LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- An American professor doing research in London stumbled across a series of previously unknown letters written by , to , and about Benjamin Franklin , a stunning find that sheds new light on early U.S. history . The letters cover Benjamin Franklin 's success in dealing with a British general . The collection of 47 letters are hand-written copies made 250 years ago , when Franklin lived in London . That they were filed under the copyist 's name , not Franklin 's , may explain why they were overlooked by historians until now , said a curator at the British Library , where the letters are held . The find is reported in the April issue of the William & Mary Quarterly , a journal of early American history and culture . The letters are important in large part because they offer a `` wealth of new details '' that affect modern understanding of Franklin , writes Alan Houston , the political science professor who discovered the letters in the spring of 2007 . They also raise the question of how many other documents remain waiting to be found on Franklin and his life . Houston , a professor at the University of California at San Diego , discovered the letters on the last day of his last research trip to London , just before the library 's closing time . `` The first item was a letter from Benjamin Franklin to the secretary of the governor of Maryland , and I looked at it and I started to read , and I thought , 'This does n't look familiar , ' '' Houston told CNN . `` I 've read everything Franklin ever wrote . '' Houston said he quickly began to realize he had uncovered something previously unknown to historians . `` I swear , I just about shot through the ceiling I was so excited , '' he said . `` It 's like finding a treasure chest . '' Houston had been working at the time on a book on Franklin , `` Benjamin Franklin and the Politics of Improvement , '' published last year . The letters cover Franklin 's success in dealing with British Gen. Edward Braddock , who had been sent to Pennsylvania in 1755 to defeat the French at Fort Duquesne , in modern-day Pittsburgh . The march to retake the fort was part of the French and British battle for control of the western lands in the colonies , part of a larger struggle for control of North America , Houston said . The problem was that Braddock was given no horses or wagons when he arrived in America -- no means of transport for him and his 2,000 redcoats . Braddock started to blame his hosts , so Franklin -- the Pennsylvania assembly 's leading politician -- stepped in to help . Franklin went all over Pennsylvania trying to persuade farmers to lend their horses and wagons to Braddock and his men . It was n't easy , because the farmers were tough negotiators who were also anxious and suspicious of the effort . Eventually , Franklin managed to get the farmers to agree , and within weeks , Braddock and his men were on the march . Braddock suffered a devastating defeat before he even reached the fort , however , when a much smaller contingent of French and Indian soldiers surprised the British . They killed Braddock and about 1,000 of his men . Despite the defeat , Franklin 's success -- in what became known as `` the wagon affair '' -- highlighted his skill as a colonial leader , Houston said . When Franklin was sent to London in 1757 as a representative of the assembly , he brought with him a collection of letters detailing that success . It was proof of his political value to Great Britain and that the assembly 's loyalties had been on the right side . This collection of letters , which Franklin referred to in his autobiography as his `` quire book , '' was never found , however -- until now . Houston said he believes the documents he read at the British Library are copies of that collection . They were made by Thomas Birch , an industrious and obsessive transcriber of historical documents who copied anything he could get his hands on . `` There was a vogue . It was very common for letters to be copied , '' said Matthew Shaw , curator of the U.S. collections at the British Library . `` Birch was very well known for being a copyist . '' Birch and Franklin were friends in London , both members of the Royal Society , and Houston said he believes the copies were made sometime between 1757 and 1758 . `` Birch undoubtedly found Franklin 's quire book captivating , and he appears to have copied anything that remotely interested him , '' Houston writes in the journal . Also , Braddock 's campaign and defeat were widely discussed in London , and `` Birch may have wanted to capture a crucial moment in the life of the ( Royal ) society 's most famous American member . '' Birch 's transcripts were filed in the British Library as `` Copies of Letters relating to the March of General Braddock . '' They form part of the massive Birch Collection containing the hundreds of volumes of his copies that Birch bequeathed to the library on his death , said Shaw . They were n't properly catalogued until the early 1970s , Shaw said , which is largely why they have n't been used by scholars . `` It 's the first time they 've really been shared with a wider audience , '' Shaw told CNN . `` We 're very pleased . ''
Collection of letters by , to , and about Benjamin Franklin found in 2010 . They were copied by hand and had been filed under copyist 's name . They concern war between British and French for control of North America . Franklin was sent to London in 1757 to represent Pennsylvania 's interests .