To George Washington from Brigadier General William Maxwell, 15 May 1780
From Brigadier General William Maxwell
Connecticut Farms [N.J.] 15th May 1780
Sir
The Troops of my Brigad arived here yesterday1 Coll Dayton with his Regiment has taken the command of Elizth Town and it’s Vicinity The remaindr of the Brigade after furnishing the guard at Raway, Woodbridge, and New Ark will remain here till I have Your Excellencys Instructions.2
I had the pleasure Yesterday in the afternoon to go in company with Lord Stirling & the Field Officers to Elizth Town, we examined the place, to find the most sutable to erect works on; The place fixed on by His Lordship, and the others, is to the West of the Town where a part of my Brigade was encamped on in the year 78.3 If Your Excellency is determined to cary on the works, an Engineer will be absolutely necessary, we have got our Tents and Stored them for the present, we expect the Intrenching tools to day. While we was at the Point yesterday twenty two Vessels came from New York to Deckers Ferry including two or three square rigged ones; I have heared that they passed afterwa⟨r⟩d into New Ark Bay.4 I am with much respect Your Excellency’s Most Obedient Humble Servant
Wm Maxwell
ALS, DLC:GW.
GW replied to Maxwell from headquarters at Morristown on 16 May: “I have recd your favr of yesterday—Capt. Rochefontaine, who will deliver this, will view the Ground you have pitched upon, and if he approves of it, will trace out the proper Works. Should he, upon reconnoitering the Country in the neighbourhood, find any other peice of Ground, accommodated with Water &ca, which he thinks more advantageous than the one you have chosen, he will, if you agree with him in opinion, lay out the Works there—But should you differ, he will make report to me of the two positions, that I may decide” (Df, in Tench Tilghman’s writing, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW; see also n.3 below).
1. Maxwell’s New Jersey Brigade relieved the 2d Connecticut Brigade as the army’s advanced corps (see General Orders, 10 May, and GW to Jedediah Huntington, same date).
2. Woodbridge, Rahway, and Connecticut Farms, with smaller units of guards and patrols at other locations, had been established as posts of the advanced corps (see Arthur St. Clair to GW, 4 Feb., n.9).
3. For the locations under consideration for Maxwell’s brigade to camp and build fortifications, see Maxwell to GW, 17 May, and n.3; see also James Caldwell to GW, 18 May, and GW to Maxwell and to Stirling, both 19 May. The site where Maxwell’s brigade had camped in 1778 is unknown (see GW to Maxwell, 25 May 1778, and Maxwell to GW, 25 June 1778).
4. For a similar report, see Elias Dayton to GW, this date. The New-Jersey Gazette (Trenton) for 17 May reported that on Saturday, 13 May, “35 sail of square-rigged vessels came up to Decker’s ferry, opposite Bergen Point.”