From George Washington to Major General William Heath, 13 September 1776
To Major General William Heath
New York Sepr 13th 1776.
Dr Sir,
Before this Letter can reach you, the Brigade under Colo. Chester’s Command no doubt has reached you, but unless more assistance of Waggons and Teams are sent I cannot undertake to say when you will get a further reinforcement—let me entreat therefore that Genl Clinton and yourself will exert yourselves in getting, by Impressment, or otherwise, a parcel of Teams to come to our Assistance.1
The Brigades which I mean to Send to you are these following, and which I mention, that your disposition of them may be thought of in time, taking into consideration that Sheas Magaws & Haslets, will return to their former Station at Mt Washington under the immediate Comd of their old Brigadier,2 Mifflin, but in lieu of these Regiments, it is possible when we get removed from hence you may get an equivalt numbe⟨r⟩.
| Officers | R. & File3 | |
| Parsons’s | 400 | 1221 |
| Scott | 284 | 963 |
| Wadsworth | 334 | 1195 |
| Fellows | 272 | 1122 |
| Silliman | 367 | 677 |
| Douglas’s | 347 | 744 |
| Chester | 513 | 1178 |
| Total | 2517 | 7100 |
| 2517 | ||
| 9617 |
I must also beg that you will have the Vessels that go up with Stores &ca immediately dispatch’d back to this place. you cannot conceive how we are put to it for conveniences to transport the Sick—the Stores—the Baggage &ca—In short we are hazarding every thing in a confused way. Let there be the most vigilant lookout kept. you know I suppose that four More Ships two of the⟨m⟩ 40 odd Guns are gone up the East River.4 I am Yr Most Obedt Servt
Go: Washington
ALS, MHi: Heath Papers. The portions of the text enclosed within angle brackets are mutilated in the manuscript.
1. Adj. Gen. Joseph Reed wrote on the cover of this letter: “The Waggons some of which have taken Sick contrary to Orders are to be sent back immdy we shall want every Waggon here.”
2. GW inadvertently wrote “Brigagier” on the manuscript.
3. In the manuscript these columns are broken between two pages following the entry for Silliman’s brigade. Subtotals of “1657” and “5178” are “Brought up” to the top of the respective columns on the second page under headings reading “Officrs” and “R. & F. fit for duty.”
4. On the afternoon of this date, the British warships Phoenix and Roebuck, accompanied by the frigates Orpheus and Carysfort, sailed about three miles up the East River to the mouth of Bushwick Creek on the Long Island side of the river. The Phoenix lost one man to the fire of American batteries on Manhattan Island. None of the ships returned fire, but the American batteries were answered by British batteries on Governors Island and at Brooklyn (see , 99–100; , 97; and , 1:45; see also the logs of the Carysfort, Orpheus, and Roebuck for this date in , 6:805–6, 839).