Thomas Gage papers. The Gage Warrants Finding Aid and Index provides additional information on the Gage Warrants and an itemized list of volumes 6-36.
Extent:
10 linear feet
Language:
English
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Meg Hixon and Clements Staff, October 2010

Background

Scope and Content:

The financial records contained in this collection represent financial accounts for British forces in North America from the conclusion of the French and Indian War to the beginning of the Revolutionary War. These documents are secretarial copies retained by Thomas Gage (1720-1787) for his personal records.

Types of documents in the collection:
  • Subsistence warrants: Documents issued by Gage authorizing payment for regular salaries and rations.
  • Warrants for extraordinary expenses: Documents issued by Gage authorizing payment for irregular expenses.
  • Temporary warrants: Documents signed by Gage allowing financial advances.
  • Annexed accounts: Detailed lists or accounts affixed to warrants, often including vouchers and receipts from various middlemen and agents. These may be lists of bills of exchange and are occasionally signed.
  • Abstracts of accounts: Abstracts or explanations of complex accounts.
  • Vouchers: Receipts showing payment.
  • These may include:
    • Bills of lading: Used when dealing with hired ships.
    • Pay rolls: Listing of personnel, their occupations, and their wages.
    • Invoices: Enumerating goods received.
    • Bills of exchange: Calling for one party to pay a certain amount to a second party; may be accompanied by receipts.
The miscellaneous documents in the collection include:
  • Memorials: Signed statements certifying that a service has been performed.
  • Legal documents: Depositions, testimonies, contracts, or other witnessed and sworn statements.
  • Discharges: Documents releasing men or vessels from military service.
  • Wrappers: Papers in which documents were originally contained.

See the Gage Warrants Finding Aid and Index (pdf) for more information on the Gage Warrants and an itemized list of volumes 6-36.

See the finding aid for the Thomas Gage papers for a complete description of the collection.

Biographical / Historical:

Warrants, though commonly used today with regard to property search and seizure, have historically represented a variety of legal purposes and functions, including payment authorization for civil or military functions. During the second half of the eighteenth century, the British forces in North America used two main types of warrants: subsistence warrants and warrants for extraordinary expenses.

Subsistence warrants were used to disburse Parliament-approved funding for soldiers' pay and rations (including clothing, medical care, and pensions), and were usually created on behalf of individual regiments. As commander-in-chief of His Majesty's forces on the continent, Thomas Gage (1721-1787) controlled disbursement by issuing warrants to the deputy paymaster general in North America, who would then transfer the funds to individual regiments' paymasters. Each warrant was copied in triplicate for use by the warrant issuer, the War Office in London, and the recipient of the relevant funds.

Warrants for extraordinary expenses covered other expenditures incurred by the army, including frontier expeditions, building costs for fortifications or barracks, transportation, and payments to local Native American tribes. Because these funds were approved by Parliament after they had been spent, they were first issued by the Paymaster General in London through various private (civilian) merchants. These middlemen would directly pay the contractors supplying the necessary equipment or labor, submitting the receipts to Gage. Gage would then issue a warrant for the relevant amount, sending the original to London and retaining a copy for his own records.

Various other financial documents, including vouchers, receipts, and accounts, were also generated during these processes, which relied more heavily on the issuing of credit than on actual monetary transactions.

Acquisition Information:
1937. M-341 .
Custodial History:

William L. Clements purchased the collection from Henry Rainald Gage, 6th Viscount Gage, in 1930. In 1937, the collection was moved from Clements' home in Bay City, Michigan, to the Clements Library.

Processing information:

Cataloging funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the "We the People" project.

Arrangement:
The collection is organized into three series:
  • Series I: Subsistence warrants
  • Series II: Warrants
  • Series III: Accounts and miscellaneous

The Subsistence warrants series is arranged by regiment number, the Warrants series is arranged chronologically, and the Accounts and Miscellaneous series is loosely organized according to document type.

Rules or Conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown

PREFERRED CITATION:

Thomas Gage Warrants, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan

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Collection

Thomas Gage warrants, 1763-1775
Total components 43
Last indexed 2024-06-25