To George Washington from Henry Laurens, 20 August 1778

From Henry Laurens

[Philadelphia] 20th Augt [1778]

Sir

My last to Your Excellency went by Dunn dated the 13th since which I have had the honor of receiving and presenting to Congress Your Excellency’s second of the 13th and one of the 16th Inst.1 I have at present nothing to trouble Your Excellency with but an Act of Congress of the 17th for exonerating the Commanding Officers on Hudsons’ river from any censure for the loss of the Posts in the Highlands.2 I have the Honor to be With great Esteem and Respect &c.

LB, DNA:PCC, item 13. A note on the letter-book copy indicates that this letter was carried “by [Joseph] Burwell,” perhaps the Joseph Burwell, of Quakertown, N.J., who had advertised as a post rider between New Jersey and Philadelphia in 1768 (Pennsylvania Gazette, 22 Dec. 1768).

1. Laurens is evidently referring to his letter to GW of 16 Aug. rather than 13 August. The letter that Laurens calls GW’s “second of the 13th” is apparently his second letter of 9 Aug., the LS of which is undated and was received by Congress on 18 August. Laurens is referring to GW’s second letter of 16 August.

2. For this act, see JCC description begins Worthington Chauncey Ford et al., eds. Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. 34 vols. Washington, D.C., 1904–37. description ends , 11:803–4.

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Source Project: Washington Papers
Title: To George Washington from Henry Laurens, 20 August 1778
Author: Laurens, Henry
Recipient: Washington, George
Date: 20 August 1778

Reference

Cite as: “To George Washington from Henry Laurens, 20 August 1778,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-16-02-0371. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 16, 1 July–14 September 1778, ed. David R. Hoth. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2006, p. 339.]

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