author

Timothy Boardman

1754–1838

A Revolutionary War privateer’s journal gives this early American writer a vivid, firsthand voice. His surviving logbook preserves life aboard the Oliver Cromwell in 1778 and offers a rare glimpse of one of Rutland, Vermont’s early settlers.

1 Audiobook

Log-book of Timothy Boardman Kept on Board the Privateer Oliver Cromwell, During a Cruise from New London, Ct., to Charleston, S. C., and Return, in 1778; Also, a Biographical Sketch of the Author.

Log-book of Timothy Boardman Kept on Board the Privateer Oliver Cromwell, During a Cruise from New London, Ct., to Charleston, S. C., and Return, in 1778; Also, a Biographical Sketch of the Author.

by Timothy Boardman

About the author

Born in 1754, he is best known for the journal later published as Log-book of Timothy Boardman, a firsthand account of service aboard the privateer Oliver Cromwell during a 1778 cruise from New London to Charleston and back. The book was issued in 1885 under the auspices of the Rutland County Historical Society, along with a biographical sketch by Samuel W. Boardman.

Sources available online describe him as one of the pioneer settlers of Rutland, Vermont. The surviving sketch also portrays him as an active local figure there, remembered in civic and church life as well as for his Revolutionary War service.

Because the record is fairly limited, many personal details are better treated cautiously. What stands out clearly is the value of his writing: a plain, direct account that helps modern readers see the hazards, labor, and routine of wartime life at sea through the eyes of someone who actually lived it.