General Orders, 10 July 1776
General Orders
Head Quarters, New York, July 10th 1776.
Parole Ogden.Countersign Philadelphia.
A working party of one hundred and fifty men, properly officered, to parade to morrow morning with their Arms, near the Laboratory, at six OClock; to take three days provisions: The Commanding Officer to come to Head Quarters for his orders—The Quarter Master General to provide tents.1
Genl Heaths Brigade instead of repairing to their Alarm post to morrow morning to hold themselves in readiness to march—they will receive their Orders from the Brigadier General on the parade at four OClock—The Brigadier will attend at Head Quarters this afternoon for the Orders.
John Butler of Capt: Bridgham’s Company,2 Col. Baileys Regiment having been tried by a General Court Martial whereof Col. Read was president; found guilty of “Desertion” and sentenced to receive Thirty Lashes—The General confirms the sentence and orders it to be executed at the usual time and place.
’Tho the General doubts not the persons, who pulled down and mutilated the Statue, in the Broadway, last night, were actuated by Zeal in the public cause; yet it has so much the appearance of riot and want of order, in the Army, that he disapproves the manner, and directs that in future these things shall be avoided by the Soldiery, and left to be executed by proper authority.3
After Orders. Col. Drake, who was ordered in the orders of yesterday for picquet, this day, being unable to mount, Colonel Bailey is to mount picquet this day in his stead: Likewise Lieut: Col. Stoutenburgh is sick, Lieut. Col. Sheppard is to succeed in his place to morrow.4
Varick transcript, DLC:GW.
1. This party was relieved a week later. See General Orders, 17 July.
2. John Bridgham, Sr. (b. 1729), of Plympton, Mass., was a captain in Col. Theophilus Cotton’s Massachusetts regiment in 1775 and continued in that rank in Col. John Bailey’s 23d Continental Regiment during 1776. After 1776 Bridgham served as a captain in the Massachusetts militia.
3. “Last night,” Samuel Blachley Webb wrote in his journal entry for this date, “the Statue of George the third was tumbled down and beheaded—the troops having long had an inclination so to do, tho’t this time of publishing a Declaration of Independence, to be a favorable opportunity—for which they received the Check in this day’s orders” (, 1:153). The large gilded lead statue, which showed the king in the garb of a Roman emperor mounted on a horse, had stood on the bowling green at the south end of Broadway (see , 57).
4. Samuel Drake (1730–1794) of Westchester County commanded one of the regiments of New York militia levies that arrived in camp during June. He was a militia colonel throughout the war and served in support of the Continental army between 1778 and 1781 as well as during the fall and summer of this year. Isaac Stoutenburgh (Stoughtenburg; c.1739–1799) of New York City was lieutenant colonel of Col. William Malcom’s regiment of New York levies. In 1780 Stoutenburg became an assistant state commissary.