George Washington Papers

To George Washington from Brigadier General Thomas Mifflin, 25 July 1776

From Brigadier General Thomas Mifflin

Camp at Mount Washington [N.Y.]
July 25, 1776 8 OClock P.M.

My dear General

I have this Minute receivd a Letter from Mr Gerry at Norwalk on his Way to Boston,1 with the following Paragraph.

“I was informd at the White Plains by some Gentlemen of the Convention that a person very unfriendly to the American States had authentic Information of the ⟨mutilated2 of the General in providing the Cheveax de Frize; and that it was appropriated, with the Ships, to stop the Channel in the North River and hem in the Enemy’s Ships.”

The Movement of the Ships this Morning down the River confirms Mr Gerry’s Information. Lieutenant Connoly says they came 9 Miles down this Morning3—We keep a good Look out for them as the Wind & Tide are favorable to their Wishes—When they first appear I will order 6 Alarm Guns to be fired at a Minutes Interval; and when they come within Reach will keep up as heavy a fire as possible. I am with Attachmt Yr Exy Obt

Tho. Mifflin

ALS, DLC:GW; copy, NHi: Joseph Reed Papers.

1Elbridge Gerry was returning home to Massachusetts from Philadelphia where he had served as a delegate since the previous May. During his stay in New York, 18–22 July, Gerry conferred with GW, Mifflin, and other officers about military affairs and reported his findings in a letter to John and Samuel Adams of 21–22 July (see Taylor, Papers of John Adams description begins Robert J. Taylor et al., eds. Papers of John Adams. 17 vols. to date. Cambridge, Mass., and London, 1977–. description ends , 4:398–404).

2Although this word is left blank in the copy at NHi, it appears as “intention” in Force, American Archives description begins Peter Force, ed. American Archives. 9 vols. Washington, D.C., 1837–53. description ends , 5th ser., 1:579–80. In Clark and Morgan, Naval Documents description begins William Bell Clark et al., eds. Naval Documents of the American Revolution. 12 vols. to date. Washington, D.C., 1964–. description ends , 5:1213–14, the word “plan” is supplied within square brackets at this point.

3This officer may be Michael Connolly who was commissioned a first lieutenant in the 5th New York Regiment on 21 Nov. 1776 and served as regimental paymaster from 1777 to 1781. Connolly transferred to the 1st New York Regiment on 1 Jan. 1781 and remained in the Continental army until the end of the war.

Index Entries