George Washington to the Board of War, 1 May 1781
To the Board of War
Head Quarters N. Windsor 1st May 1781.
Gentlemen
Your favr of the 21st ulto reached me on the 28th1—Should there be no Naval Officer of Capt. Willings Rank who has a prior right of exchange, I shall be very glad to see his effected, as he has been peculiarly severely treated by the enemy, but if Lt Colo. Rogers is a continental prisoner of War I cannot consistently permit him to be exchanged for Capt. Willing solely, without making a precedent of what the enemy want extremely to establish—that of rating our Captains of the Navy as Lt Colos. of the land forces2—If it is Captain Willings turn and the Commy of prisoners can make an exchange by composition, I have not the least objection—Or, if Lt Colo. Rogers should be a state prisoner of Penna and the Executive would give him up for the release of Captain Willing, it might be negotiated as a matter not in common course and our Commy of prisoners might be instructed to signify to the British that it was not done upon the principle of allowing him to be of the Rank of a Lieut. Colonel.3 I have the honor &.
P.S. previous to the Rect of your favr of the 25th April, I had given orders for the exchange of salt for Fish, to as great an Amount as I conceived, from the information before me, the state of our Magazine would admit.4
Df, in Tench Tilghman’s writing, DLC:GW, filed under 11 May; copy (extract), PHarH; Varick transcript, DLC:GW. The extract omits the postscript.
1. The Board of War had written GW from Philadelphia on 21 April: “The Friends of Capt. James Willing are pressing to have him exchanged & his long Sufferings entitle him to it. He is not in our Department & we are told holds only the Rank of Captain & that of an armed Boat. The Enemy have conceived him to be of so much Consequence as to claim a Lieut. Colonel for him. This seems un[r]easonable but there is a Lieut. Col. Rogers in the State Prison at philadelphia whose Situation in point of Health is very precarious & he does not appear to be a formidable Enemy. We only mention this for your Excellency’s Consideration that if You think it anywise proper Lt Col. Rogers may be offered for Capt. Willing or for him & an Equivalent” (ALS, by Board of War secretary Richard Peters, DLC:GW).
2. Capt. James Willing already had suggested his exchange for Lt. Col. Robert Rogers (see his letter to GW, 23 Jan.).
3. For the extract of this letter sent to the Pennsylvania Supreme Executive Council, see the source note above and , 1st ser., 9:111.
4. The Board of War had written GW from Philadelphia on 25 April: “The Board do themselves the honor to transmit your Excellency, copy of a Letter of the 24th Instant from Mr Udny Hay on the propriety of exchanging a quantity of Salt on the North River for Shad, and to request (should it appear expedient) that Your Excellency will be pleased to take such order in the matter, as may be most conducive to the Interest of the United States” (ALS, by Board of War secretary Joseph Carleton, enclosed with Udny Hay to GW, 29 April). The enclosure was a copy of a letter from Lt. Col. Udny Hay to the board written at Philadelphia on 24 April: “In the absence of the Comy Genl (the expectation of whose arrival has prevented me writing you before) I am induced to request you will take into consideration the propriety of procuring a quantity of Shad on the North river by an exchange for Salt, of which latter article there is now a large Stock in that quarter belonging to the public, and may I believe be exchanged on tolerably reasonable terms; The information I recd lately from the Comr in Chief of the very scanty supply of beef then in the Magazine, and the little probability there was of obtaining an adequate Supply in future, at least for a considerable time, are strong motives for influencing me to give you this intelligence and for requesting as speedy an answer as possible on the Subject, as the season for that Fishery will soon be over” (DLC:GW; see also Hay to GW, 10 April, and Nathaniel Stevens to GW, 1 and 3 May).