George Washington Papers
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To George Washington from Major General William Heath, 31 October 1779

From Major General William Heath

Camp Pecks kill [N.Y.] Octr 31st 1779

Dear General

By the Death of Colo. Russell of the 8th Connecticut Regt who died a few Days Since The Command of that Regt falls to Lieut. Colo. Sherman of the 2nd Regt The Eldest Lieut. Colonel in the Connecticut Line, It is requested that Lieut. Colonel Sherman be directed to take the Command of the 8th Regt and Lieut. Colonel Hait now of the 8th Regt the Command of the 2nd Regt.1

Enclosed is a representation from General Parsons, I beg leave to Submit it to your Excellencys determination.2

The Officers of the Massachusetts Line apprehend that the men of that Line may be reinlisted from One Regiment into another, but are in doubt whether it be your Excellencys Pleasure, that the men so reinlisted Serve out the Term for which they at first Inlisted in the Corps to which they now belong, or immediately on reinlistment Joyn the Corps into which they respectively reinlist.3

nothing Extraordinary in this Quart⟨er.⟩ The New Bridge on to Verplanks point is we⟨ll⟩ repaired, 300 Fatigue men and all the Artificers which were not before detached from the Left wing are daily employed at Verplanks and Stony Points.4

The Gun and Guard Boats are manned, and Instructed to discharge their duty.5 I have the honor to be with the greatest respect your Excellencys most Obedient Servt

W. Heath

ADfS, MHi: Heath Papers.

1Col. Giles Russell had died on 28 October. For Lt. Col. Isaac Sherman taking command of the 8th Connecticut Regiment, leaving the 2d Connecticut Regiment to Lt. Col. Joseph Hait, see GW to Heath, 1 Nov., and n.1 to that document.

2The enclosed communication from Brig. Gen. Samuel Holden Parsons has not been identified, but it likely raised issues about the arms and accoutrements of the Light Infantry (see General Orders, 1 Nov., and the first letter from GW to Heath, same date).

3GW answered this question in the postscript of his first letter to Heath of 1 November.

4Pvt. Zebulon Vaughan of the 5th Massachusetts Regiment, then camped at Crom Pond, N.Y., recorded in his diary for this date: “a Larg furtiag [fatigue] partey Called out for to Repare the works att planks pint … i was Called out for to give the Carptenders and went tot planks pint and found Nothing to dew Returned hom again att Night” (Wood, “Vaughan Journal,” description begins Virginia Steele Wood, ed. “The Journal of Private Zebulon Vaughan, Revolutionary Soldier, 1777–1780.” Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine 113 (1979): 101–14, 256–57, 320–31, 478–85, 487. description ends 327).

GW wrote Lt. Col. Albert Pawling from West Point on this date: “Major Benscotan waited upon me this morning to inform me of your party being near Peeks-kill—I have to request you to cross the river at Kings-ferry to Stoney point—and to render every assistance in your power towards completing the works under the direction of Col. Gouvion the engineer. … P.S. you will communicate the contents of this to Genl Heath” (Df, in James McHenry’s writing, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW; see also GW to Gouvion, 24 Oct., and n.1 to that document, and Heath to GW, 26 Oct. and 17 Dec.).

Elias Van Bunschoten (Benschoten), Jr. (b. 1749) joined the 3d New York Regiment as a lieutenant in June 1775 and became a captain that November. He resigned his commission in December 1777 and subsequently served as major in the New York state troops. Van Bunschoten participated in Maj. Gen. John Sullivan’s expedition against the Six Nations. See William Henry Van Benschoten, Concerning The Van Bunschoten or Van Benschoten Family in America: A Genealogy and Brief History (West Park-on-Hudson, N.Y., 1907), 75, 78–101.

5Heath had received this directive in the general orders for 29 October.

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