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Washington Reports Movement of British Detachment to Samuel Huntington, President of Congress
Washington Reports Movement of British Detachment to Samuel Huntington, President of Congress
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Washington George

Washington Reports Movement of British Detachment to Samuel Huntington, President of Congress

 

[GEORGE WASHINGTON, Manuscript Copy of Letter Signed, to Samuel Huntington, November 14, 1780, Passaic Fall, [New Jersey. Penciled note reads, “Written by Tench Tilghman.” (which is correct), 1 p., 8.5" x 12.75". Expected folds and some browning. From the Library of Charles I. Forbes, and off the market since 1956.

 

Complete Transcript

Copy.                                                               Head Quarters Passaic Fall 14 Novr 1780

Sir

            I have just received advise that Admiral Rodney fleet with the transports, which have been some time preparing fell down to the Hook on Saturday last. The number of troops on board is not yet ascertained. It is said that major general Philips commands the detachment but I have it not sufficiently vouched to make it a matter of certainty. Their destination is generally believed to be to the southward  I expect more circumstantial intelligence shortly.

                                                                        I have the honor to be / with the highest respect

                                                                        Your excellency’s most obedt & humble servt

                                                                        Go Washington

His Excellency / The President of Congress

[Docketing:

Copy of a Letter from Genl Washington to the President of Congress

Novemr 14 1780 (In the hand of Samuel Huntington)

 

Historical Background

On the same day that Washington informed Congress that Admiral Rodney’s fleet had left New York and moved to Sandy Hook at the mouth of New York harbor with transports, he wrote to General Comte de Rochambeau that Rodney’s fleet had left New York and was likely to be uniting with British Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot, the commander-in-chief of the North American Station, off Newport, Rhode Island, or heading to the West Indies after escorting the transports to some location to the south. Washington reported to Rochambeau that there were six British ships of the line in New York, but he was uncertain whether all had left with Rodney.

 

Admiral George Brydges Rodney (1718-1792) was a controversial British admiral known for placing prize money above military objectives. He was indeed heading to the West Indies. With the outbreak of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, the government in London ordered Rodney to capture the valuable Dutch island of St. Eustatius, which he accomplished on February 3, 1781. Convinced that the Jewish merchants on the island were aiding the Americans, Rodney arrested and imprisoned 101 Jews and deported 31 heads of families. He looted their personal wealth and even dug up the Jewish cemetery looking for valuables. While Rodney lingered there, French Admiral Comte de Grasse sailed his fleet to the Chesapeake, where he defeated the British fleet sent to relieve British General Cornwallis at the Battle of the Capes in September 1781. Cornwallis ultimately surrendered at Yorktown the following month, effectively ending the American War for Independence.

 

Major General William Phillips (1731-1781) was a British army officer captured at Saratoga and held as part of the Convention Army until 1780, when he was exchanged for American General Benjamin Lincoln. While held as a prisoner in Virginia, Phillips was entertained by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. Whatever force was sent on the transports, Phillips was not in command of it, as he remained in New York until March 1781, when he joined General Benedict Arnold in Virginia, where Phillips took command until his death less than two months later.

 

When President Huntington received this letter from Washington, he forwarded copies to Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson, Lieutenant Colonel Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee with his Legion who were heading south, and Major General Nathanael Greene, soon to take charge of all American troops from Delaware to Georgia.

 

 

Samuel Huntington (1731-1796) was born in Connecticut and admitted to the bar in 1754. He established a practice in Norwich, Connecticut, and served in the legislature and as King’s Attorney. As a delegate to the Continental Congress (1776-1781), he was a Signer of the Declaration of Independence and was president of Congress (1779-1781) when the Articles of Confederation were adopted. As Governor of Connecticut (1786-1796) he led the battle for Connecticut’s ratification of the Federal Constitution and served in other state posts.

 

 

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