Major General Lafayette to George Washington, 18 June 1781
From Major General Lafayette
Allen’s Creek 22 miles from Richmond1
18th june 1781
My dear General
independent of public Motives private Attachement for You Renders it Very Hard to me that our Correspondance is So much interrupted—I Heartly feel for the Accident that Has put Some of Your letters in the Hands of the Ennemy—the More So as the friendship that You are pleased to Honor me With Had induced you to Confidential Communications2—letters from the Late governor of this State to me Have Also Been taken and their Contents improved By the Ennemy3—the inclosed Copy will give you an official Account of Transactions in this quarter4—So much I owe to My General, But With My friend I Beg leave to Be More Confidential.
The Conduct of the Baron, My dear General, is to me Unintelligible—Every man woman and Child in Virginia is Roused Against Him—they dispute even on His Courage But I Cannot Believe their assertions. I must However Confess that He Had 500 and odd New levies and Some militia that He was on the other Side of A River which the freshet Rendered very difficult to Be Crossed particularly By people that Had no Boats—that the greater part of the Accounts Make Simcoe 400 strong Half of them dragoons—that our Stores on the South Side were destroied, By about 30 or 40 men—that the Baron Went to Staunton River About 70 miles from the point of fork—that the Militia Abandonned Him and I am informed the New levies deserted from Him, Because they did not like His Maneuvre—General Lawson and Every officer and Soldier Both in the Regulars and Militia are So Much Exasperated Against the Baron and Cover Him with So Many Ridicules that after I Have obtained a jonction with Him I do not know where to employ Him without Giving offense.5
Had not the Assembly at Charlotte ville and the State Board of War Sent for Arms which they intended to fight with and which upon the Ennemy’s approach were left in their Way, Had the Twelve Hours Been improved that were given them By three Repeated Alarms. Had not the Baron Abandonned an Unattakable position Before So inferior a force, the Reason of Which No Man of Sense Will Be able to Understand, I would Have the pleasure to Say that Lord Cornwallis’s journey to Virginia Has not produced Him the smallest Advantage—the delays of the pennsylvania Line, the Neglects in the Several departements Have all Been Combined to Bring about What the Baron’s Retreat Has Effected—our loss is Not Very Considerable, But in our situation We Cannot Afford loosing—this Affair Has Chagrined me But the inclosed Copy will Show you that I Avoid Reflecting on the Man who ought to Have Better Managed our Affairs—upon Him was My Entire dependance in that Respect—the Baron Wished for A journey to the Southward, the orders to Stay in this state Had Been intercepted But all this Cannot Be an Excuse—I Request You, My dear General, to Remember that this Communication is not to the Commander in Chief.
I Heartly Wish, My dear General, our Movements may Meet with Your Approbation—in Spite of every obstacle thrown in our Way I shall Collect our Forces to a point—800 light infantry 700 pennsylvanians, 50 dragoons, 900 Riflemen 2000 Militia and 400 New levies (the Remainder Having deserted) Will Be the Utmost Extent of forces we Can Expect—But the Harvest time Will Soon deprive us of the Greatest part of the Militia—Governor Nelson will I Hope Be a Supporter of Spirited Measures.6
What little I Have Concerning N.Y. is in a Chest with Mister Charles Washington’s papers Near the Mountains in Orange County—I shall try to get it, and will in my Next Be able Better to Explain the Meaning of the New arrived fleet—Some Say the Vessels are Empty Which Might look as if they Came for a Reinforcement to Newyork, or perhaps do they Carry Stores from that place to portsmouth.7 Adieu, My dear General, With the Highest Respect and Most tender affection I Have the honor to Be Your Hbl. Servant and friend
lafayette
Washington Had to day Some fever But only Caused By fatigue and His Assiduity in the Business we Have upon Hand.8
ALS, DLC:GW; copy, PEL. The postscript appears only on the ALS. GW replied to Lafayette on 13 July (DLC:GW).
1. Allen’s Creek was a small tributary on the south side of the South Anna River. Lafayette’s headquarters was at “Clel. Dandriges’s,” situated along that creek about twenty-two miles northwest of Richmond (Lafayette to Steuben, 15 June, postscript, in , 4:185). The house likely was that of Nathaniel West Dandridge of Hanover County, whose father, William Dandridge, was Martha Washington’s paternal uncle. He had been granted 496 acres on Allen’s Creek in 1728. Lafayette was still at Dandridge’s on 20 June (see Lafayette to Nathanael Greene, that date, in , 4:197–201).
2. See GW to Lafayette, 4 June.
3. The intercepted letters, evidently taken when the British captured an express rider, have not been identified (see Lafayette to Steuben, 3 June, in , 4:161–62).
4. Lafayette probably enclosed an unidentified copy of his letter of this date to Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene. In that letter, Lafayette explained that his objective had been to deal with the threat to his “Northern Communication” by checking “the further progress of Lord Cornwallis.” Lafayette concluded with remarks on British raids toward Charlottesville and Point of Fork, Va.: “Our force was not equal to their defence, and a delay of our junction wou’d have answered the views of the Enemy. But on the arrival of the Pennsylvanians We made forced marches towards James River and on our gaining the South Anna We found Lord Cornwallis encamped some Miles below the Point of Fork. A stolen march thro’ a difficult road gave us a position upon Michunk Creek between the Enemy and our Stores, where agreeable to appointment We were joined by a body of Riflemen. The next day Lord Cornwallis returned towards Richmond where he now is and was followed by our small Army. I have directed General Steuben to return this way, and a junction will be formed as his distance permits. … P.S. The following is an extract of a letter just now received from James Barron Commadore dated Warwick 9 miles from Hampton June 17th: 1781.
“‘At five oClock this Afternoon anchored in the Road from Sea 35 Sail of the Enemys Vessells. Viz. 24 Ships 10 Brigs and one Schooner which I take to be the Fleet which sailed from hence 13 days ago. Only 4 appear to have troops on board’” (, 4:191–94, quotes on 191 and 193).
5. For Major General Steuben’s retreat from Point of Fork, see Richard Henry Lee to GW, 12 June, and n.9 to that document. After his retreat, Steuben had continued his withdrawal to the west until arriving with his command at Cole’s Ferry on the Staunton River. Upon learning that Lafayette had rendezvoused with Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne’s Pennsylvania detachment, Steuben marched east and joined Lafayette on 18 or 19 June “with 408 Recruits and about 500 Militia” (Steuben’s Narrative of His Movements on Leaving Point of Fork, 1781, in , 6:632–35, quote on 635; see also Steuben to Lafayette, 13 June, and Lafayette to Steuben, 18 June, in , 4:182–83, 496).
6. The Virginia legislature had elected Thomas Nelson, Jr., governor on 12 June.
7. GW’s brother Charles, a militia colonel, resided in the northern part of the Shenandoah Valley at his estate “Happy Retreat” in present-day Charles Town, West Virginia. Lafayette next wrote GW on 28 June but did not mention information concerning New York City. For the fleet, see n.4 above. Maj. Gen. Alexander Leslie, British commander at Portsmouth, Va., wrote Gen. Henry Clinton on 17 June that “Captain Elphinstone, in the Warwick, is arrived at Hampton Road with a detachment of the Guards, etc., for this army and fifteen victualers” (, 532; see also GW to Rochambeau, 19 June, n.4).
8. Lafayette refers to his aide-de-camp George Augustine Washington.