Colonel Elias Dayton to George Washington, 30 June 1781
From Colonel Elias Dayton
Chatham [N.J.] June 30th 1781
Sir,
In my last I acquainted your Excellency with the return of the enemy from Monmouth1—On monday night a party consisting of one hundred men landed in Rahway and carried off near fifty head of cattle, about the same number of sheep with fifteen of the inhabitants prisoners, and on thursday night they landed eighty men, three miles south of Elizth Town, which took off with them thirty cattle.2 They have been particularly enquiring of persons in whom they place confidence, the situation of the live stock in Elizth Town & Newark, where, it is probable they will soon make another attempt as the ⟨de⟩mand for fresh provisions with them is very pressing. Those taken at Monmouth were put on board Arbuthnot’s fleet. An order from your Excellency for driving off all the fat cattle from the lines would afford great assistance to our army and in a great measure disappoint the enemy.
A fleet of transports arrived in N. York the 26th from Europe by the way of Charlestown, at which place they left most if not the whole of the troops they brought out with them, said to amount to nearly 2500 men.3
There are now on Staten Island Colonel De Bunau’s Regiment of Hessians consisting of 550, Buskirk’s corps of 120 and Barton’s Regiment between 250 & 300 with eighteen of Stewart’s horse.4 Colonel Smith who takes charge of this letter will be able to inform your Excellency of other circumstances respecting their situation. I have also given him a York paper of the 27th for your Excellency’s perusal.5 I have the honor to be your Excellency Most Obdt Hbl. servant
Elias Dayton
LS, DLC:GW. Dayton wrote the closing. GW acknowledged this letter when he wrote Dayton on 7 July (MoSW: George N. Meissner Collection).
1. See Dayton to GW, 26 June.
2. The second raid apparently took place on Friday, 29 June. The Royal Gazette (New York) for 30 June reported how the previous night “a detachment of the garrison, of about 36 men,” and the “1st Battalion New-Jersey Volunteers, with about 34 Refugees and militia … landed at Trembly’s Point, near the mouth of Raway river.” The force captured five “rebels, after this they took between 30 and 40 head of cattle, amongst which are six good oxen, and about 80 sheep, which were drove to Trembly’s Point.” Counterattacks resulted in the raiders taking prisoners, after which “the troops and the refugees then embarked with the greatest regularity and good order, with all their cattle and sheep, and came safe to Staten Island.”
3. See GW to Barras, 27 June, n.1; see also John Pray to GW, this date.
4. Dayton refers to the Hessian garrison Regiment von Bünau, lieutenant colonels Abraham Van Buskirk’s and Joseph Barton’s battalions of the New Jersey Volunteers, and Lt. William Stewart’s Staten Island Troop of Horse; see also the entry for 27 July in , 576.
Rudolph von Bünau (Buenau) became colonel of the Regiment von Bünau in February 1775.
5. The enclosed newspaper probably was The Royal Gazette (New York) for 27 June. GW had recalled Lt. Col. William Stephens Smith from Philadelphia to the main army (see GW to Smith, 30 May).