Scope and Content Note
The papers of Johann Carl Philipp von Krafft (1752-1804) span the years 1750-1926, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period between 1776 and 1790. The collection focuses on Krafft's career as a military officer, surveyor, and draughtsman in Prussia and the British American colonies during the Revolutionary War. The papers include correspondence, a journal, military records, travel notes, and writings. The bulk of the material is written in German with English and French appearing as well. A small number of writings are in Latin, Russian, and Dutch.
The papers contain correspondence between Krafft and various family members, friends, and military figures dealing with subjects ranging from affairs of the heart to promotion of his career. The most significant part of the collection, however, is Krafft's journal which covers the years 1770-1791, with the largest portion chronicling Krafft's years as a mercenary soldier from 1776 to 1784. Entries for seven of these years are preceded by a table of service, which presents month-by-month Krafft's rank, regiment, company, and names of commanding officers. There is also an abstract of the journal which provides additional information regarding Krafft's military service for the British during the American Revolutionary War. A photocopy of an English translation of the journal, published by the New-York Historical Society, is included in the papers.
Krafft's career as a soldier of fortune is further revealed by his military records, including pay accounts, orders, broadsides concerning billeting and public drunkenness, and commissions, two of which were signed by Frederick the Great. Krafft's wanderings in Russia, the Netherlands, and Quebec in pursuit of a satisfactory military commission between 1776 and 1777 are recorded in his travel notes of this period. He evidently received an excellent education and was fluent in German, French, and English, writing both prose and verse in all three languages as well as poems in Latin. His intellectual interests ranged from literature to astronomy and proverbs to riddles. As a trained surveyor, his knowledge of geometry, mathematics, and astronomy contributed to his creation of a perpetual calendar. His interest in philosophy is revealed in his 1779 treatise in Socratic dialogue on the nature of reality.
An Oversize section is composed of military records as well as material from Krafft's journal and a perpetual calendar.