James Grant’s Campaign Chest

British Army Lieutenant James Grant kept his personal belongings in this chest while he served in America during the French and Indian War. Grant could have stored items such as extra clothing, shoes, his papers, writing implements, and tobacco in this chest. A Scotsman, Grant joined the 77th Regiment, a Highland Scottish regiment, as a volunteer in 1757 and received an officer’s commission the following year. The 77th Regiment participated in the successful campaign to capture Fort Duquesne (present-day Pittsburgh) from the French and their American Indian allies in 1758. The regiment later battled Native Americans fighting for their own independence against the British in 1763 in the conflict known as Pontiac’s Rebellion. Grant retired from the British Army in 1763 and settled in Dutchess County, New York. During the Revolutionary War, American Revolutionaries became suspicious of his loyalties as a former British officer. The state of New York put Grant on parole as if he were a prisoner of war to prevent him from subverting the Revolutionaries’ cause.