More than two thousand patrons visit the SAR Library each year.   Most of them are primarily interested in doing genealogical research, and we are happy to assist them in this endeavor.  But, in addition to genealogy, our library also collects materials which concentrate on the Revolutionary War and Colonial periods of our nation's history.  Four of the five collections mentioned in this article are historical in content and are available for access by those who visit our facility.  The fifth is available for SAR Chapters and State Societies through written request.

Items in the Historical Collection

• The George Rogers Clark Collection - American Revolutionary soldier and frontier leader who led the campaign against the British in the Northwest Territory.  He succeeded in capturing the key British strongholds of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes, holding this territory and thereby saving the Illinois and Kentucky region for the colonies.
  
  The George Rogers Clark Papers were filmed in 1991 from original documents at the Virginia State Library and Archives in Richmond.  They pertain to the Illinois Regiment of the Virginia State Forces and are held in the SAR Archives on thirteen rolls of microfilm.  These reels contain 16,858 frames with approximately 85,000 images of original documents (there is usually more than one document per frame).  These papers are dated from January 1778 through November 1834.  There is a six-volume printed index to the papers (also contained on two microfiche cards) along with abstracts held on seven microfiche cards.  The index, completed in 1995, has 97,579 entries for 20,110 documents filmed on the thirteen reels.

• The George Washington Collection - Colonel in the French and Indian War.  General in charge of commanding the Continental Army in the American Revolution.  First President (1789-1796) of the newly formed United States of America.
  
  The George Washington Collection consists of around 1200 books and 750 journal and magazine articles.  Whether they are books about the president of the United States, biography, correspondence, juvenile literature, or periodical writings about every imaginable aspect of Washington's life, all of these materials relate to our first president in some way.
  
  In addition to these printed materials, the George Washington Room also contains the Morristown Manuscript Collection.  This collection, held on sixty-nine rolls of microfilm, contains 17,500 documents.  Over one-third of these documents are made up of manuscripts, journals account books, letters, etc. relating to the Revolutionary War and George Washington.  Another part of the Washington Room is the George Washington Papers.  These are held on 124 rolls of microfilm which contain 64,786 documents dated from 1697 to 1799 relating to George Washington and his family.

• Lafayette's papers - French statesman who came to America in 1777 and joined George Washington's staff as a major-general in the Continental Army.  He persuaded Louis XVI to send French troops to the aid of the American colonists, which proved instrumental in the defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781.
  
  The Lafayette Papers are held in the SAR Archives on sixty-four rolls of microfilm.   They were filmed in 1996 from the correspondence, letterbooks, notebooks, memoirs, writings, speeches, family papers, and household records which were discovered in 1956 at Chateau La Grange, where Lafayette lived from 1799 until his death.   These papers contain information about Lafayette's military, political, and private life in addition to French and American history of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.  Also included are some papers of the Lasteyrie family, descendants of Lafayette who inhabited the chateau.  These documents range in time from around 1457 to 1990.

• The Hessian Collection- A collection of notebooks and information on the German troops used during the Revolutionary War (not indexed at this time).

• Our video collection contains videotapes of SAR activities and TV documentaries of Revolutionary War history. These are available for loan only to SAR chapters and state societies.