To George Washington from Colonel William Malcom, 8 October 1778
From Colonel William Malcom
Fort Clinton [West Point, N.Y.] Ocr 8 1778
Sir
Inclosed are the Weekly returns—Two Sentences of a General Court Martial, and a letter I received last Night from Mr Smith at Haverstraw.1
It is in my opinion very necessary to have a good Officer, at Kings ferry—And as there are Troops at fishKill, perhaps Your Excellency might approve of ordering Capt. Santford with his party, to the ferry.
I beg leave to refer your Excellency to Col. Hay, for a Character of the Artificer officers: as they are in the Q. Ms. departt. I most respectfully am Your Excellencys most obedt Servant
W. Malcom
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. These enclosures have not been identified. The letter may be from Thomas Smith, a resident of Haverstraw, N.Y., who often supplied American officials with intelligence about British movements (see, for instance, Smith’s letter to George Clinton of 26 Sept., in Hastings and Holden, Clinton Papers, 4:101).