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 THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Paramus, 7 October, 1780.

Sir,

* * * * * *

I have the honor to enclose to Congress a copy of the Proceedings of a Board of General Officers (No. 1) in the case of Major André, adjutant-general to the British army. This Officer was executed in pursuance of the opinion of the Board, on Monday the 2d instant, at twelve o’clock at our late Camp at Tappan. He acted with great candor, from the time he avowed himself after his capture, until he was executed. Congress will perceive by a Copy of a letter I received from him on the 1st instant, that it was his desire to be shot; but the practice and usage of war, circumstanced as he was, were against the indulgence.1 At the bottom of the sixth page of the proceedings an explanatory note is added, to prevent any suspicions being entertained injurious to Colonel Sheldon, who, otherwise, from the letter addressed to him, might be supposed to have been privy to the measures between General Arnold and Major André. If it should be the pleasure of Congress to publish the case, which I would take the liberty to suggest may not be improper, it will be necessary for the explanatory note to be annexed.

Besides these proceedings, I transmit in the Inclosure No. 2 copies of sundry letters respecting the matter, which are all that passed on the subject, not included in the proceedings. I would not suffer Mr. Elliot and Mr. Smith to land, who came up to Dobbs’s Ferry agreeable to Sir Henry Clinton’s letter of the 30th of September. Genl. Robertson was permitted to come on shore, was met by Major-General Greene, and mentioned substantially what is contained in his letter of the 2d instant. It might not perhaps be improper to publish the letters, or a part of them, in this Inclosure as an Appendix to the proceedings of the Board of General Officers. * * *

I have now the pleasure to communicate the names of the three persons, who captured Major André, and who refused to release him, notwithstanding the most earnest importunities and assurances of a liberal reward on his part. Their conduct merits our warmest esteem; and I beg leave to add, that I think the public will do well to make them a handsome gratuity. They have prevented in all probability our suffering one of the severest strokes, that could have been meditated against us. Their names are John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van Wart.1

For the present I have detached the Jersey, New York, and New Hampshire brigades, with Stark’s, to the Highland posts. They marched this morning from Orangetown, and will relieve the Pennsylvania line, which was thrown in at the moment General Arnold went to the enemy. Major-General Greene has marched with these four Brigades, and will command at West Point and its dependencies, till a further disposition. The main body of the army, the forage about Orange town and the lower Country being exhausted, also moved this morning, and is now arrived here. We have had a cold, wet, and tedious march, on account of the feeble state of our Cattle, and have not a drop of rum to give the troops. My intention is to proceed with them to the country in the neighborhood of Passaic Falls. I have the honor to be, &c. * * *1

[1 ]“Your Excellency will have heard of the execution of the British adjutantgeneral. The circumstances he was taken in justified it, and policy required a sacrifice; but as he was more unfortunate than criminal in the affair, and, as there was much in his character to interest, while we yielded to the necessity of rigor, we could not but lament it.”—Washington to Rochambeau, 10 October, 1780.

[1 ]Congress rewarded Paulding, Williams, and Van Wart by voting an annual pension of two hundred dollars to each for life; and also ordering that the Board of War should procure for each a silver medal, on one side of which should be a shield with the inscription Fidelity, and on the other the motto, Vincit Amor Patriæ. To a letter from the President of Congress, accompanying the resolutions for these objects, General Washington replied: “The recompense is ample; it is an evidence of the generosity of Congress, a flattering tribute to the virtue of those citizens, and must prove a powerful incitement to others to imitate their example.” The medals were afterwards given to the three individuals by Washington himself at head-quarters.—Sparks.

[1 ]Read in Congress October 12th. Referred to Sullivan, Bland, and Mathews.