To George Washington from Edward Biddle, 16 February 1776

From Edward Biddle

Reading, Pa., 16 February 1776. Recommends Peter Withington who “was for many Years a Quarter Master Serjeant in the Regulars & behaved himself much to the Satisfaction of his Officers. He has lived in this Place for 13 Years past & has always Supported a good Character. He was an early Associator & I believe him to be strongly attached to the great American Cause.”1

ALS, DLC:GW.

Edward Biddle (1738–1779), who had risen to the rank of captain in the provincial forces during the French and Indian War, became speaker of the Pennsylvania general assembly in 1774 and served that same year with GW in the First Continental Congress. A severe illness in 1775 left him an invalid for the rest of his life.

1. Peter Withington (1733–1777) became a captain in the 12th Pennsylvania Regiment on 1 Oct. 1776. Illness forced him to return to Reading in December 1776, and he died the following May.

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Source Project: Washington Papers
Title: To George Washington from Edward Biddle, 16 February 1776
Author: Biddle, Edward
Recipient: Washington, George
Date: 16 February 1776

Reference

Cite as: “To George Washington from Edward Biddle, 16 February 1776,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified March 30, 2017, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-03-02-0230. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 3, 1 January 1776 – 31 March 1776, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1988, pp. 324–325.]