To George Washington from George Measam, 30 October 1778
From George Measam
Hartford Oct: 30th 1778
Sir,
I have the honour of Your two favours of the 27th Instant;1 their contents shall be particularly attended to, but the particular number of each Colour cannot at this time be assertained, for this reason; they are not yet all arrived from Boston, I mean not all that part that were at Portsmouth, but are expected very shortly. I have the Honor to inclose your Excellency a Return of the Cloathing sent from Springfield to your order, since I have had the direction in this Departmt particularezing their Colour & number &ca2 since which I expect another Brigade of teams have set off, and the remainder with all possible Dispatch, I left orders for that purpose.
I arrived here last night by desire of General Gates to assist him in regulating the Cloathing he is to draw for his Division and hope to return to morrow.3 I have the honor to be, Your Excellency’s most obedt and most humble Servt
Geo. Measam
ALS, DLC:GW.
GW’s aide-de-camp Tench Tilghman docketed the manuscript in part: “Ansd.” The draft of Tilghman’s reply of 8 Nov. 1778 to this letter and to Measam’s letter to GW of 2 Nov. is in DLC:GW.
1. The context of this letter indicates that Measam is referring to GW’s letters to him of 27 and 28 October.
2. Measam’s signed enclosure is titled “Return of Cloathing forwarded to the order of His Excellency General Washington at Fredricksburg from the Public Cloathing Store at Springfield, from the 12th to the 27th Octr 1778. French Cloathing.” It shows the following items as having been sent: 8,287 coats (of which 4,674 were brown coats with red facings and 3,613 were blue coats with red facings), 8,439 white waistcoats, 8,343 white breeches, 5,844 pairs of hose, 7,636 pairs of shoes, and 9,263 blankets. “Wanting to equalize,” that is to say, the number needed to bring the total of each item of personal apparel up to 8,439, were 152 coats, 96 breeches, 2,595 pairs of hose, and 803 pairs of shoes. In regard to blankets, Measam noted that there were “none in Store” (DLC:GW).
3. For the issuing of clothing to Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates’s division at Hartford, see GW to Gates, 27 Oct.; GW to Measam, 27 Oct.; and Gates to GW, 28 Oct., and note 1 to that document.