General Orders, 12 June 1779
General Orders
Head-Quarters Smith’s Tavern [N.Y.] Saturday June 12th 1779.
Parole Berwick—C. Signs Brest Deane.
The following formation of the three divisions of the Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania troops is immediately to take place for the present campaign.
The Delaware Regiment to form one battalion.
| 1st 7th |
 |
Penns. Regts |  |
to form one battn & furnish one company of L. Infantry |
|
41. |
| 10th | to form one battalion. | |||||
| 2nd | |
to form one battn & furnish one company of Light Infantry |
|
41. | ||
| 3rd 6th |
|
|
to form one battn & furnish two companies of Light Infantry |
|
82. | |
| 9th 5th |
|
Penns. Regts | |
to form one battalion & furnish two companies of Light Infantry |
|
82 |
The companies of Light Infantry are to be immediately drawn out agreeable to this proportion; The officers commanding regiments will be particularly careful in the choice of the men, which is a duty, the good of the service, and the credit of their respective regiments equally demand; When it is considered that in every army the honor of a regiment and that of its Light-Company are intimately connected, the officer commanding it cannot but be solicitous to furnish men that will support the reputation of his regiment.
The companies from the several brigades will parade tomorrow morning 11 ô clock near the Maryland division, where the Adjutant General is desired1 to pass the men, their clothes, arms and accoutrements under a critical inspection, and return all who on any account shall appear unfit for this kind of service to their regiments to be replaced by others whom he shall approve.
A Captain, Subaltern and three Serjeants are to be appointed to each company.
Lieutenant Colonel Harmar is appointed Sub-Inspector to the Pennsylvania division.2
Captain Alexander, intitled to a Majority is appointed Brigade Major to the 1st—and Captain Moore also intitled to a Majority, is appointed Brigade Major to the 2nd Pennsylvania Brigades—They are to be respected & obeyed3 accordingly.4
Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Morris is appointed a Volunteer Aide-De-Camp to Major General Greene and is to be respected accordingly.5
A corporal and eight men from each division are to be employed in making coal for the use of their respective divisions—Colo. Baldwin will give the necessary directions.
A Sub-Serjeant and twenty rank and file to be daily employed in cutting grass under the direction of the Commissary General of Forage.
Each brigade will constantly furnish sufficient fatigue parties to cut grass for their own horses under the direction of their brigade Forage-Masters.
The afore mentioned fatigue parties to join their regiments immediately on an alarm.
Varick transcript, DLC:GW.
Adj. Gen. Alexander Scammell’s orderly book entry for this date includes the following additional general order: “The Pennsylvania division gives the fatigue for the Forage Master General tomorrow” (orderly book, 22 Dec. 1778–26 June 1779, DNA: RG 93, Orderly Books, 1775–1783, vol. 28).
An unaddressed intelligence report with this date from Ensign Benjamin Brown, probably seen by GW, reads: “Taken up by insign Browns guard one Joseph hodge who Said he had work at one insign millers of be[d]ford but after tieing him up he told the[m] he Said he would tell and told he Come from Newyork the 11th of this instant he told the main body went towards horseneck and that there was Some horse within Six miles of pinebridge” (DLC:GW).
1. Scammell’s orderly book entry for this date reads “directed” rather than “desired” (orderly book, 22 Dec. 1778–26 June 1779, DNA: RG 93, Orderly Books, 1775–1783, vol. 28).
2. Lt. Col. Josiah Harmar presumably became responsible for the inspection GW outlined in the general orders for 11 June.
3. Scammell’s orderly book entry for this date reads “obeyed & respected” (orderly book, 22 Dec. 1778–26 June 1779, DNA: RG 93, Orderly Books, 1775–1783, vol. 28).
4. The officers appointed brigade majors were captains William Alexander and Thomas Lloyd Moore.
William Alexander (c.1747–1813) served as lieutenant and captain of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment before being named captain of the 7th Pennsylvania Regiment to rank from 1 June 1776. He was promoted to major of the 3d Pennsylvania Regiment in April 1780 and retired from the army in January 1783.
5. Gouverneur Morris supported this appointment for his nephew Lt. Col. Lewis Morris, Jr., in a letter of 19 May to Nathanael Greene ( 4:50–51).