Major General Lafayette to George Washington, 18 April 1781
From Major General Lafayette
Baltimore April the 18th 1781
My Dear General
Every one of My Letters Was writen Upon So Lamentable a tone that I Am Happy to Give you a pleasanter prospect—the Anxiety I feel to Relieve Your Mind from a Small part of those Many sollicitudes And Cares Which Our Circumstances Conspire to Gather upon you, is the Reason Of My Sending this Letter By the Chain,1 and With A particular Recommendation.2
When I left Susquehana Ferry it Was the General opinion that we Could not Have Six Hundred Men By the time We Would Arrive at our Destination—this and the Shocking Situation of the Men Afforded the More Gloomy prospects As the Board of War Have Confessed their Total inability to Afford us Relief—Under these Circumstances I Have Emploïed Every personal Exertion, and Have the pleasure to inform you that desertion Has, I Hope, Been put to An End.
On My Arrival on this side of the Susquehana, I Made an order for the troops Wherein I Endeavoured to throw a kind of infamy upon desertion, and to improve Every particular Affection of theirs—Since that, desertion Has Been lessened3—two deserters Have Been taken up One of Whom is Hanged to day and the other (Being an Excellent Soldier) Will Be forgiven But dismissed from the Corps as well4 as an other Soldier Who Behaved A Miss5—to these Measures I Have Added one Which my feelings for the Sufferings of the Soldiers and the peculiarity of their Circumstances Have prompted me to Adopt.
the Merchants of Baltimore Lend me A Sum of about 2000 pounds Which Will procure Some shirts, linnen over alls shoes, and a few Hatts—the Ladies will make up the Shirts and the over Alls will Be Made By the detachement So that our Soldiers Have a chance of Being a Little more Comfortable—the Monney is Lent upon My Credit, and I Become a Security for the payement in two year’s time, when By the french Laws I may Better dispose of My Estate—But Before that time, I am to use my influence With the french Court, in order to Have as Soon as possible this Sum of Monney Added to Any loan Congress Will Have Been able to obtain for them.
in Case you are told, My dear General, that My Whole Baggage Has Been taken in the Bay I am Sorry I Cannot discountenance the Report—But When the Mention of papers and Maps Will Be Made, don’t Aprehend any thing Bad for my papers nor for the Maps You Have put in My possessione—Nothing Has Been Lost But writing paper and printed Maps—the fact is this—when at York I Had Some Continental Soldiers and My Baggage to send up in a Safe Barge and an Unsafe Boat—I of Course Gave the Barge to the Soldiers who Easely went to Annapolis—the Baggage Was put in the Boat and Has not Been Since Heard of6— But Being Aware of the danger I took By land With me Every article that on public Accounts Was in the Least Valuable.
By a letter from Baron de Stüben Dated Chesterfield Court House the 10th April I find that General philips Has at porsmouth 1500 or 2000 Men Added to the force Under Arnold7—proper allowance Being Made for Exagerations I aprehend that His whole Army Amount to 2500 men Which oblige me to Hasten My March to frederis Burg and Richmond Where I expect to Receive orders from General Greene.
The importance of Celerity, the desire of lengthtening the Way Home, and immense delays that Would Stop me for an Age Have determined me to leave our Tents, Artillery &c. under a guard and with orders to follow as fast as possible While the Rest of the detachement By forced Marches and With impressed Waggons and Horses Will Hasten to fredriburg or Richmond, and By this, derange the Calculations of the Ennemy—We Set off to Morrow and this Rapid mode of travelling added to My other precautions will I Hope keep up our Spirits and Satisfaction.8 With the Highest Respect and tender affection I Have the Honor to be dr gal Yours
Lafayette
ALS, DLC:GW; copy, PEL.
1. Lafayette refers to the chain of express riders established between Philadelphia and GW’s headquarters at New Windsor (see GW to Duportail, 21 Feb., and n.1 to that document).
2. See Lafayette to GW, this date (first letter).
3. Lafayette later elaborated: “The word lessened does not convey a sufficient idea of what experience has proved to be true, to the honour of our excellent soldiers. It had been announced in general orders, that the detachment was intended to fight an enemy far superior in number, under difficulties of every sort. That the general was, for his part, determined to encounter them, but that such of the soldiers as had an inclination to abandon him, might dispense with the danger and crime of desertion, as every one of them who should apply to head-quarters for a pass to join their corps in the north might be sure to obtain it immediately” (, 405–6).
4. Lafayette wrote “will” for this word on the ALS.
5. Lafayette wrote French minister La Luzerne from Alexandria, Va., on 22 April to explain that he had “put a little sermon into the orders and, making use of the friendship the detachment is good enough to have for me, I cast an aspersion of dishonor on the vice of desertion. Since that time only two men have deserted, and even they were recaptured; I had one hanged and the other was sent back north with a soldier who had done something very foolish. Now the soldiers are so worked up that the men who were being sent back had their officers beg me to let them come south, but I was inflexible, and a sick sergeant whom we wanted to leave behind wept so painfully about it that we had to allow him to drag along after us. Eight former deserters came back, saying the remorse of their consciences had not permitted them to separate from us, so that now a soldier would be very shocked if someone suggested he join the main army” (, 4:54–56, quotes on 54–55).
6. A New York privateer schooner had taken the boat carrying Lafayette’s baggage. A Baltimore privateer then captured the New York privateer and turned its crew over to Maryland authorities (see J. Taylor to Richard Barnes, 27 April, in , 47:214–15).
GW’s aide-de-camp Tench Tilghman wrote Richard Platt, deputy quartermaster general of the main army, presumably from New Windsor, on Thursday, 26 April: “Be pleased to order in four Horses for the Marquis de la Fayettes Baggage Waggon, which will go off from hence about Monday next” (DNA: RG 93, manuscript file no. 26010).
7. See Steuben to Lafayette, 10 April, in , 4:23–24.
8. GW replied to Lafayette on 5 May; see also Lafayette to GW, 23 April and 4 May.