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Front Page  Titles (by Subject) TO HENRY KNOX, SECRETARY OF WAR. [PRIVATE.] - The Writings of George Washington, vol. XI (1785-1790)
TO HENRY KNOX, SECRETARY OF WAR. [PRIVATE.] - George Washington, The Writings of George Washington, vol. XI (1785-1790) [1891]Edition used:The Writings of George Washington, collected and edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1890). Vol. XI (1785-1790).
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- The Writings of George Washington.
- 1785.
- To James Warren.
- To Patrick Henry, Governor of Virginia,
- To George William Fairfax.
- To Lund Washington.
- To James Madison.
- To Alexander Hamilton.
- To the Trustees of the Alexandria Academy.
- 1786.
- To Benjamin Lincoln.
- To Samuel Purviance, Esq.
- To Cols. Fitzgerald and Gilpin.
- To Robert Morris.
- To the Marquis De Lafayette.
- To John Jay.
- To Henry L. Charton.
- To James Tilghman.
- To Henry Lee, In Congress.
- To William Grayson, In Congress.
- To Wakelin Welch, Esq.
- To the Chevalier De La Luzerne.
- To Thomas Jefferson.
- To John Jay.
- To the Marquis De Lafayette.
- To David Humphreys. 1
- To John Francis Mercer.
- To William Triplet.
- To Bushrod Washington.
- To George Augustine Washington.
- To Henry Lee, In Congress.
- To James Madison.
- To Bushrod Washington.
- To James Madison.
- To Fielding Lewis.
- To P. Marsteller.
- To James Madison.
- To Edmund Randolph, Governor of Virginia. 1
- To David Humphreys.
- To Henry Knox.
- 1787.
- To Bushrod Washington.
- To Henry Knox.
- To Charles Washington.
- To Mrs. Mary Washington.
- To Thomas Stone. 1
- To Colonel David Humphreys.
- To John Jay.
- To Major-general Benjamin Lincoln.
- To Edmund Randolph, Governor of Virginia.
- To James Madison, In Congress. 1
- To Henry Knox.
- To Henry Knox.
- To Lund Washington.
- Diary During the Constitutional Convention, May—september, 1787. 1
- To Thomas Jefferson.
- To David Stuart.
- To Alexander Hamilton.
- To Richard Henry Lee.
- To Patrick Henry.
- To Colonel David Humphreys.
- To James Madison, In Congress.
- To Henry Knox.
- To Alexander Hamilton.
- To James Madison, In Congress.
- To Mathew Carey.
- To Archibald Johnston.
- To Arthur Young.
- To James Madison, In Congress.
- To Bushrod Washington.
- To Thomas Johnson.
- To David Stuart.
- To James Madison, In Congress.
- To Colonel Thomas Lewis.
- 1788.
- To Thomas Jefferson.
- To Edmund Randolph, Governor of Virginia.
- To Colonel Frederick Weissenfels.
- To James Madison, In Congress.
- To Charles Carter.
- To Jonathan Trumbull.
- To James Madison, In Congress.
- To the Chevalier De La Luzerne.
- To the Marquis De Lafayette.
- To Alexander Spotswood.
- To Samuel Griffin.
- To Benjamin Lincoln.
- To James Madison, In Congress.
- To Samuel Hanson, Esq.
- To the Count De Moustier.
- To Henry Knox.
- To Charles Lee.
- To James Wilson.
- To Thomas Johnson.
- To the Marquis De Chastellux.
- To John Armstrong.
- To the Marquis De Lafayette.
- To the Count De Rochambeau.
- To Benjamin Lincoln.
- To George Steptoe Washington. 1
- To the Marquis De Lafayette.
- To James Madison.
- To John Jay.
- To William Smith, and Others, of Baltimore.
- To Henry Knox.
- To the Marquis De Lafayette.
- To Richard Henderson. 1
- To Charles Carter.
- To Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.
- To Benjamin Lincoln.
- To John Jay.
- To Noah Webster.
- To James Madison, In Congress.
- To George Steptoe Washington.
- To Charles Pettit.
- To John Beale Bordley.
- To the Count De Moustier.
- To Benjamin Lincoln.
- To Alexander Hamilton.
- To Thomas Jefferson.
- To Henry Lee, In Congress.
- To James Madison, In Congress.
- To Alexander Hamilton.
- To Benjamin Lincoln.
- To Mathew Carey.
- To Arthur Young.
- To William Gordon.
- 1789.
- To William Pierce.
- To the Marquis De Lafayette.
- To Benjamin Lincoln.
- To Samuel Powel.
- To Thomas Jefferson.
- To Harry Innes.
- To Captain Richard Conway.
- To Benjamin Harrison.
- To George Steptoe Washington.
- To James Madison, In Congress.
- To Thomas Green. 2
- To Henry Knox.
- To John Langdon.
- Inaugural Speech to Both Houses of Congress, April 30th, 1789.
- Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives,
- Reply to the Answer of the Senate.
- Reply to the Answer of the House of Representatives.
- To Edward Rutledge.
- To James Madison.
- To Mary Wooster. 1
- To Count De Moustier. [confidential.]
- To Mathew Carey.
- To the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. 1
- To James Mchenry.
- To John Jay. [private.]
- To Charles Thomson.
- To David Stuart.
- To James Madison.
- Sentiments Expressed By the President to the Committee From the Senate, Appointed to Confer With Him On the Mode of Communication Between the President and the Senate Respecting Treaties and Nominations.
- To James Madison. [confidential.]
- To Benjamin Lincoln.
- To James Craik.
- To Mrs. Betty Lewis.
- To Benjamin Franklin.
- To Edmund Randolph.
- To Gouverneur Morris.
- To Thomas Jefferson.
- To Gouverneur Morris.
- To Gouverneur Morris.
- To John Hancock.
- To Beverley Randolph, Governor of Virginia.
- To James Mchenry. [confidential.]
- To Edmund Randolph.
- To Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury.
- To Jabez Bowen.
- 1790.
- Speech to Both Houses of Congress, January 8th, 1790.
- Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:
- Gentlemen of the House of Representatives:
- Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives:
- To Catharine Macaulay Graham.
- To Charles Pinckney, Governor of South Carolina. [private.]
- To Thomas Jefferson.
- To Edmund Randolph, Attorney-general.
- To David Stuart.
- To the Marquis De La Luzerne. 1
- To the Marquis De Lafayette.
- To David Stuart.
- To Clement Biddle.
- To the Marquis De Lafayette.
- To Henry Knox, Secretary of War.
- To Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury.
- To Tobias Lear.
- To Henry Knox, Secretary of War. [private.]
- To George Steptoe Washington.
TO HENRY KNOX, SECRETARY OF WAR.
[PRIVATE.]
Mount Vernon, 19 November, 1790. My dear Sir,
I have received your letter of the 10th inst., and will declare to you without reserve that my forebodings with respect to the Expedition against the Wabash Indians are of disappointment; and a disgraceful termination under the conduct of Brigadier General Harmar.—
I expected little from the moment I heard he was a drunkard.—I expected less as soon as I heard that on this account no confidence was reposed in him by the people of the Western Country.—And I gave up all hope of success, as soon as I heard that there were disputes with him about command.—
The latter information is from report only; but the report of bad news is rarely without foundation.—If the issue of this Expedition is honorable to the Concerters of it, and favorable to our arms, it will be double pleasing to me; but my mind, from the silence which reigns, and other circumstances, is prepared for the worst;—that is—for expence without honor or profit.—
If any thing more than the statement of this business for the information of Congress should occur to you, previous to my arrival, be so good as to digest it, for it is my wish to have every matter which may occur to the heads of Departments as well as to myself, ready, if proper to lay before that body, at the opening of the Session.
With sincere friendship, &c.P. S. I expect to commence my journey for Philadelphia on Monday —but from the state of the Roads after the incessant and heavy rains which have fallen, my progress must be slow.—
“Your favor of the 26th ultimo came to my hands last night. If the information of Captain Brant be true, the issue of the expedition against the Indians will indeed prove unfortunate and disgraceful to the troops, who suffered themselves to be ambuscaded.
“The relation of this event carries with it, I must confess, the complexion of truth; yet I will suspend my opinion until I hear something more of the matter. The force, which was employed against these hostile Indians, or the drawing out of which was authorized, ought not to have regarded a thousand of them, because it was calculated for, and undertaken under the expectation of, meeting a larger number, if blows were to terminate the dispute.
“It gives me pleasure to learn from you the friendly sentiments of Captain Brant; and with you I think they merit cultivation; but he has not been candid in his account of the conduct of General St. Clair, nor done justice in his representation of matters at Muskingham. It is notorious, that he used all the art and influence, of which he was possessed, to prevent any treaty being held; and that, except in a small degree, General St. Clair aimed at no more land by the treaty of Muskingham, than had been ceded by the preceding treaties.”—Washington to Governor Clinton, 1 December, 1790.
On the outbreaks by the Indians on the frontiers, St. Clair collected a motley force of about fourteen hundred men, badly armed and poorly disciplined, and divided by the jealousies of the officers. One division under John Hardin, was surprised and defeated; a subsequent advantage did much to retrieve his reputation, but this advantage was not followed up, and the destruction of some Indian villages was the chief result of the expedition. The Indians become bolder, and more serious operations were planned by the general government.
“I am apprehensive that Governor St. Clair’s communication of the object of the expedition to the officer commanding at Detroit, has been unseasonable, and may have unfavorable consequences. It was certainly premature to announce the operation intended until the troops were ready to move, since the Indians through that channel, might receive such information as would frustrate the expedition.”—Washington to Knox, 4 November, 1790.
Philadelphia was now the seat of government.
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