To George Washington from Abraham Yates, Jr., 9 September 1776
From Abraham Yates, Jr.
Fishkill [N.Y.] Sepr 9th 1776.
Sir
Your Excellency’s letters of the 8th instant this moment arrived, and we are happy to inform you that the Resolutions inclosed have anticipated your Excellency’s recommendation relative to a reinforcement for the fortresses in the highlands,1 and although we have done every thing in our power to raise them with dispatch, we are apprehensive that the whole will not arrive there within less than fourteen days, and that all this week will elapse before any of them will be got at the post.
The vessels for the sick shall be procured as soon as possible and sent to the City of Newyork; for which purpose, we have directed every vessel2 down the river to be impressed, until the number required is procured, and ordered two others from Fishkill landing, lest the vessels might be small and four of them insufficient; their dispatch will depend upon wind and weather; we suppose however, they may be down by Wednesday and Thursday next.3 I have the honour to be with the greatest respect Your Excellency’s most obedient & humble servant
Abm Yates Junr President
LS, DLC:GW. The draft of this letter that the New York committee of safety approved earlier on this date contains only a few minor variations in wording (see , 1:616; see also note 2).
1. In the enclosed resolutions of 7 Sept., the New York convention authorizes the sending of 600 militia reinforcements to forts Constitution and Montgomery and various tools and ordnance stores to Fort Montgomery (DLC:GW; see also , 1:613–14).
2. The printed draft reads “every empty vessel.”
3. In response to GW’s second letter to Yates of 8 Sept., the committee of safety on this date directed Gen. James Clinton “to despatch a whale boat well armed, with a proper officer, early to-morrow morning, to proceed towards New-York, with orders to impress four of the first large convenient sloops they may meet with” and send them to the city to remove the sick to Orange Town. John Moore, a member of the convention, was authorized at the same time to impress two sloops in the vicinity of Fishkill landing for the same purpose (ibid., 616–17). The following Wednesday and Thursday were 11 and 12 September.