Lieutenant Colonel William De Hart to George Washington, 4 July 1781
From Lieutenant Colonel William De Hart
Jersey Huts [Pompton, N.J.] July. 4th 81.
Sr:
Herewith I Transmit to your Excellency the Proceedings of A Court Martial of Which I was President.1
John Cully. Tried & Convicted of Desertion2—his Confession’s is Also Enclos’d the first was Made to Col. Dayton. the Second. to Me.3 I Inform’d him at the time of his Confession I had Nothing to Promise him but that Should Any thing Appear in it that Merited your Excellencys Attention I Would Transmit it to you for Your Consideration how far in that Case he was An Object of Mercy. Col. Dayton will Also Write to you on that subject. he Knows his Merits & Demerits better than Me.4
Corporal Wm Jibbs Also Condem’d for Maurading. his Crime is Agravated by his being on Duty. A Man of Bad Character. the Offence he Comitted was in Company With A soldier & an Inhabitant in Arms in the Night, the Plunder not less in Value than £20. or £30. I Wish the Minutes of the Court Martial on that Head had been fuller.
the Court wished Me to Inform You that Agreeable to the Recommendation for Mercy they Desire Davis May be Pardon’d he Will be A Usefull soldier tho I Cannot think it of Jibbs.5
Mr Adams Comisary of Prisoners Comes Next.
Mr Halsted, & Frazee the Evidences Refer’d to, Were Properly Notic’d the Court Adjou[r]n’d One Day for their Attendance in the Afternoon they Call’d at My Quarters I Inform’d Halsted of the Opportun[i]ty the Court had Given him of Prosecuting or Giving Testimony in the Case of Mr Adam’s he Inform’d Me that the Charges did Not Come Within his Knowledge And were not Agreeable to his Wishes. I Advised him to Attend the Next Day—he Declin’d it the Court Afterwards Proceeded to give Judgement. such as it is I Transmit to Your Excelle[n]cy.6 I Am Sr Your Most Hum. Servt
Wm D. Hart
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. The enclosed court-martial proceedings have not been identified.
2. John Cully (1760–1805), a cordwainer from New Brunswick, N.J., served as a private in the 3d New Jersey Regiment. He appears to have deserted in 1777 or 1778 (see n.4 below).
3. In both confessions, which are undated, Cully relates his movements on Staten Island and the nearby coastal regions of northeast New Jersey and names individuals who aided him or assisted in plundering inhabitants (DLC:GW, both filed under 4 July 1781).
4. See Elias Dayton to GW, 8 July (DLC:GW). Dayton had written New Jersey governor William Livingston on 11 June enclosing an “examination of John Cully a deserter from the Jersey Brigade, who has been with the enemy several years, during which time he has frequently been out through the country on the robbing, murdering and plundering scheme” (, 4:219–20).
5. GW pardoned corporal William Gibbs and private John Davis (see General Orders, 27 July).
William Gibbs (d. 1782) enlisted in the 1st New Jersey Regiment as a private in May 1778 and rose to corporal in December 1780. He was executed after a subsequent court-martial found him guilty of desertion and other offenses (see General Orders, 11 Aug. 1782).
John Davis (Davies) enlisted for the duration of the war as a private in the 1st New Jersey Regiment. He deserted in April 1782.
6. Matthias Halsted and Isaac Frazee were the complainants who declined to prosecute John Adam, deputy commissary of prisoners. Their inaction resulted in his release (see GW to Dayton, 11 May and 14 June).