From George Washington to Major General Nathanael Greene, 24 January 1780
To Major General Nathanael Greene
Head Quarters Morristown 24th Jany 1780
Sir
Capn De Rochfontaine has represented to me that having obtained quarters by regular application to Mr Lewis whose certificate is inclosed, he has been in his absence dispossessed by your order in favor of Lt Coll Stevens, and no other quarters provided for him.1 From your letter to the justice which I have seen,2 you appear not to have known the circumstance of Capn Rochfontain’s having been quartered by Mr Lewis, for you mention that it was without authority, and upon this I presume your order was founded. It is unlucky that things of this nature should happen to any officer, but particularly so to foreign gentlemen, as their situation entitles them to great delicacy of treatment, which I am persuaded is your wish as well as mine. Col. Stevens having a family was a reason for requesting Capn Rochfontaine to give up his quarters for others; but it did not require their being taken from him without his concurrence, and no others given in their place. I shall be glad you will have the affair rectified, and put upon a proper footing, if both parties can be satisfied it will be best; but as the matter now stands Capn Rochfontaine cannot be excluded without his consent.
I have received your letter, inclosing one from Mr Conduit.3 Major Lees corps has been in that part of the Country for the purpose of previnting the intercourse of which he speaks; but it seems as if it were impracticable to put a stop to it.4 I am sir Your obt & hble servt
Go: Washington
LS, in James McHenry’s writing, PPAmP: Nathanael Greene Papers; Df, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW.
1. The enclosed certificate has not been identified.
Joseph Lewis (1748–1814), of New Jersey, was an assistant deputy quartermaster at Morristown. He also served as a paymaster in the state’s militia.
2. This letter has not been identified.
3. Greene’s letter to GW has not been found and the enclosure has not been identified.
Silas Condict (1738–1801) of Morristown was a member of the New Jersey Council. He had been a member of the New Jersey Provincial Congress and had served on the committee to draft the state’s 1776 constitution. From 1781 to 1784, Condict represented his state as a delegate to the Continental Congress. Elected eight times to the state assembly, he served as the body’s speaker 1792–94 and 1797–98.
4. For GW’s orders to Maj. Henry Lee, Jr., to station his partisan corps in Monmouth County, N.J., see GW to Lee, 13 Sept. 1779. For GW’s orders to Lee regarding the prevention of intercourse with the enemy, see GW to Lee, 28 Dec. 1779; see also Lee to GW, 5 January.