From George Washington to Lieutenant Colonel Adam Hubley, Jr., 9 July 1779
To Lieutenant Colonel Adam Hubley, Jr.
Head Quarters New Windsor July 9th 1779
Sir,
I have received your letter of the 23d—I am sorry for the uneasiness which happened in the regiment on Capt. Kearsly’s account, but as he really did resign he cannot be reintroduced contrary to the general sense of the other officers1—At the same time, I should have been2 happy his resignation had not taken place, as he is certainly a3 valuable Officer and his quitting the army will be a real loss to the service—I have written the inclosed to him on the subject,4 which I request you to deliver. I am with great regard Sir Your most Obedt servant
Df, in Alexander Hamilton’s writing, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW. Hubley’s journal entry for 7 Aug. indicates that he received the recipient’s copy of this letter, which has not been found, on that date “(by express)” while at Wyalusing, Pa., during Maj. Gen. John Sullivan’s expedition against the Six Nations ( 149).
1. Hubley’s letter to GW of 23 June has not been found, but see GW to Samuel Kearsley, this date, for a fuller description of its contents.
Hubley addressed the same subject in a letter to Brig. Gen. Edward Hand, written at Sunbury, Pa., on 22 June, expressing dismay over Samuel Kearsley’s claims to rank: “The officers are determined not to submit to his taking command. I dread the consequences, unless something is done speedily” ( 5th ser., 3:637–38).
Capt. Samuel Kearsley had resigned rather than transfer from Col. William Malcom’s Additional Continental Regiment to Col. Oliver Spencer’s Additional Continental Regiment, which then folded into the 11th Pennsylvania Regiment (see GW to Kearsley, 29 April, and n.1 to that document; see also William Malcom to GW, 15 April, and GW to Malcom, 17–18 April). For Kearsley’s plea to rejoin the army, presumably at his former rank, see his letter to GW, 4 June; see also John Armstrong to GW, 25–29 June.
2. At this place on the draft manuscript, Hamilton wrote and struck out a passage that reads: “glad, it had been agreeable to them to readmit him, provided it did not exclude any other.”
3. At this place on the draft manuscript, Hamilton wrote and then struck out the word “very.”
4. For a draft of the enclosure, see GW to Kearsley, this date.