The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• The Writings of George Washington.
• 1779.
• To the Rev. Dr. William Gordon.
• To Thomas Jefferson, Governor of Virginia. 1
• To Samuel Purviance.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Dr. John Cochran, Surgeon-general.
• To Lund Washington. [extract.]
• To President Reed.
• To the President of Congress.
• To John Parke Custis.
• Circular to States.
• To Major Henry Lee.
• To Major-general Greene. 1
• To the President of Congress.
• To John Jay.
• To the Marquis De Lafayette, Paris.
• To Count D’estaing.
• To John Beatty, Commissary-general of Prisoners.
• To Major Benjamin Tallmadge.
• To Major-general Lincoln.
• To Governor Trumbull.
• To the Marquis De Lafayette, Paris.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Count D’estaing.
• To Count D’estaing.
• To the Marquis De Lafayette.
• To the President of Congress.
• To President Reed.
• To Benjamin Harrison.
• To Edmund Pendleton.
• To Major-general Gates.
• To Henry Laurens.
• To Brigadier-general Duportail and Lieutenant-colonel Hamilton.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Robert Howe.
• To Governor Jefferson.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Governor Jefferson.
• To Major-general Lincoln, In South Carolina.
• To Governor Clinton.
• To Brigadier-general Woodford.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Sullivan.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Brigadier-general Woodford.
• To Major-general Heath, At West Point.
• To Governor Livingston.
• To Major-general Greene.
• 1780.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Colonel Daniel Brodhead, At Fort Pitt.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the Magistrates of New Jersey.
• To Governor Trumbull.
• To Lord Stirling. Instructions.
• To the Board of War.
• To John Parke Custis.
• To Major-general Greene.
• To Messrs. Gerry, Livingston, and Mathews.
• To Major-general St. Clair. Instructions.
• To Elbridge Gerry, In Congress.
• To Major-general Schuyler.
• To the Chevalier De La Luzerne.
• To Major Benjamin Tallmadge.
• To Baron Steuben, At Philadelphia.
• To Governor Livingston.
• To Lieutenant-colonel Willett.
• Circular Letter to the States.
• To the Board of War.
• To Major-general Lincoln, In South Carolina.
• To Don Juan De Miralles.
• To Lord Stirling. [private.]
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general St. Clair, and Lieutenant-colonels Edward Carrington and Alexander Hamilton. Instructions.
• To the Marquis De Lafayette.
• To Baron De Kalb.
• To Lord Stirling.
• To the President of Congress. 1
• To John Mathews, In Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Philip Schuyler, In Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Baron Steuben.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Lincoln.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Colonel John Laurens, At Charleston.
• To President Reed.
• To Major-general Howe.
• To the Reverend Doctor William Gordon.
• To James Duane.
• To James Duane.
• To Governor Jefferson.
• To Major-general Heath, At Boston.
• To Governor Rutledge.
• To the Marquis De Lafayette, At Philadelphia.
• To Brigadier-general Wayne.
• To the Marquis De Lafayette.
• To Philip Schuyler.
• To Philip Schuyler, John Mathews, and Nathaniel Peabody, a Committee From Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To President Reed.
• To the Hon. Committee of CoÖperation.
• To Joseph Jones, In Congress.
• To the Chevalier De La Luzerne.
• To Major-general Howe.
• To the Committee of CoÖperation.
• To Governor Livingston.
• To Major-general Howe. 1
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To President Reed.
• To Robert R. Livingston, In Congress.
• To Governor Weare.
• To President Reed.
• To Fielding Lewis.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Greene, Quartermaster-general.
• To the President of Congress.
• To the Marquis De Lafayette. Instructions.
• To Count De Rochambeau.
• To Major-general Greene.
• To the Marquis De Lafayette.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Joseph Jones.
• To Sir Henry Clinton.
• To the Marquis De Lafayette.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Count De Rochambeau.
• To Major-general Heath.
• To Brigadier-general Fellows, Massachusetts Militia.
• To the Marquis De Lafayette.
• To Major-general Heath.
• To Major-general Arnold. Instructions.
• To Count De Rochambeau.
• To John Parke Custis.
• To Major-general Arnold.
• To Joseph Jones.
• To the Chevalier De Ternay.
• To the Committee of Co-operation.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Count De Rochambeau.
• To Governor Trumbull.
• To Count De Rochambeau.
• Circular Letter to the States North of Virginia.
• To Major-general Heath.
• To James Bowdoin, President of the Council of Massachusetts.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Count De Rochambeau.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Brigadier-general Wayne. [private.]
• To the President of Congress.
• To Count De Rochambeau.
• To John Mathews, In Congress.
• To Major-general Lincoln.
• To Count De Guichen.
• To the Chevalier De La Luzerne.
• To John Rutledge, Governor of South Carolina.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Greene. Instructions.
• To Abraham Skinner, Deputy Commissary-general of Prisoners. Instructions.
• Conference At Hartford.
• To Colonel Wade, At West Point.
• To Lieutenant-colonel John Jameson.
• To Governor Clinton.
• To Major-general Heath.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Greene.
• To Major-general St. Clair. Instructions.
• To John Mathews, In Congress.
• To James Duane, In Congress.
• To Brigadier-general John Cadwalader.
• To Major-general Greene.
• To Major-general Greene. Instructions.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Major-general Gates.
• To Benjamin Franklin, Minister Plenipotentiary At the Court of France.
• To Colonel James Wood.
• To the President of Congress.
• To Lieutenant-colonel John Laurens. 2
• To Major-general Greene.
• To the President of Congress.
• To President Reed.
• Circular to States.

TO LORD STIRLING.

Head Quarters,Morris Town,
22 March, 1780.

My Lord,

Enclosed you will find an extract of a letter, which I recd. yesterday from Governor Livingston, with twelve Copies of the Act for recruiting the number of Men therein mentioned. You will be pleased, in consequence of the Governor’s request, immediately to order as many officers as can possibly be spared from the Jersey line to go upon the recruiting service; selecting such as are best acquainted with that duty, and as are supposed to have influence in the respective Counties. The Words of the Act are confined to “able-bodied and effective men”; but I would wish your Lordship to draw a set of additional instructions for the recruiting officers, directing them not to enlist under the above description any deserters from the enemy; and letting them know in very explicit terms that the Recruits will, upon their arrival at Camp, be inspected by the Inspector-General, or one of the sub-Inspectors, and, if they shall be found ruptured, or any other ways unsound, too old or too young for the service, or in any manner unqualified for soldiers, that they shall be accountable, notwithstanding they may have been passed by the County Muster-Masters appointed by the act. I think this caution necessary, because it would not be a difficult matter to impose an improper man upon a gentleman in the Country not well acquainted with, or not very attentive to military matters.

You will be pleased further to direct the officers to send forward their Recruits to Camp, in squads of five or six as they obtain them; for which purpose each officer should take with him a non-Commissioned officer, and one or two trusty men, to perform that duty. Well dressed and well looking men should be selected. Your Lordship will observe by the Act, that a Bounty of one thousand dollars is to be paid to each Recruit enlisting for the War, exclusive of Continental Bounty and Emoluments; but, that there may be no misconception or deception by the officers, or on the part of the men, you are clearly to express in the additional recruiting instructions, that the Continental Bounties and Emoluments only extend to Clothing, Land, and such other Benefits as may be hereafter allowed to soldiers serving during the war; in short, that one thousand dollars is the whole bounty in money which they are to expect. And the officer is to be informed, that the two hundred dollars’ bounty for each recruit is to include, and to be considered by him as a compensation for his trouble and expenses.1

Officers of Militia are under the Act allowed to recruit Men; and it is therefore necessary that they should be apprized of the Bounty in Money, which is to be allowed. The best way, in my opinion, for communicating this is, for the Continental officers upon their arrival in the several Counties to show their instructions to the County Muster-Masters and County pay Masters, and request them to communicate the substance of them to the officers of the militia. I shall be obliged by your Lordship’s favoring me with a Copy of the instructions, which you deliver to the officers, that I may file them with my papers. I am, &c.

[1 ]“There is a point on which I would wish to obtain the sentiments and direction of Congress, as without them I am like to be under some embarrassment with respect to it. I find that the States of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey, the only Three from which I have heard upon the subject of Levies (except New York, which has none to raise), have, for making up theirs, adopted the mode of voluntary enlistments for the War, under certain pecuniary bounties; viz.: Rhode Island 300, Connecticut 300, New Jersey 1000 Dollars, “in addition to and exclusive of the Continental bounty,” as it is variously expressed; and the last two have requested officers to be sent from the army on the recruiting service. I wish to know whether there is any Continental pecuniary bounty in such cases, and what it is, (for I would beg leave to observe, that I shall continue to give a bounty of Two Hundred Dollars to the old soldiers, who will reëngage for the war previous to, or on the expiration of their Enlistments, unless I am directed to the contrary, if any can be prevailed on to do it for the sum only;) and, if there is a Continental bounty, whether it is to be exclusive of what the States give, and to be advanced by Warrants on the military chest, or inclusive and to be passed to the credit of the States respectively, for whose quota the Recruits are enlisted, as was directed on a similar occasion by the act of the 9 of March last. It will also be necessary for Congress to determine, in case a Continental bounty is allowed, whether it is to extend as well to men whose services will expire in the course of a few months, who may be reenlisted by the States by officers sent to the army for the purpose, which is part of the system meant to be pursued by some, as well as to those, who may be engaged in the State. I also wish to know, whether the officers, who may go on the Recruiting service, in consequence of requisitions from the different Governments, are to have a bounty, and what, from the United States; or are to look only to their own States for a provision and allowance in the case. These points appear to me essential to be determined, and I would take the liberty to request, that Congress will be pleased to satisfy me with respect to them as soon as they shall judge it convenient.”—Washington to the President of Congress, 28 March, 1780.