George Washington Papers

[Diary entry: 10 November 1798]

10. With this Escort I arrived in the City about 9 Oclock & was recd. by Genl. McPhersons Blues & was escorted to my lodgings in 8th. Street (Mrs. Whites) by them & the Horse.

“November 12. Lieutenant General Washington, Commander in Chief of the Armies of the United States, arrived here on Saturday morning last, escorted by the different troops of horse—and, notwithstanding the short notice which had been given the Blues, almost the whole of that corps, with an alacrity which does them honor, were drawn up on the commons, to receive their beloved General. On his arrival, the cavalry and infantry were drawn up, and the General . . . passed in review down their front . . . the procession then moved from the commons, the General accompanied by his secretary Mr. Lear, in the centre of the cavalry. On his arrival at his lodgings in Eighth-street, he was saluted by the acclamations of the citizens who had collected once more to behold their Chief. The General was dressed in his uniform” (Claypoole’s American Daily Adv. [Philadelphia], 12 Nov. 1798). macphersons blues: William Macpherson’s battalion, largely Federalist in its composition, had been reorganized and enlarged in June 1798 to include units of cavalry, infantry, and artillery. lodgings in 8th. street: Mrs. Rosannah White, a widow, kept a boardinghouse at 9 North Eighth Street.

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