To George Washington from Richard Peters, 27 October 1778
From Richard Peters
War Office [Philadelphia] 8ber 27th 1778
Sir
The Board have been honoured with yours of the 18th inst. & will be much obliged to your Excellency to give Orders for an exact Account being taken by the issuing Clothier of the Blanketts that we may know from the Marks & Numbers of the Packages in what Invoice those so very small are contained & endeavour to trace the Imposition. Enclosed you have for Information Copy of the Board’s Order to Mr Mease.1 There are & have been several Officers at this Place applying for Cloathing which was thought improper as the Plan is to distribute it from the Eastern Magazines. This gave Occasion to the Directions given Mr Mease. The Board have reiterated their Application to Congress for organizing & giving Vigour to the Clothing Department which Mr Mease seems more than ever desirous of leaving.2 I have the Honour to be with the greatest Respect & Esteem your very obedt Servt
Richard Peters
ALS, DLC:GW. Tench Tilghman docketed this letter: “27th October 1778 from Board of War Ansd 11th Novr.” See GW to Peters, 11 Nov. (DNA:PCC, item 152).
1. This enclosure has not been identified.
2. On 21 Sept. Congress had read Clothier Gen. James Mease’s letter to Henry Laurens of 19 Sept., “requesting the favour of Congress to choose, as soon as they conveniently can, some suitable person in his stead for that office” and had ordered that it “lie on the table, till the affairs of the cloathier’s department are taken into consideration” (, 12:937; Mease’s letter is in DNA:PCC, item 78; see also , 14:329–30). Congress did not reform the department until 23 Mar. 1779 (, 13:353–60), and Mease was not replaced until July 1779, when James Wilkerson agreed to become clothier general.