Maj. Gen. Sullivan having in a way of complaint informed Congress that notwithstanding his repeated applications, the board had not supplied the necessary clothing for the troops under his command; & his letter on the subject being referred to the board: We beg leave to state the mode of his application, & what supplies we have sent him. On the 11th of May1 we recieved a letter from Gen’l Sullivan requesting us to supply Col. Spencer’s & Malcoms combined regiment2 with clothing agreeable to the returns he transmitted. We the same day gave orders for that purpose. In the same letter he expresses his hope that a proper supply of clothing of all kinds may be sent on by the Susquehannah, with a proper person to deal them out, a very considerable quantity of shoes will be wanting, & also plenty of light clothing.

The same day we wrote an answer to him3 informing him that we had no light clothing on hand (having just sent the whole to camp) but had given orders for the purchase of linen, requisite for Spencer’s regt, which should be made & forwarded without delay: adding that such regts as we knew were going on the expedition had been furnished with necessary clothing. When we considered the nature of the expedition, & the general terms of this application, we did not know how to answer the demand, we could not see the necessity or propriety of encumbering his army with a general clothing store. On the 23rd. of May Gen’l Washington desired us to send 2000 pairs of overalls to Gen’l Sullivans Army; & on the 9th of June they were dispatched accordingly; as the materials were only then making up it was not possible to send them sooner. Before this his Excellency had desired that 8 or 10.000 pairs of shoes might be prepared for this Expedition.4 Orders were immediately given for the purpose. In consequence whereof 7420 pairs were sent (of which we informed the Commander in Chief in due time) for that Army at large; besides which, more than 600 pairs were delivered out to Colo Proctor’s & the 11th Pennsylvania Regiment, after the expedition was formed. These shoes & overalls were all the articles ^in^ the clothing department which the Commander in Chief has ever desired us to send to Gen’l Sullivans Army. Nevertheless receiving afterwards his farther (^the^ Gen’ls) complaints of the distress of the troops under his command for want of clothing and especially shirts (without mentioning any quantity) we ordered a further supply to be sent him of 1000 pairs of overalls, 1000 hunting shirts, & 2000 body shirts, these were sent off the 20th. ulto & could not have arrived when Gen’l Sullivan wrote the before mentioned letter to Congress.

He has now made a demand of 1000 blankets & 5000 shirts which at present ’tis not possible to comply with.5 Could we have formed any certain judgement of the quantity of clothing requisite for Gen’l Sullivans Army, we should have spared no pains to supply it, but all his information was very general; we had complied with every requisition from the Commander in Chief; & were for a long time utterly ignorant of the corps destined for the Indian Expedition, excepting those three before named. Moreover, Gen’l Sullivans demands being usually on a large scale we deemed some caution necessary in granting him supplies. He asked for 1000 spare muskets at a time we had but a single one in store. We communicated the matter to Gen’l Washington; at the same time informing him that we had some time before ordered 200 stands of spare arms & accoutrements complete for the troops under Gen’l Sullivan; & these his Excellency in his answer judged adequate to the service. From this view of the matter we humbly conceive it will appear that the board were not in fault if Gen’l Sullivan has not been supplied with the necessary clothing for the troops under his command. We have the honor to be with the greatest esteem Your Excellency’s most obdt servants