George Washington Papers

From George Washington to Thomas Johnson, 4 May 1778

To Thomas Johnson

Head Quarters Valley Forge 4th May 1778

Sir

Congress having by a Resolve of the 26th of February last annexed the German Battalion to the State of Maryland, and no means having been yet taken to compleat it: I have thought proper to dispatch Capt. Hubley to receive information from you, in what manner the Officers shall proceed to recruit.1 Upon his return, I will send off a proper number of Officers, either to receive directions from you, or to proceed immediately to such parts of the State as you shall appoint. In the latter case, you will be pleased to furnish me with the necessary instructions, and inform me to whom the Officers are to apply for money to pay the State Bounty &ca.2 I have the honor to be with great Respect Sir Your most obt Servt

Go: Washington

LS, in Tench Tilghman’s writing, MdAA; Df, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW.

1On 26 Feb. 1778 Congress included the German Battalion in the eight Continental regiments allotted to Maryland (JCC description begins Worthington Chauncey Ford et al., eds. Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. 34 vols. Washington, D.C., 1904–37. description ends , 10:200). Bernard Hubley, Jr. (1754–1810), of Lancaster, Pa., was appointed a first lieutenant of the German Battalion in August 1776, was promoted to captain in February 1778, and retired in January 1781. After the war, he moved to Northumberland County, Pa., where he launched a six-week expedition to explore western Pennsylvania in the summer of 1789, and he reported his discoveries to GW in a letter on 28 July 1789. Hubley was appointed Northumberland County lieutenant in December 1789. In 1805 he had published the first volume of a projected multivolume work, The History of the American Revolution, but he was unable to complete any more volumes before his death.

2Thomas Sim Lee replied for Johnson on 9 May.

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