From George Washington to Brigadier General John Stark, 25 November 1779
To Brigadier General John Stark
west Point Novr 25 1779
Sir,
On the receipt of this letter you will be pleased to march the Troops under your command to the place of Cantonment for the Main Army1 in the Neighbourhood of Morris Town by the route of Major2 Delavans3—Crompond—Kings ferry—Suffrans & Pompton &ca.4
Your favor of the 22d for permission to be absent this Winter was handed to me this day5—I shoul⟨d⟩ be very happy to grant your reque⟨st, but⟩ your continuance with the Troop⟨s at⟩ this time & while they are Hutting⟨,⟩ will be materialy necessary & when that busi⟨ness⟩ is over, should the situation of ⟨af⟩fairs still render your stay requis⟨ite,⟩ I hope you will cheerfully submit to the disappointment—If however you can be endulged with any degree of propriety you certainly shall.6 I am Sr yr &ca
G.W.
Df, in Richard Kidder Meade’s writing, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW. Mutilated material on the draft is supplied in angle brackets from the Varick transcript.
1. GW wrote the previous four words on the draft.
2. To replace “Capt.” on the draft, GW wrote “Major” above the line.
3. Maj. Nathaniel Delavan of the 3d Westchester County Regiment of militia presumably lived in the portion of Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., that later became Yorktown, N.Y., through which a road ran to Crom Pond and on to King’s Ferry.
4. An intelligence report prompted GW to suspend the march of Stark’s command toward winter quarters (see GW to Stark, 27 Nov.).
5. Stark’s letter to GW of 22 Nov. has not been found.
6. GW wrote the previous fourteen words on the draft with the exception of “however,” which Meade inserted above the line.
Stark went to New Hampshire on army business in January 1780 (see 81; and GW to Stark, 15 Jan. 1780, DLC:GW).