From Thomas Jefferson to Daniel Morgan and Other Late Commanding Officers of the Virginia Line, 28 July 1780
To Daniel Morgan and Other Late Commanding Officers of the Virginia Line
Richmond July 28th. 1780.
Sir
It has become necessary on the Settlement of our Account of Arms furnished the Continent to produce Vouchers for the Numbers. When our Regiments went first into Continental Service Most of them were full Armed, no Receipts or Certificates however were taken at the time. It remains that we supply this Omission in the best Manner we can, which is by application to the feild Officers who had command in the Several Regiments to certify as nearly as they can by Memory at what time their Regiment was taken on the Continental establishment, whether they were Armed by the State and carried those Arms into the Continental Service and how many they carried. Duplicate Certificates will be necessary the one to Send to Congress, the other to retain here in case of accident happening to the one sent. As you had Command in one of those Regiments, give me leave to ask the favor of you to send Certificates of the nature above described as to your Regiment, as exactly as your Memory will enable you to do. As we are now preparing to Send on Such an Account to Congress I shall be Much Obliged to you to avail Yourself of the first Safe Conveyance of the Certificates to me.
I am Sir Your very humble Servant,
Th: Jefferson
RC (NN); in a clerk’s hand, signed and addressed by TJ: “Colo. Daniel Morgan. [In another hand:] Frederick County”; endorsed: “from his excellency the governor Virga to colo Morgan. 28 July 1780.” This is one copy of a circular, of which a file copy is found in the Governor’s Letter Book, July-Sep. 1780 (Vi, photostat from Brit. Mus.: Add. MSS 38,650), bearing the caption “The late commanding officers of regiments in the V. Line in Cont: service,” and, at foot of text, “32 copies made out and forwarded.” Another signed RC, no doubt sent to George Weedon since it is from the Weedon Papers, is in PPAP; it has at head of text the number “32.” Another RC, in a clerk’s hand but signed and addressed by TJ to “Colo. Theodoric Bland Prince-George” and endorsed by Bland, is among the papers deposited by Mrs. Kirkland Ruffin in ViU. Still another RC, signed but apparently not sent and without indication of addressee, is in MHi. An endorsed Tr of the copy sent to Edward Stevens is in DLC.