A rare collection of letters written by British emigrants who came to North America shortly before the onset of the Revolutionary War, which reveals the motivations, experiences, and emotions of these people, and provides insights into the mechanisms of the migration, especially the organization of personal networks.

Editor's Preface; Preface; Introduction; Note on Selection; Editorial Procedures; Part I. Nova Scotia: Narratives of Charles Dixon; Letter of James Metcalf; Letter of Luke Harrison; John Robinson and Thomas Rispin, 'Journey through Nova Scotia'; Part II. Middle Colonies: Letters of James Whitelaw; Alexander Thomson, 'News from America;' Letters of Hugh Simm; Part IV. Chesapeake: Letter of John Campbell; Letters of David Duff; Letter of Thomas Feilde; Part V. North Carolina: Letters of Alexander McAllister; Letter of Alexander Campbell of Ballole; Part VI. South Carolina and Georgia: Letters of Alexander Cumine; Letters of George Ogilvie; Letter of Thomas Taylor; Letter of Baikia Harvey; Letter of Hester Wylly.

"Discoveries of America is a welcomed, meticulously researched addition to the study of the eighteenth-century North Atlantic world." The North Carolina Historical Review"...this book...will fascinate readers with an interest in the complexities of migration of British emigrants who dared to cross the Atlantic and write home about their experience in the New World in order to invite others to follow their example." Marianne S. Wokeck, Michigan Historical Review