To George Washington from Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski, 23 November 1778
From Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski
MinneSink [N.Y.] Novr the 23d 1778
Dear General
agreeable to your orders to me While at Sussex Court house,1 I marched the Legion to this Place; & find the Indian Enemy have Retierd Near one hundred miles from this—from which it appears, that there will Be Nothing for us to Do—on Examining the Country I find it will Be impossible to Support the Cavalry with Forage many Days; the Persons appointed for that Purpose having Deliverd me the Enclosed address which will account for the matter2—my Reasons for Not marching to Coles Fort the Place pointed out by you; are that there is Neither Inhabitants Nor Forage for our Subsistance. & the gentlemen to whom you referd me for assistance in this County Live thirty miles Below their Post & have Not Procurd one Lock of Hay or Bushel of grain—the People from the Back Country having Fled to this Settlment among their freinds. our Stay Here will greatly Disstress the whole—I therefor should Be glad your Excellency would Remove my Corps to Some other Post—in the mean Time Should be glad of your Excellencys Leave of Absence to Philadelphia to Settle some Accompts of the Legion. I Should Likewise Be glad of an answer to the Letter I wrote you Some Time ago.3 I am Dear General your Most Obedient Sert
C. Pulaski
LS, DLC:GW.
1. See GW to Pulaski, 10 November.
2. The enclosed letter to Pulaski from four officers, dated 22 Nov. at Minisink, reads: “We the subscribers being Inhabitants of the place above mentioned—hope your Honour will Consider the situation of many distressed people, who we the Inhabitants of this place in humanity, have taken in to our habitations, and mentain at our own expence, being driven from their homes by the Indians and lost their Cattle Grain &c. &c.—hope your Honour will consider the above—at the same time we are willing to assist any of our fellow Soldiers, strugling in this our Glourious cause—we therefore think that it will not be in our power, from the above sircumstances, to support the Cavalry more than Seven days from this date. . . . N.B. we the Subscribers have examined the Country and made every possible means to support the Cavalry and find our efforts in vain to support them any longer than the time above mentioned” (DLC:GW).
3. Pulaski apparently is referring to his letter to GW of 15 November.