To George Washington from Major General John Sullivan, 16 October 1778

From Major General John Sullivan

Providence October 16th 1778

My Dear General

I Take this opportunity by Capt. Collins1 to Inform your Excellencey That The Fleet of thirty Sail mentioned in my former Letters2 turns out to be a wood Fleet Convoyed by five Ships of war There is nothing further worth your Excellenceys attention in this Department I have the honor to be Dear Genl with much Esteem your Excellencys most obedt Servt

Jno. Sullivan

ALS, DLC:GW. Sullivan wrote in the lower-left corner of the addressed cover: “favd by the Honble Capt. Collins.”

1. The bearer of this letter apparently was Rhode Island delegate John Collins, who had taken a leave of absence from Congress in late July or early August to go home to Rhode Island and who returned to Philadelphia about this time (see Henry Marchant to William Greene, 29 Sept. 1778, in Smith, Letters of Delegates description begins Paul H. Smith et al., eds. Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774–1789. 26 vols. Washington, D.C., 1976–2000. description ends , 10:710–11, and Marchant to William Greene, 3 Nov. 1778, in Smith, Letters of Delegates description begins Paul H. Smith et al., eds. Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774–1789. 26 vols. Washington, D.C., 1976–2000. description ends , 11:169–70). Collins was often called by the title of captain (see Nathanael Greene to James M. Varnum, 12 April 1779, in Greene Papers description begins Richard K. Showman et al., eds. The Papers of General Nathanael Greene. 13 vols. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1976–2005. description ends , 3:397–98).

2. See Sullivan to GW, 11, 14 October.

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Source Project: Washington Papers
Title: To George Washington from Major General John Sullivan, 16 October 1778
Author: Sullivan, John
Recipient: Washington, George
Date: 16 October 1778

Reference

Cite as: “To George Washington from Major General John Sullivan, 16 October 1778,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-17-02-0434. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 17, 15 September–31 October 1778, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008, p. 416.]

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