From George Washington to Major General Nathanael Greene, 18 October 1780
To Major General Nathanael Greene
Head Qrs [Preakness] Octr 18th 1780
Dear Sir,
Your letter of the 16th was delivered me an hour since—I am aware, that the command you are entering upon will be attended with peculiar difficulties and embarrassments; but the confidence I have in your abilities, which determined me to choose you for it, assures me you will do every thing the means in your power will permit to surmount them and stop the progress of the evils which have befallen and still menace the Southern States. You may depend on all the support I can give you; from the double motives of regard to you personally and to the public good.
I wish circumstances could be made to corrispond with your wishes to spend a little time at home previous to your setting out; but your presence with your command as soon as possible is indispensable1—The Embarkation at New York Sailed the 16th, in all probability destined to cooperate with Cornwallis who by the last adv⟨ices was⟩ advanced as far as Charlotte2—I hope to see you without delay, and that your health will be no obstacle to your commencing your journey.3 With the sincerest regard I am—Dear Sir Yr Most Obedt Servt
Go: Washington
ALS, NjP: De Coppet Collection; Df, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW. Mutilated material in the ALS is supplied in angle brackets from the draft.
1. See Greene to GW, 16 October.
2. For this intelligence, see Samuel Huntington to GW, 14 Oct., n.2. The British force under Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis had taken post at Charlotte, N.C., on 26 Sept. (see Lt. John Money’s journal entry for that date in , 2:365). For the British embarkation from New York, see GW to Samuel Huntington, 17 Oct., and n.2.