General Orders, 20 June 1780
General Orders
Head Quarters near the Short Hills [N.J.] Tuesday June 20. 1780
Parole Golconda Countersigns Greece Hague.
Watchword Vigilance
[Officers] Of the Day Tomorrow[:] Colonel Butler[,] Major Torrey—Brigade Major Woodbridge
Lieutenant Colonel Huntington is appointed Field officer of the day vice Lieutenant Colonel Mentges on other duty.
Major Hamilton is appointed to relieve Major Parr this afternoon: He will call at the Orderly Office for instructions.1
All Officers are particularly requested not to be absent from their Corps this Night but to be completely ready to move with their respective Commands at a moment’s warning.
Evening Orders
The Pennsylvania Connecticut and Hand’s brigades to march at eight o clock this Evening by the Left.2
Varick transcript, DLC:GW.
On this date, GW’s aide-de-camp Richard Kidder Meade wrote Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene’s aide-de-camp Ichabod Burnet: “I am directed by the Genl to request you will be pleased to send some person into New York that you can confide in, in order to ascertain the number of armed Ships (& their names) in the harbour—& whether the Fleet from the Southward had any Troops on board—with such other intelligence as he may be able to collect—that however respecting their naval force being of importance, you will be pleased to regard most & learn if possible in a short time” (DLC:GW).
Adj. Gen. Alexander Scammell signed on this date at “Head Quarters, near Shorthills” a “Return of the kill’d, wounded, missing and deserted, since the 6th instant” (DLC:GW). The return listed figures for various units: 1st Pennsylvania Brigade (four rank and file killed; one subaltern, one sergeant, and three rank and file wounded; two rank and file missing; two rank and file deserted); 2d Pennsylvania Brigade (one soldier wounded and two deserted); Brig. Gen. Edward Hand’s brigade (five soldiers deserted); Brig. Gen. William Maxwell’s brigade (one subaltern and six rank and file killed; three subalterns and thirty-five rank and file wounded; eleven rank and file missing); 1st and 2d Connecticut brigades (each one soldier wounded); Brig. Gen. John Stark’s brigade (one soldier killed and six deserted); GW’s guard (four rank and file wounded and five deserted).
1. Maj. James Parr commanded a detachment (see the general orders for 14 June).
2. These troops did not march until 22 June (see General Orders, 21 June; see also Battle of Springfield, 23–24 June, editorial note, and GW to Samuel Huntington, 25 June).