General Orders, 2 January 1780
General Orders
Head-Quarters Morristown sunday January 2nd 1780.
Parole Missisippi— C. Signs Mobile Leon.
The Honorable the Congress on the 28th ultimo were pleased to pass the following Act.
Resolved—“That the rate of postage until the further order of Congress be twenty prices upon the sums paid in the year 1775.
“That single letters directed to any officer in the line and all letters directed to General officers, or to officers commanding in a seperate department, and all letters to and from the Ministers, Commissioners and Secretaries of these United-States at foreign Courts be free.”1
All returns called for by general orders since the 25th ultimo not already delivered, to be delivered at the Orderly-office tomorrow 12 ôclock without fail.
Varick transcript, DLC:GW.
Adj. Gen. Alexander Scammell’s orderly book entry for this date includes the following additional general orders: “Lord Stirlings Division furnishes the main Guard Tomorrow. The Connecticut Division furnishes the Fatigue Party for the Orderly room Tomorrow.
“A Detachment to be commanded by Lieut. Coll Willett and Major Talbott to parade tomorrow 9 o’Cl[ock] A.M.—(Countermanded)” (orderly book, 17 Oct. 1779–22 March 1780, DNA: RG 93, Orderly Books, 1775–1783, vol. 33).
On this date, Maj. Caleb Gibbs wrote to commissary general Ephraim Blaine from headquarters at Morristown: “You will I am sure forgive me in troubling you at this time, when I tell you that His Excellency’s family is at this hour almost entirely destitute, of those kinds of necessaries which I gave you a memorandum of the night before you left this place, I should esteem it a particular favor & I am Confident the General would be much Obliged to you, to forward as soon as possible those articles—we shall be Obliged to borrow sugar for the morrow breakfast If possible; and other articles essentially wanted must do without till the arrival of those from Philadelphia.
“I would submit it to your superior Judgment, whether waggons had not better be sent immediately on with those things rather than wait for a Brigade &c. of waggons—the 3 pipes of wine you made mention of when you was here had better be forwarded as we have not enough to last more than a day or two.
“I shall acquaint His Excelly that he may soon expect to have a supply of those articles which he is daily enquireing after” (NN: U.S. Army 1775–1789).
1. Samuel Huntington had enclosed a copy of this resolution with his letter to GW of 29 Dec. 1779 (see also 15:1415).