Major General Steuben to George Washington, 5 May 1781

From Major General Steuben

Camp—New Kent County Virginia 5th May 1781

Sir

Two days after I had the honor of addressing you my last the Marquis arrived with his Detachment at Richmond1 and as he will inform your Excellency of the Operations of the Army I shall only add to my last, that of all the Articles collected at Chesterfield Co. Ho. & Petersburg for the Equipment of the Levies, not the least article fell into the Enemies hands.

The Marquis De la Fayette now commanding the Army in the Field I shall only remain with him so long as there is any probability of coming to Action but when the Operations lead us too far from the place of Rendezvous I shall think it my duty to return to fulfill my instructions from General Green in accelerating by my presence the raising & forwarding to the south[w]ard the new Levies2 I have already acquainted the Marquis of my intention & obtaind his consent & in the mean time I have given orders to Colo. Davis to assemble the Recruits Arms Cloathing &c. at a Rendezvous near Richmond, the Articles we shall most want are Arms Cartridge boxes Cavalry swords & Blankets Every thing else I am in hopes of getting from the state.3 with much respect I have the honor to be Your Excellencys Most Obedt hum. servant

steuben Maj: Gen.

LS, DLC:GW; Df, NHi: Steuben Papers. The draft is docketed: “Copy to Board War Genl Washington, Greene.” For Steuben’s letter to Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene on this date, see 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 , 8:210.

1. Steuben means his letter to GW on 25 April. On 27 April, Major General Lafayette was at Bowling Green, Va., where he conferred with Steuben’s aide-de-camp (see Lafayette to George Weedon, that date, in 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 , 4:67–68). Lafayette arrived in Richmond with his detachment on 29 April (see Lafayette’s second letter to Greene, 3 May, found at Lafayette to GW, 4 May, n.2).

2. For the instructions, see Greene to Steuben, 2 April, in 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 , 8:23–26. For Greene’s new conviction that Steuben’s usefulness in Virginia had been diminished, see Greene to GW, 1 May.

3. Col. William Davies had been named commissioner of the Virginia war office (see Thomas Jefferson to Davies, 22 March, in 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 , 5:204–5; see also Davies to Greene, 2 April, in 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 , 8:26–28).

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Source Project: Washington Papers
Title: Major General Steuben to George Washington, 5 May 1781
Author: Steuben, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin, Baron von
Recipient: Washington, George
Date: 5 May 1781

Reference

Cite as: “Major General Steuben to George Washington, 5 May 1781,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-31-02-0471. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 31, 7 March–5 May 1781, ed. William M. Ferraro. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2023, pp. 659–660.]

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