1To George Washington from Certain General Officers, 31 December 1777 (Washington Papers)
As General Officers of the American Army we beg liberty to represent that, at a period when the affairs of our country called for the utmost exertion of every friend, we cheerfully embarked in the contest with Great Britain, and accepted such commissions in the army as Congress thought proper to confer upon us—Previous to our appointments we had considered ourselves, as Citizens of America,...