George Washington to Lieutenant General Rochambeau, 11 May 1781
To Lieutenant General Rochambeau
New Windsor 11th May 1781
Sir,
I have this instant received a Letter from Colo. Dayton, (an Officer of intelligence in the American Army, near Elizabeth town) which contains the inclosed paragraph.1
His informant must, I conceive, have magnified the enemy’s force, both in ships of the line, and in the strength of the detachment. nor do I conceive that the fleet could have sailed on the 8th, as he mentions, on account of the Wind & weather2—Still less am I disposed to believe, that Newport is the object of this Armament3—but as intelligence through another channel pointed to that Epoch for the Sailing of the Fleet,4 I have not delayed a moment in giving the information, as I received it—& shall thank your Excellency for handing it to the Admiral.5 With great esteem and respect, and much personal attachment I have the honor to be Yr Excellency’s Most Obt & Hble Servt
Go: Washington
P.S. I have been honored with your Excellency’s favors of the 5th & 7th.6
G.W.
ALS, CtY-BR:R; Df, DLC:GW; Rochambeau’s French translation, CtY-BR:R; Varick transcript, DLC:GW. GW penned the dateline and salutation on the draft, which is in the writing of GW’s aide-de-camp David Humphreys. A postscript appears along the draft’s left margin: “N.B. The Counts Letters of the 5th & 7th were acknowledged.” Rochambeau’s translation has no postscript. Rochambeau replied to GW on 15 May.
1. The enclosed extract has not been found, but see Elias Dayton to GW, 9 May; see also GW to Dayton, this date.
2. British major Frederick Mackenzie, stationed in New York City, wrote in his diary entry for 8 May: “Rain most part of last night. Thick cloudy day. Wind S.W. Small rain and dirty weather till the afternoon, when it fell calm, and began to clear up” (, 2:518; see also the general orders for that date and n.1 to that document).
4. See the report from “S.G.” found at Benjamin Tallmadge to GW, 2 May, n.2.
5. GW refers to Rear Admiral Barras.
6. See Rochambeau to GW, 5 and 7 May. Rochambeau’s earlier letter responded to GW’s explanation of captured private correspondence in which he had criticized the French expeditionary force.