From George Washington to Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Walton White, 1 September 1777

To Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Walton White

Head Quarters Wilmington [Del.] 1st September 1777

Sir

A Letter just received from Brigadier Genl Maxwell informs me of the desertion of one of your light horse1—this disagreeable Circumstance will naturally put you upon your guard—but I desire that you will farther make very particular Scrutiny into the Characters of your Men and if you shall find any more suspicious ones among them that you will immediately dismount them and order them to Head Quarters—the loss of a worthless Soldier will occasion less regret, when it is not accompanied with that of a Horse and Accoutrements. I am Sir Your most obedt hble Ser.

Copy, in John Laurens’s writing, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW.

1. This letter has not been found. British engineer Capt. John Montresor says in his diary that “A light horse deserter Came in” on 31 Aug. (Scull, Montresor Journals description begins G. D. Scull, ed. The Montresor Journals. New York, 1882. In Collections of the New-York Historical Society, vol. 14. description ends , 445).

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Source Project: Washington Papers
Title: From George Washington to Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Walton White, 1 September 1777
Author: Washington, George
Recipient: White, Anthony Walton
Date: 1 September 1777

Reference

Cite as: “From George Washington to Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Walton White, 1 September 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-11-02-0116. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 11, 19 August 1777 – 25 October 1777, ed. Philander D. Chase and Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2001, p. 117.]

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