From George Washington to Samuel Huntington, 13 May 1780
To Samuel Huntington
Head Qrs Morristown 13th May 1780
Sir,
The Marquis de la Fayette will have the honor to deliver you this.
I am perswaded Congress will participate in the joy I feel at the return of a Gentleman who has distinguished himself in the service of this Country so signally—who has given so many & so decisive proofs of his attachments to its interests—and who ought to be dear to it by every motive1—The warm friendship I have for him conspires with considerations of public utility to afford me a double satisfaction in his return.
During the time he has been in France he has uniformly manifested the same zeal in our affairs which animated his conduct while he was among us; and has been upon all occasions an essential friend to America.2
He merits and I doubt not Congress will give him every mark of consideration and regard in their power. I have the honor to be with perfect respect Yr Excellys Most Obt & Hble Servt
Go: Washington
ALS, DNA:PCC, item 152; ADfS, DLC:GW; copy, DNA:PCC, item 169; Varick transcript, DLC:GW. Congress read this letter on 16 May and ordered on 22 May that it “be published” (, 17:432, 445; see also Huntington to GW, 20 May). The letter appeared in The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser (Philadelphia) for 23 May and subsequently in other newspapers.
1. At this point on the draft, GW began a new paragraph and then crossed out the following text: “There are striking proofs of his having devoted himself during his stay in France to promote every measure of utility to these States, and he has been successful enough to render the most essential services. These Congress will learn from other quarters and I doubt not will bestow every mark of consideration & regard in their power.
“He is charged in conjunction with the Minister of France with matters of very great merit which I presume will be important to Congress.”
2. While in France, Major General Lafayette supported the American war effort by seeking to procure arms and supplies for the United States and by promoting military operations that would weaken the British, including a French invasion of England. In late summer 1779, a combined French and Spanish fleet attempted such an invasion unsuccessfully (see Joseph Gridley to James Lovell, 25 May 1779, printed as an enclosure to Lovell to GW, 25 Aug. 1779). Lafayette also worked to secure Dutch loans for the United States and persuaded French officials to send powder and 15,000 stand of arms to their ally. A number of supplies shipped from the Royal Arsenal to the United States in June and December 1780 and again in spring 1781.
Lafayette’s most important activity while in France involved the dispatch of a naval squadron and army corps to aid the United States. In the spring and summer of 1779, French foreign minister Vergennes approached Lafayette about this possibility. Lafayette sent Vergennes maps of Rhode Island and urged the importance of an expeditionary force in a lengthy memorial dated 18 July 1779. He proposed sending 4,300 troops for departure in fall 1779 or winter 1780 with Newport, R.I., as their destination. Lafayette recommended military strategies (including assistance to the southern states) and addressed logistical issues. His other recommendations included providing the French expeditionary force with an eight-month supply of provisions, giving gifts to Indians to enlist their support, and placing batteries at tactically significant Rhode Island locations in lower Narragansett Bay to prevent an enemy attack. Lafayette prodded French ministers for information and commitments until he departed for the United States. For a documentary record of his activities in France, see , 2:223–380.