Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, 10 May 1781
From Thomas Jefferson
Richmond, 10 May 1781. To replace papers and records destroyed during the British raid on Richmond during the previous January,1 and with the approval of the state council,2 Jefferson requests that GW allow “Mr. Granville Smith to take Copies of any Letters with which you have been pleased to honour the Executive or have received from them previous to the Commencement of the present year. … Mr. Smith has been particularly chosen to execute this Office because of his approved Discretion, and we think ourselves safe in assuring you that he may confidentially be relied on.”
Copy, Vi. Jefferson wrote a similar letter to the Virginia delegates in Congress (see , 5:634–35). The absence of a reply from GW or any evidence of Granville Smith contacting GW or any member of his staff suggests that GW never received this letter.
1. For this raid, see Steuben to GW, 8 Jan., and Jefferson to GW, 10 January.
2. See the entry for this date in , 2:344–45.