Board of War to George Washington, 13 May 1781
From the Board of War
War Office [Philadelphia] May 13th 1781.
Sir
The Board do themselves the honor to inclose your Excellency, the copies of letters this day recieved from the Governor of Virginia and the Marquis la fayette.1
General Wayne’s march (from the situation of the public finances) has been hitherto unfortunately delayed; The Board however have wrote to him to-day to press his departure in the strongest manner; and they hope that his difficulties are so far surmounted, that he will immedy set out with his detachment: They have the honor to inclose a copy of the letter they wrote to him.2 I am, with the highest respect Yr Excys Obedt & very hhble Servt
By order.
Willm Grayson
LS, DLC:GW. The accurate date for this letter likely is 14 May because on that date Congress read and referred to the board a “letter, of 3, and one, of 8” from Major General Lafayette, as well as a “letter, of 9, from the governor of Virginia” (, 20:499; see also n.2 below). For GW’s acknowledgment, see his letter to the board, 29 May.
1. The board enclosed copies of letters that Lafayette had written Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene from camp by the Pamunkey River in Virginia on 3 May, and one he wrote Samuel Huntington, president of Congress, from Richmond dated 8–9 May (both DLC:GW). The letter to Greene reported that Lafayette’s troops had protected Richmond (see also , 4:80–81). Lafayette’s letter to Huntington was “a private communication” that reported how “Genl Phillips in consequence of advices supposed to be from Cornwallis, has thought proper to return as far up as Brandon where he has landed, one small Detachment with some militia are on their way to Petersburgh where the Bridge has been destroyed by the Enemy. [May] 9th Philips’s Naval superiority has put it in his power to land at such a place, as gives him the start of me, and we have no conveniencies to follow him, Indeed without the Command of the Rivers, and without boats it is impossible to act in a Country so much intersected with Rivers. Whatever this handfull of men can do shall be exerted to the best of our power. But each of their two Armies is an over match for our small line” (see also Lafayette to GW, 8 and 18 May).
The enclosed copy of Virginia governor Thomas Jefferson’s letter to Huntington dated 9 May is nearly identical to the one Jefferson wrote GW on the same date (DLC:GW).
2. The enclosed letter from the Board of War to Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne, written on this date, shared recent “alarming” intelligence from Virginia and urged him “to push on the Infantry, in the first instance by forced marches and leave the baggage and heavy Stores to follow after, They trust however that you will pursue such methods, on this critical situation, as will be most likely to effect a junction with the Marquis in the shortest space of time the nature of the case will admit of. … P.S. It will be necessary to carry on all the musquet ammunition” (DLC:GW; see also Wayne to GW, 7 May).