Enclosure: Instructions to Lieutenant Colonel Richard Varick, 25 May 1781
ENCLOSURE
Instructions to Lieutenant Colonel Richard Varick
[25 May 1781]
Instructions to the recording Secretary at Head Quarters.
A. 1. All Letters to Congress, Committees of Congress, the Board of War, Individual Members of Congress in their public Characters and American Ministers Plenipotentiary at Foreign Courts, are to be classed together and to be entered in the Order of their Dates.
B. 2. All letters, Orders, and Instructions to Officers of the line, of the Staff, and all other Military Characters, to compose, a second Class, and to be entered in like manner.
C— 3. All Letters to Governors, Presidents and other Executives of States, Civil Magistrates and Citizens of every Denomination, to be a third Class and entered as aforementioned.1
D. 4. Letters to foreign Ministers, Foreign Officers, and subjects of Foreign Nations not in the immediate service of America, in Virtue of Commissions from Congress, to compose another Class.
E. 5. Letters to Officers of every Denomination in the service of the Enemy, and to British subjects of every Character with the Enemy, or applying to go in to them.
F. 6. Proceedings of Councils of War in the Order of their Dates.2
The Secretary is to assort and prepare these papers to be registered by different Clerks. He is to number and keep a List of his Deliveries of them to those persons, takg recets for them. The Lists are to specify the Dates, and to whom the Letters are directed; by which the papers after they are registered are to be carefully returned by the Clerks to the secretary, who is to compare them with the Books of Entries, and to have them neatly filed in the Order they are registered, or in such other manner, as that references may be more easily had to them. Clerks who write a fair Hand, and correctly, are to be employed; and that there may be a similarity and Beauty in the whole execution, all the writing is to be upon black lines equi-distant. All the Books to have the same Margin, and to be indexed in so Clear and intelligent a manner, that there may be no difficulty in the references. The Clerks must be sworn, or be upon their Honour, to be careful of the papers. To give no Copies without permission, or suffer any thing to be taken with their privity or Knowledge.
Letters to me are to be Classed, in the same Order as those from me, indorsed and filed in neat Order, and of easy access.
All Files are to be upon Formers of the same size, that the Folds may be the same, and the Sto[r]age (in proper Boxes) close and compact.
All Returns are to be properly assorted, arranged and treated in the same way: So are papers of every other Class; and the whole to be organized in such a manner, as that easy references may be had to them.
If you are not already furnished with a sufficient number of Books, you will apply to the Quarter Master General for as many more as you shall find necessary to compleat your Entries. All the Books are to be of the same size.3 Given at Head Qrs N. Windsor 25 May 1781.
G.W.
D, in George Taylor, Jr.’s writing, DLC:GW; ADf (facsimile), advertised for sale by Sotheby’s, New York, December 2011, Lot 291; copy, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW. Varick enclosed the copy when he wrote GW on 21 Aug. (see the source note below).
After Varick accepted his appointment as GW’s recording secretary and arrived at headquarters in early June, GW gave him guidelines for the copying of his papers. That document, presumably based on GW’s draft, has not been found. The present copy text likely represents the final instructions negotiated between GW and Varick during the summer of 1781. It was backdated to conform with the date of Varick’s acceptance of the position. For Varick’s appointment and related negotiations, see GW to Varick, 25 May, source note, and Varick to GW, same date.
GW’s draft instructions to Varick, docketed “June 17 1781,” are headed “Instructions for the recording Secretary at Head Quarters” and continue: “All letters to Congress—Committees of Congress—and to the Board of War are to be classed together—& to be entered in the ordr of their dates.
“All Instructions to Officers of the line—of the Staff—and letters to Military characters of every denomination to compose another class & be entered in like manner.
“Letters to Governors—Presidents—& other Executives of States—Civil Magistrates—and Citizens of every Denomn to be a third class & recorded as aforementioned.
“Letters to Foreign Ministers—Foreign Officers—&ca to compose a fourth class.” The rest of GW’s draft contains the essential substance of the copy text with some differences in sequence.
Varick wrote GW from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on 21 Aug.: “Agreeable to your Excellency’s Directions I do inclose Copy of the unsigned Instructions which I recd from you at New Windsor, with some Additions, perhaps yet incompleat.
“With respect to my Pay & Subsistence Your Excellency was pleased to put me on the footing with the Secretary with You. I could wish to be allowed to draw forage for two Horses in Case I should find it convenient & necessary actually to keep two. Colo. Trumbull will be good enough to suggest my reasons.
“I shall stand in Need of your Excellency’s written Orders, in your Name to promise Payment of fifty Dollars in specie or its equivalent (without rations) to the Writers to discharge me of any personal pecuniary Engagements to them. I have requested Colo. Trumbull to solicit You[r] Excellency’s Directions permitting me to offer 60. Dollars to one of the Writers (either Young Mr. rutgers or Captn Dunscomb) who besides the ordinary Duty at Office Hours, is to assist me in comparing all the Papers with the Entries, in the Absence of the other Writers.
“Inclose Your Excellency an Invoice of the Baggage which was left at New Windsor in my Charge without an Inventory & which is now sent down, with the Boatman’s rect to Captn Colfax at that Place.
“The Original Inventory of the Kitchen Furniture is mislaid in one of the Chests, as soon as found I will inclose It. I have requested Captn Colfax to call on Mrs Case for the Copy I delivered her, which will Answer the present purpose.
“I expect, the public will pay the Hire of the room I have as an Office. I shall also soon require fire Wood, for which, (as I have no Cash to advance for the Public) I beg an Order on the Quarter Master Genl or any of his Deputies. Candles I have drawn of Course for the Office, specifying for what Use. I trust your Excellency will have no Cause to apprehend any Abuse of that Liberty—but during your Absence I will require an Order.
“Perhaps it may be eligible to mention my Instructions, that in Case I shall want any more blank Books, to apply to the Q.M. Genl—or my Application may be fruitless.
“Wishing your Excellency’s Success in all your Operations” (ALS, DLC:GW). Varick subsequently abandoned the idea to pay a higher monthly amount to one writer for extra duties (see his letter to GW, 1 Oct., DLC:GW).
Varick also wrote GW’s secretary Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., from Poughkeepsie on the same date: “Agreeable to His Excellency’s Commands I have copied & added some Things to his Instructions to me, to be compleated together with my Appointment & returned to me. I accepted on the 25th May, as per my Letter & joined the 7th June.
“The Terms the Genl proposed were to be on an equal footing with Yourself with respect to pay & subsistence Money. I wish this to [be] specified, as also that the Pay to Myself & Writers should be in Specie or its equivalent. Let it be mentioned in particular about the Writers as His Excellency’s promise, they now hold me in the Gap.
“I only proposed forage for one Horse, but as recollection & upon finding that a much greater Proportion of my Time & personal Attention is necessary to the Execution of this Business with Propriety, & being lo[a]th to Carry my own Portmanteau at any Time while attached to any Duty under His Excellency. Added to this, that in Winter it will be impossible to ride out on Horseback—I wish You to interest Yourself for forage for another Horse, I engage not to draw it for more than one Horse unless I actually keep it. I wish a seperate Order for this. As also for fire Wood for the Office, as the Cold Weather is fast approaching—The room in which the Office is kept ought to be paid for by the Public. my Lodgings is an Affair of my own. I should not stipulate for forage for a second Horse, were I assured of punctual Payment by the Public, but past Experience has taught me a Useful Lesson.
“I wish farther to be empowered to Give one of the Writers 60 Dollars ⅌ mo., as they draw no rations or any Thing else, & I wish one, besides his Ordinary Duty at Office Hours, in the Absence of the Others to Assist me in Examining the Papers, this will justly deserve some Compensation.
“My Deputies as well as your Humble Servt will want Cash in October at farthest to pay Board & other incidental Expences. The Writers cannot nor will they be induced to act without it, I wish Your private Information how this Matter will turn out.
“I am hurried, Must therefore conclude with my Compliments & best Wishes to my friends with You. I only regret that I cannot be an attendant with You, as all prospects of doing any profitable Law Business now vanish, till the Enemy are reduced” (DLC:GW). Most of GW’s army had just begun to march from New York to confront the British force at Yorktown, Virginia.
1. A manicule draws attention to a question on the copy: “N.B. I have filed the Letters recd of the 2nd & third Class together. will this do? An[swere]d Yes.”
2. GW later added his private correspondence as a class of documents to be recorded (see GW to Varick, this date, source note).
3. The preceding sentence does not appear on the copy.