[Diaries], 1776-1788

Manuscript, in a single hand, consisting primarily of scientific and travel notes. The manuscript begins with Blagden's notes during his service as a surgeon in the army during the American Revolutionary War between 1776 and 1780. Stationed in the Carolinas and in Virginia, Blagden reports extensively on the temperature and weather as well as on the movements of troops; information about ships captured and officers killed both in the British and Continental armies; and the outcomes of battles both in his vicinity and elsewhere in North America. He also records disputes with other hospital administrators about how to tend or house the sick, and dines with various generals. In 1777, he gives an account of Native Americans in the town in which he is staying. Throughout, he also records many observations about local birds and fish, including plover, mackerel, and trout

After his return to England, the diaries record Blagden's travels through England and France, where he describes the scenery and landscapes of numerous towns and visits and dines with acquaintances. At Sutton, he describes the inns in town; in France, he visits M. de Milliere's cabinet of minerals; elsewhere, he discusses politics during dinner and gossips about members of the Academy. One diary, dated 1786 and labeled "visit to France," consists entirely of records of experiments with water solutions