To George Washington from Brigadier General Duportail, 16 January 1780
From Brigadier General Duportail
Morris Town January 16th 1780
Sir
I take the liberty to recommend to your Excellency, Captain Neven who asks to be placed in The Corps of Engineers and who appears to me to have every claim to this favour—Your Excellency will see by the Letter which he has written me and which I annex, that he has long done the Service of [a]n Engineer.1 Colonel Koskiuske has told me much in his favour, and Colonel Gouvion, with whom he was employed all last Winter at King’s ferry has Spoke to me of him in a manner still more favorable. He found him intelligent, attentive to duty, active and according to The informations I have had besides, it appears that he has always conducted himself perfectly well where ever he has been. He was appointed Captain in Malcom’s Regiment, in The year 1777—so that he expects not to be made less Than a Captain in the Corps of Engineers—and as since it was reformed on the 23d of April 1779.2 he has been always employed as an Engineer, it would only be just that his Commission be datted from that time and that he Should have his appointments from that period.
I pray Your Excellency to be so good that I may avail myself of This occasion to represent That The officers of Sappers and Miners have not received their Commissions, I wrote about a month ago to the Board of War upon this Subject but having received no answer I am obliged to importune Your Excellency a new—and to pray that you will be so good as to write to them again.3 I have the honour to be, with the highest Respect Your Exc[e]llency The most obedient and very humb[l]e Servent
Duportail br⟨ig⟩. genr.
Commdt of the engin[e]er⟨s⟩
LS, DLC:GW; copy, enclosed in GW to Samuel Huntington, 26 Jan. (second letter), DNA:PCC, item 152; copy, DNA:PCC, item 169.
1. This letter has not been identified.
2. Duportail is referring to the incorporation of Col. William Malcom’s Additional Continental Regiment into Col. Oliver Spencer’s Additional Continental Regiment (see GW to John Jay, 3 March 1779, and GW to Spencer, 9 April [first letter] and 29 April 1779).
3. Duportail’s letter to the Board of War has not been identified. On 26 Jan., GW wrote to Congress regarding both Capt. Daniel Niven’s commission and the commissions for the officers of the corps of sappers and miners (see GW’s second letter to Huntington of that date).