From George Washington to La Luzerne, 5 August 1780
To La Luzerne
Head Quarters Peeks Kill August 5th 1780
Sir
The Count De Rochambeau being too much ⟨en⟩gaged to write to your Excellency, when the last express came ⟨aw⟩ay has requested me to give you an account of his present ⟨dis⟩positions1—which you will find in the inclosed copy of ⟨his⟩ letter of the 30th of July.2 In the letter I did myself the ⟨hon⟩or of writing to you yesterday, I omitted sending you a ⟨de⟩tail of the enemy’s naval force with Arbuthnot; because ⟨I⟩ took it for granted you were in possession of full information ⟨up⟩on this article. But as it possibly may not be the case, ⟨I s⟩end you a list, which I beleive you may rely on as accurate.3 With every sentiment of perfect Respect and attachment. I have the honor to be Your Excellency Most Obedient & Humbe Servant
Go: Washingt⟨on⟩
P.S. The Marquis De la Fayette writes me that the Chevalier De Ternay intends immediately to write to the Count De Guichen by way of Philadelphia, and suggests the propriety of having two or three fast sailing vessels ready to convey the dispatches.4
LS, in Caleb Gibbs’s writing, FrPMAE; Df, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW. The text in angle brackets, where portions of the LS were not captured in the photocopy, is taken from text written on the photocopy by the copyist, who presumably took the material from the LS. La Luzerne replied to GW on 11 August.
1. For Lieutenant General Rochambeau’s request, see Lafayette to GW, 31 July.
2. The enclosed copy of Rochambeau’s letter to GW of 30 July has not been found.
3. This enclosure has not been identified.
4. Lafayette conveyed this information in his letter to GW of 31 July.