To George Washington from Brigadier General Jedediah Huntington, 10 March 1779
From Brigadier General Jedediah Huntington
Camp Reading [Redding, Conn.] 10 March 1779
Dear Sir,
When I gave Colonel Sherman an Order for the french Cloathing agreeable to your Excellencys Permission I hoped the rest of my Brigade might do without1—but I find so many of them destitute & ragged that I have thought proper to give your Excellency a State of the Cloathing recd a considerable part of which was of very ordinary unsuitable Cloath & almost all without Lining & did but little service2—the Reason Col. Starr has so many Coats is that the 140 last recd were the Remains of some English prize Cloathing that did not suit any other Regiment—If they could recieve complete Suits of french Cloathing by turning into store what they have lately had, which is all that is worth returning, without Injury to other Corps, I should be very glad, in mean Time remain with Respect & Esteem your Excellency’s obedt hble servt
J. Huntington
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. Huntington is referring to Lt. Col. Isaac Sherman of the 2d Connecticut Regiment and to GW’s letter to Huntington of 14 January.
2. Enclosed with this letter was an undated table with the heading “State of Cloathing recd by 3 Regts of Genl Huntingtons Brigade” (DLC:GW). This table indicates that Col. Heman Swift’s 7th Connecticut Regiment received 188 coats, 243 waistcoats, and 120 breeches in February 1778. Swift’s regiment then received 157 coats (with 30 “still in the Taylors hands”), 153 waistcoats, and 249 breeches in December 1778. Col. Philip Burr Bradley’s 5th Connecticut Regiment received 315 coats, 268 waistcoats, and 227 breeches between August 1778 and March (apparently 1779). Col. Josiah Starr’s 1st Connecticut Regiment received 323 coats, 125 waistcoats, and 179 breeches between January and October 1778. Starr’s regiment then received 140 coats, 63 waistcoats, and 184 breeches in December 1778. The “Present Number exclusive of Deaths &c the last Year” reported was 383 for Swift’s regiment, 357 for Bradley’s regiment, and 403 for Starr’s regiment.