George Washington Papers

George Washington to Major General Lafayette, 6 April 1781

To Major General Lafayette

Head Quarters New Windsor 6th April 1781.

My dear Marquis

Since my letter to you of yesterday,1 I have attentively considered of what vast importance it will be to reinforce Genl Greene as speedily as possible, more especially as there can be little doubt but the detachment under Genl Phillips, if not part of that now under the command of Genl Arnold, will ultimately join, or, in some degree, cooperate with Lord Cornwallis.2 I have communicated to the General Officers, at present with the Army, my sentiments on the subject, and they are unanimously of opinion that the detachment under your command should proceed and join the southern Army—Your being already three hundred Miles advanced, which is nearly half way, is the reason which operates against any which can be offered in favr of marching that detachment back and forming another—a plan which I once had in my own mind, as it was hastily formed and neither Officers or Men might have imagined they were to leave their Corps for so great a length of time, but, as matters are circumstanced, private inconveniencies must give way to the public good, and you will therefore immediately, upon the receipt of this, turn the detachment to the southward—inform General Greene that you are upon your march to join him, and take his direction as to your route when you begin to approach him—previous to that, you will be guided by your own judgment, and by the Roads on which you will be most likely to find subsistence for the troops and Horses3—It will be well to advise Governor Jefferson of your intended march thro’ the State of Virginia, or perhaps it might answer a good purpose were you to go forward to Richmond yourself, after putting the troops in motion and having made some necessary arrangements for their progress4—You will now take the light Artillery—and smallest Mortars with their Stores and the Musket Cartridges with you. But let these follow under a proper escort rather than impede the March of the detachment which ought to move as expeditiously as possible without injury to them5—The heavy Artillery and Stores you will leave at some proper & safe place, if it cannot be conveniently transported to Christien River, from whence it will be easily got to Philada—You may leave it to the option of Lieut. Colo. Stevens to proceed or not as he may think proper. His family are in peculiar circumstances and he left them in the expectation of being absent but a short time6—should there be other officers under similar circumstances you may make them the same offers and they shall be relieved.

I will now mention to you, in confidence, the reason which operated with me more than almost any other in favor of recalling your detachment and forming another. It was the uneasiness occasioned among the Feild Officers of those Regiments, which furnished the Men, upon the appointment of Colo. Jimat and Major Galvan to commands in the Corps—They presented a memorial to me upon the subject, and I gave them the true reason, which was, that the Regiments in their lines were so extremely thin of Feild Officers of their own, that necessity, if nothing else, dictated the measure.7 I have heard nothing of the discontent lately, but should I find it revive again, upon its being known that the Corps is to continue together, I shall be obliged, for peace sake, to relieve those two Gentlemen by Officers properly belonging [to] the lines from which the Regiments are formed—You will therefore prepare them for such an event and tell them candidly the reasons—founded principally upon their having8 already had their tour in the Infantry. Should they be relieved, they will probably incline to continue with the southern Army—There is as much or more probability of their finding employ there than with us, as we shall, from all appearances, remain inactive.9 I am My Dr Marquis.

Df, in Tench Tilghman’s writing, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW.

On this date, GW also wrote Lafayette or the officer commanding his detachment: “Should the Marquis de la Fayette not be with the detachment, you will halt wherever this may meet you and wait till You hear further from him” (Df, in Tench Tilghman’s writing, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW).

GW then wrote Samuel Miles, deputy quartermaster general for Pennsylvania, on this date: “The enclosed Letters are of very great importance. You will be pleased therefore to pay particular attention to have them forwarded with the utmost expedition. The Expresses must be charged to ride unremittingly night and day, untill the Letters are delivered into the hands of the Marquis La Fayette, or the Commanding Officer of the Detachment. at Annapolis or Where ever the Detachment may be. … P.S. It will be well, for you to enquire particularly, before the Letters are sent off, Whether the Marquis, is not himself in Philadelphia” (Df, in David Humphreys’s writing, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW; see also n.9 below).

2An expedition under Maj. Gen. William Phillips joined British brigadier general Benedict Arnold’s force in Virginia (see GW to Abner Nash, 4 April, and n.2).

3Lafayette wrote Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene from Baltimore on 17 April (see Lafayette Papers description begins Stanley J. Idzerda et al., eds. Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790. 5 vols. Ithaca, N.Y., 1977-83. description ends , 4:35–41; see also Greene Papers description begins Richard K. Showman et al., eds. The Papers of General Nathanael Greene. 13 vols. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1976–2005. description ends , 8:107–11).

4Lafayette wrote Virginia governor Thomas Jefferson from Baltimore on 17 April (see Jefferson Papers description begins Julian P. Boyd et al., eds. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. 45 vols. to date. Princeton, N.J., 1950–. description ends , 5:477).

5GW wrote this sentence in the left margin on the second page of the draft.

6Lt. Col. Ebenezer Stevens was then married and had a son born in September 1778 and a daughter born in November 1780.

7See William Heath to GW, 2 March, n.1, and GW to Heath, 21 March, and n.6 to that document.

8GW wrote the preceding five words on the draft above struck-out material: “Indeed there is another objection raised against them, that they have.”

9Lafayette replied to GW on 8 April.

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