The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• The Writings of George Washington.
• 1776.
• 1 April: to Joseph Reed.
• To Brigadier-general Arnold, In Canada.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Richard Henry Lee.
• To Commodore Eseck Hopkins. 2
• To the President of Congress.
• To Joseph Reed.
• To the Committee of Safety of New York.
• To the President of Congress. 1
• To Major-general Schuyler.
• To the New York Committee of Safety.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Joseph Reed.
• To Samuel Tucker. 1
• To the President of Congress.
• To Governor Trumbull.
• To the Committee of Safety of New York.
• To Major-general Ward.
• To John Augustine Washington.
• To the President of Congress.
• 5 May: to the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Ward, At Boston.
• To Lund Washington, Mount Vernon.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Schuyler.
• To Richard Henry Lee.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Schuyler.
• To Major-general Putnam. 1 Instructions.
• To Major-general Schuyler.
• To Major-general Thomas, In Canada.
• To Major-general Putnam.
• To John Augustine Washington.
• 3 June: to Major-general Putnam.
• To Major-general Schuyler.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To General Schuyler.
• To the President of Congress. 1
• Forged Letter. 1 to Lund Washington.
• To Governor Trumbull.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Brigadier-general Sullivan, In Canada.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Ward.
• To Brigadier-general Sullivan.
• To Major-general Schuyler.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the Committee of Essex County, New Jersey.
• To the Committee of Safety of Pennsylvania.
• Forged Letter. to John Parke Custis.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Schuyler.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Gates. Instructions.
• To Major-general Schuyler.
• Forged Letter. to Mrs. Washington.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Schuyler.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• 3 July: to the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Brigadier-general William Livingston. 2
• To Brigadier-general William Livingston.
• To Governor Trumbull.
• Forged Letter. to Mr. Lund Washington.
• To Major-general Ward.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the General Court of Massachusetts Bay.
• To Major-general Schuyler.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the Secret Committee of the Convention of the State of New York. 2
• To the President of Congress.
• To Governor Cooke.
• Forged Letter. to Lund Washington.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• Forged Letter. to Lund Washington.
• To Major-general Schuyler.
• To the Committee of the City of New York. 1
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Gates, Ticonderoga.
• To the President of Congress.
• Forged Letter. to Lund Washington.
• To John Augustine Washington.
• To John Parke Custis.
• To the President of Congress.
• To General George Clinton.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the Board of War.
• To Lieutenant-general Howe.
• To Major-general Schuyler.
• 2 August: to the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Governor Trumbull.
• To the New York Convention.
• To the Officers and Soldiers of the Pennsylvania Association. 1
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the New York Convention.
• To Major-general Gates.
• To the New York Convention.
• To the Right Honorable Lord Howe.
• To Lord Drummond. 1
• To Governor Trumbull.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Heath.
• To the New York Convention.
• To Major-general Heath.
• To Governor Trumbull.
• To Major-general Putnam. 3 Instructions.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• 1 September: to Major-general Heath.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Brigadier-general Mercer.
• To Colonel Fisher Gay.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Governor Trumbull.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Governor Trumbull.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Governor Cooke.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To John Augustine Washington.
• To Lieutenant-general Howe.
• To Governor Trumbull.
• To the President of Congress. 1
• To Brigadier-general Mercer.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Lund Washington. 1
• 2 October: to the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Patrick Henry, Governor of Virginia.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Heath.
• To Governor Trumbull.
• To Governor Trumbull.
• To Mrs.philips of Philipsboro.
• To Major-general Schuyler.

TO LUND WASHINGTON, MOUNT VERNON.

New York, 10 May, 1776.

Dear Lund,

As I am not able to form any idea of the time of my return, and as it is very reasonable and just, that Mr. Custis should be possessed of his estate, although it is not in my power, (circumstanced as I am at present), to liquidate the accounts and make a final settlement with him, I have wrote to the clerk of the Secretary’s office for authentic copies of the last accounts, which I exhibited against him and the estate of his deceased sister. With these (for I have directed them to be sent to you) and the bundle of bonds, which you will find among my papers, I would have Mr. Custis and you repair to Colonel Mason and get him, as a common friend to us both, as a gentleman well acquainted with business, and very capable of drawing up a proper memorandum of the transaction, to deliver him his own bonds, which, if my memory fails me not, and no changes have happened, are in one parcel and endorsed; and at the same time deliver him as many bonds out of the other parcel, endorsed Miss Custis’s bonds, as will pay him his moiety of her fortune and the balance, which will appear due to him from me, at my last settlement with the General Court. How the account will then stand between us, I cannot with precision say, but I believe the balance will be rather in my favor than his.

In my last settlement of the estate of Miss Custis (which you will have sent to you, I expect, by Mr. Everard), every bond, mortgage, &c., were fully accounted for, and will be the best ground to found the dividend (between Mr. Custis and myself) upon lest any of the bonds or mortgages should be misplaced, or in the office.

Mr. Mercer’s bonds I have promised to take into my part; and, as there are wheat and other accounts opened between that estate and me, I should be glad to have them allotted accordingly. In like manner, I promised to take Mr. Robert Adams’s debt upon myself, and believe the last mortgage from him was taken in my own name. As to the others, I do not care how they are divided, nor was I anxious about these, further than that it served to comply with their desires, founded (I believe) on an opinion, that I should not press them for the money.

The bank stock must, I presume, be equally divided between us. Long before I left Virginia, I directed it to be sold, writing to Messrs. Cary and Company, who had always received the dividends, to negotiate the matter; in consequence, they sent me a power of attorney, and a great deal of formal stuff for Mrs. Washington and myself to execute before the governor. This we did, literally as required, and transmitted; since which, the directors of the bank have prescribed another mode, and I have had forwarded to me another set of papers, to be executed also before the governor, which it has never been in my power to do, as they arrived but a little while before I set out for the Congress last spring. Thus the matter stands, as far as I know, with respect to the money in the funds.

There is another matter, which I think justice to myself requires to be mentioned, and that is, with respect to the sterling balance, which it will appear I was owing to Mr. Custis upon the last settlement. It was then, and ever since has been, my intention to assign to him as many bonds, carrying interest, as would discharge this balance; but my attendance upon Congress in the fall of 1774, and spring of 1775, put it out of my power to attend the General Court at their sessions; consequently no order could be taken, or account rendered, of this matter; and now, by the rise of exchange, if I were to turn current money bonds into sterling, I should be a considerable sufferer, when I had not, nor could have, any interest in delaying of it; and that it was so delayed was owing to the reasons abovementioned, it being a practice to let out his money upon interest as soon as it came to my hands.

The many matters, which hang heavy upon my hands at present, do not allow me time to add more, but oblige me to request, as I have not written fully to Colonel Mason on this subject, that you will show him, and if necessary let him have this letter. I am, very sincerely, &c.1

[1 ]“The uncertainty of my return, and the justice of surrendering to Mr. Custis the bonds, which I have taken for the moneys raised from his estate, and lent out upon interest, as also his moiety of his deceased sister’s fortune, (consisting altogether of bonds, &c.) oblige me to have recourse to a friend to see this matter done, and a proper memorandum of the transaction made. I could think of no one, in whose friendship, care, and abilities I could so much confide, to do Mr. Custis and me this favor, as yourself; and, therefore, I take the liberty of soliciting your aid.

“In order that you may be enabled to do this with ease and propriety, I have written to the clerk of the Secretary’s office for attested copies of my last settled accounts with the General Court in behalf of Mr. Custis, and the estate of his deceased sister; with which and the bonds, I have desired him and Mr. Washington to wait upon you for the purpose above mentioned.

“The amount of the balance due, upon my last settled accounts, to Mr. Custis, I would also have assigned him out of my moiety of his sister’s bonds; and, if there is no weight in what I have said in my letter to Mr. Lund Washington, concerning the rise of exchange, and which, to avoid repetition, as I am a good deal hurried, I have desired him to show you, I desire it may meet with no notice, as I want nothing but what is consistent with the strictest justice, honor, and even generosity; although I have never charged him or his sister, from the day of my connexion with them to this hour, one farthing for all the trouble I have had in managing their estates, nor for any expense they have been to me, notwithstanding some hundreds of pounds would not reimburse the moneys I have actually paid in attending the public meetings in Williamsburg to collect their debts, and transact these several matters appertaining to the respective estates.

“A variety of occurrences, and my anxiety to put this place as speedily as possible into a posture of defence, will not, at this time, admit of my adding more, than that I am, with unfeigned regard, &c.”—Washington to George Mason, 10 May 1776.

“Joseph Child of the New York Train of Artillery tried at a late General Court Martial whereof Col. Huntington was President—‘for defrauding Christopher Stetson of a dollar, also for drinking Damnation to all Whigs and Sons of Liberty, and for profane cursing and swearing’—The Court finding the prisoner guilty of profane cursing and swearing, and speaking contemptuously of the American Army, do sentence him to be drum’d out of the Army.”—Orderly Book, 10 May, 1776.