A Collection in the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation`s John D.
Rockefeller, Jr. Library Manuscript Number MS 2005.14
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library Colonial Williamsburg Foundation P.O. Box 1776 Williamsburg, Virginia 23187 USA Phone: (757) 565-8520 Fax: (757) 565-8528 Email: speccoll@cwf.org URL: http://www.history.org
Blackall William Ball was born in Dublin, Ireland, but soon moved with his parents to
the backcountry of Pennsylvania. At the age of fifteen, he was commissioned as an
Ensign in the 12th Pennsylvania Regiment in 1776. Seeing action at the battles of
Princeton, Brandywine, and Germantown in 1777, he was promoted to the rank of First
Lieutenant and transferred to the 3rd Pennsylvania by the end of 1778. In the summer
of 1781, Lieutenant Ball found himself progressing southward with the amalgamated
Pennsylvania Continental Line from New Jersey, arriving at "the college of
Williamsburg" on September 4th, and on to Yorktown in support of the allied siege.
Collection comprises 6 journals with a series of observations on the march from York,
PA under General Anthony Wayne through the south to the Yorktown campaign, a
military commission, portrait print of the author, 10 issues of contemporary
newspapers with news of the Yorktown campaign.
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