George Washington to Unknown, 10 March 1781
To Unknown
New Port March 10th 1781
Dear Sir,
Your letter of the 19th Ulto ⟨from New⟩bury port came safe to hand,1 ⟨as did o⟩ne of an earlier date (I ⟨think) ⟩2—When I reques⟨ted you⟩ to purchase a pair of Ep⟨aulets3 for m⟩e at this place—it was on ⟨the presu⟩mption that there were ⟨French S⟩utlers—or Shopkeepers who ⟨abounde⟩d in them—as this is ⟨not the c⟩ase, It was not my mean⟨ing that you⟩ should ⟨and⟩ I am sorry you did give your⟨self any⟩ further trouble about them, ⟨especial⟩ly as I have, since your ⟨departu⟩re, supplied myself.
⟨A⟩lthough the news of Count ⟨D’Estaing⟩s success was well told, & ⟨corrobora⟩ted by concurring accts, ⟨I fear it⟩ wants a foundation—it ⟨would h⟩ave been a most fortunate ⟨event if⟩ it had proved true.4
Business brought me to ⟨this plac⟩e on the 6th, and I expect ⟨to leave⟩ it again (in the course of ⟨a day or⟩ two) for New Windsor.5 ⟨I⟩ am—Dr Sir Yr Most Obedt Servt
Go: Washington
ALS, torn vertically along a fold into two pieces, with the smaller piece having the salutation and the start of lines along the left margin in private hands, and the larger piece having the remainder of the writing in NN: Washington Collection. Material from the smaller piece is in angle brackets. A previous editor surmised that the letter “was apparently addressed to the Continental agent at Newburyport or Boston” (, 21:332). The familiar tone of GW’s language, however, suggests a friend or acquaintance, and that person evidently needed to be knowledgeable about purchases, able to travel with some freedom, and connected in some way to the French expeditionary force. Jeremiah Wadsworth, former commissary general of purchases for the Continental army and then purchaser for the French expeditionary force, meets these criteria, but he cannot be placed positively at Newburyport, Mass., on 19 Feb. (for his presence at Hartford on 27 Feb., see the entry for 26 Feb. in Closen, Journal, 59). Other possible recipients were Boston merchant David Henley and Newburyport merchant Nathaniel Tracy (see Otis & Henley to GW, 25 Oct. 1780, and n.4 to that document).
1. The letter dated 19 Feb. 1781 has not been found.
2. At this point, “⟨fro⟩m Boston” is struck out. No earlier letter has been found.
3. The letters “au” in this word are lost because of mutilation along the right edge of the manuscript in NN: Washington Collection (see the source note above).
4. GW properly identified intelligence about a French naval victory in the West Indies as erroneous (see Rochambeau to GW, 18 Feb., and n.1 to that document; see also Rochambeau to GW, 27 February).
5. For GW’s visit to the French forces at Newport, see his letter to Alexander Hamilton, 7 March, source note; see also GW to William Greene, 12 March, n.8, and to Providence Citizens, 14 March, n.1.