George Washington to George Clinton, 16 June 1781
To George Clinton
Head Quarters New Windsor June 16th 1781
Dear Sir
Mr Peirce Pay Master General of the Army, will have the honor of delivering this Letter, he waits upon Your Excellency to see whether any ways & means can be devised to procure Money for the payment of the Troops of the New York Line—It is a matter of ⟨such⟩ interesting importance, that I can⟨not⟩ forbear recommending it, to the ⟨earliest⟩ & most serious attention of the s⟨ta⟩te.1 I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s Most Obedt Sert
Go: Washington
LS, in David Humphreys’s writing, NNGL; Df, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW. Mutilated material on the LS is supplied in angle brackets from the draft, which Humphreys also penned.
1. “An Act for the Payment of the Salaries of the several Officers of Government, and of certain Debts due from this State,” adopted on 1 July, directed New York’s treasurer to “pay to the Pay-Master General of the Army of the United States, such Sum as the Person administering the Government, shall certify is requisite for the Pay of one Month, exclusive of Subsistence, to Major-General Mc. Dougal and Brigadier-General Clinton, and their respective Suits; to John Gano, Chaplain to the Brigade under the Command of the said Brigadier-General; and to the Officers and Privates of the Regiment of Artillery, commanded by Colonel John Lamb, and the two Regiments of Infantry of this State, commanded by Colonels Van Schaick and Cortlandt” (, 203–6, quote on 205). Mutiny occurred in the 1st New York Regiment before this money arrived (see James Clinton to GW, 10 July, DLC:GW, and GW to James Clinton, 14 July, NNPM). For an earlier attempt to obtain pay for discontented New York troops, see GW to William Heath, 30 March; see also GW to Samuel Huntington, 8 April.