George Washington Papers

From George Washington to Brigadier General Duportail, 27 March 1780

To Brigadier General Duportail

Head Quarters [Morristown] 27th of March 1780

Sir,

Notwithstanding the occasion we should have for your services in this quarter should any active operations commence, the critical situation of Charles Town and the importance of that place induce me to wish you were there. I am doubtful whether you can arrive in time; but I have submitted the matter to Congress to determine according to the advices they have received. The letter to them is inclosed, which after reading you will be pleased to deliver to The President.1 Should you go to the Southward I request you will favour me with a detail as frequently as circumstances will permit of the military operations in that quarter; and I entreat you to believe that I shall at all times take great pleasure in hearing of your success and glory.2 I have the honor to be with great consideration and esteem Sir Yr most Obedt & humble servant.

Df, in Alexander Hamilton’s writing, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW.

In an undated letter written in French, Duportail had asked GW’s aide-de-camp Alexander Hamilton for his help in obtaining a transfer to the South (DLC: Alexander Hamilton Papers; see also Hamilton Papers description begins Harold C. Syrett et al., eds. The Papers of Alexander Hamilton. 27 vols. New York, 1961–87. description ends , 2:251).

1. See GW to Samuel Huntington, this date, and the source note to that document.

2. Duportail wrote his first letter to GW from the South while a prisoner at Charleston, S.C., on 17 May. He reported having arrived in Charleston on 25 April and also discussed military decisions that resulted in the city’s capitulation (DLC:GW).

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    Source Project
    Washington Papers
    Title
    From George Washington to Brigadier General Duportail, 27 March 1780
    Author
    Washington, George
    Recipient
    Duportail, Antoine-Jean-Louis Le Bègue de Presle
    Date
    27 March 1780

    Reference

    Cite as
    “From George Washington to Brigadier General Duportail, 27 March 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-25-02-0125. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 25, 10 March–12 May 1780, ed. William M. Ferraro. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2017, p. 191.]

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