Subseries - Devonshire

36 folders of textual material (62.5 cm)

The “Devonshire” sub-series primarily deals with Simcoe’s commands in Devonshire, initially as a Major-General in command at Plymouth and then as Lieutenant-General in command of Devonshire throughout the period of apprehended invasion from France. The correspondence and supporting documentation found in this sub-series detail military preparation, training, and supply during the middle period of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The sub-series contains a large number of returns and schedules detailing human and material resources available. These reflect Simcoe’s duty in these positions to identify and safeguard the resources of the county. Additionally, the sub-series contains information related to routes for moving civilians and livestock away from threatened areas, discussions of the types of defence required for the coast and interior, and information relating to the training and equipment of “yeomen” and militia forces, and their relationship to regular troops in garrison at Plymouth and the Isle of Scilly.
This sub-series, additionally, contains a block of files from the spring of 1801 that deal with a period of civil unrest and the use of the military as an aid to civil power. During food riots and protests over high costs of living, Simcoe performed a dual role as commander of the forces responsible for the suppression of unrest and as magistrate investigating the disturbances.