General Orders, 13 August 1780
General Orders
Head Quarters Orange town Sunday August 13th 1780
Parole Wyoming Countersigns Wells Wing
Watchword Improve
[Officer] For the day Tomorrow[:] Brigadier General Wayne.
The same number of fatigue men and Masons from the Left wing to be paraded tomorrow at the time and place mentioned in yesterdays orders.
A Serjeant and Six from the right and a corporal and six from the Left wing to be paraded tomorrow morning eight ô clock at the Church with two days provision their Arms Packs &ca. They are to be sent to fix an Hospital for the reception of the sick.
An Accurate return of the Sick to be delivered to the director General of the Flying hospital tomorrow at the orderly office eleven ô clock by the regimental Surgeons.
Six Orderlies from the right Wing tomorrow for the General Court martial.
George Hutchinson Matross in the 4th regiment of Artillery was tried the 23d ultimo at a brigade general court martial where of Major Eustis was president for “Desertion” Pled Guilty.1
The Court are of opinion that he is guilty of a breach of Article 1st Section 6th of the Articles of war2 and sentence him to be shot to Death (more than two thirds of the Court agreeing thereto).3
Varick transcript, DLC:GW.
An intelligence report in an unknown hand but docketed by GW’s aide-de-camp Tench Tilghman as “Intelligence up to 13th Augt 1780” is in DLC:GW (filed with 12 and 13 Aug. documents). The agent, possibly a spy recruited by Francis Van Dyke, reported on the ships present at New York and that preparations were under way for a “Secret Expedition” to Virginia and another “Secret Expedition to Some place,” but otherwise offered little useful intelligence. For GW’s dissatisfaction with the reports coming through this channel, see GW to Van Dyke, 10 July.
1. George Hutcheson (Hutchinson, Hutchins), of Philadelphia, enlisted as a matross in 4th Artillery Regiment in March 1777. He was confined in the provost at West Point, N.Y., in July for deserting his post.
2. Section 6, article 1, of the articles of war reads: “All officers and soldiers, who having received pay, or having been duly inlisted in the service of the United States, shall be convicted of having deserted the same, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as by a court-martial shall be inflicted” (, 5:792).
3. A brigade orderly book has the following additional text at the end of this paragraph of the general orders: “The Commandr in Chief confirms the Sentence” (, 15).