Collection Summary
Christopher Prince Papers
1806-1891
1806-1891
MSS84124
Prince, Christopher,
1751-1832
3 items
1 container
0.2 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Sailor and activist in
the seamen's religious movement. Manuscript autobiography containing accounts
of seafaring life in colonial New England, maritime events of the Revolutionary
War, Prince's employment by agents of George Washington, his enlistment in the
Connecticut navy, the close of the war, and his conversion to Christianity
shortly thereafter.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Allen, Ethan, 1738-1789.
Prince family.
Prince, Christopher, 1751-1832.
Prince, Hezekiah, 1771-1840.
Prince, Isabella Coombs.
Washington, George, 1732-1799.
Organizations
Gaspée (Brigantine)
Great Britain. Royal Navy.
Oliver Cromwell (Ship)
United States. Continental Navy.
Subjects
Christianity.
Conversion--Christianity.
Sailors--Religious life--New England.
Seafaring life--New England--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775.
Places
Connecticut--History--Revolution, 1775-1783.
Hudson River (N.Y. and N.J.)
Hudson River Valley (N.Y. and N.J.)--History--Revolution, 1775-1783.
Maine--History.
Massachusetts--Social life and customs.
Montréal (Québec)--History--Siege, 1775.
Spencer (Mass.)
Thomaston (Me.)
United States--History, Naval.
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Amphibious operations.
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Naval operations.
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Peace.
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Prisoners and prisons.
Titles
Christopher Prince papers
Occupations
Religious activists.
Sailors.
Provenance
The papers of Christopher Prince, sailor and activist in the seamen's
religious movement, were deposited in the Library of Congress by the Naval
Historical Foundation in 1997 and converted to a gift in 1998.
Processing History
The papers of Christopher Prince were arranged and described in 1998.
The finding aid was revised in 2009.
Copyright Status
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Christopher Prince in these
papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of
Congress has been dedicated to the public.
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Christopher Prince are open to research. Researchers are
advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many
collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these
items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Christopher Prince Papers, Naval
Historical Foundation Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Christopher Prince (1751-1732) span the years 1806-1891
and include a manuscript and typewritten transcript of Prince's autobiography
and a booklet on a gathering of the Prince family.
Written in 1806, the autobiography provides a firsthand look into the
life of colonial New England seafarers. It also contains Prince's eyewitness
accounts of several maritime events of the Revolutionary War, including the
imprisonment of Ethan Allen aboard the Gaspée
(brigantine) in the fall of 1775 and the amphibious withdrawal of the British
from Montréal later that year. The autobiography recounts Prince's employment
by agents of George Washington in 1776 to sink four ships in the Hudson River
to impede the British and Prince's enlistment as a landsman and steward aboard
a Connecticut navy warship, the Oliver Cromwell.
The memoir, which may be a nineteenth-century copy of the original, concludes
with the ending of the war and an account of Prince's religious conversion to
Christianity shortly thereafter. Sometime before 1817, Prince moved to New
York, having retired from the sea because of rheumatism. Residing near the
wharves, he spent the remainder of his life actively involved in the seamen's
religious movement.
The other document in the collection is a souvenir booklet from a
gathering of the descendants of Hezekiah and Isabella Coombs Prince of
Thomaston, Maine, at Spencer, Massachusetts, in August 1891.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged alphabetically.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm97084124]
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Autobiography
1
Manuscript,
1806
1806
(4
folders)
1
Transcript,
undated
undated
1
A Gathering of Descendants of Hezekiah and Isabella Prince
of Thomaston, Maine
,
1891
1891