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Lot 244
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Washington Writes During the Brutal Famous Hard Winter at Morristown
Washington Writes During the Brutal Famous Hard Winter at Morristown
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Washington George



Washington Writes During the Brutal Famous Hard Winter at Morristown

 

Letter Signed by George Washington during the "Hard Winter" encampment at Morristown, with the body of the letter penned by Robert Hanson Harrison, Washington's military secretary and the defacto chief of staff of Washington's headquarters. 8" x 9.75". Written on watermarked laid paper with an important and large watermark, one often used by Washington. This elaborate watermark bears the symbol of a griffin, representing the intelligence and strength of the lion and the eagle, and a man holding a Liberty pole topped with a soft conical cap. Liberty poles were first raised in the American colonies to protest the Stamp Act of 1765. Dated "Morris town Feby 20, 1780", and signed by George Washington as "Go. Washington". Docketed to verso. Minor professional repair to a few very small edge chips, not affecting the signature. Verso with archival strengthening of paper to the folds.  Matted together with a handsome color print to a completed size of 24" x 14"

 

During the time of this letter, Washington and his troops were encamped at Morristown in one of the most well-remembered events in American history. The Continental Army camped at Morristown for roughly 6 months in the winter from December 1, 1779 to June 22, 1780. The site was chosen for its strategic location in the center for local farming, mining and timber, which would provide Washington's army with resources to build winter shelters. Upon arrival his army constructed a "log house city" of more than 1000 wood structures. His army consisted of 10-12,000 soldiers which later would be reduced to 8,000 due to desertion and death. What came upon them was an unprecedented winter, resulting in conditions harsher and more difficult to endure than those at Valley Forge several years before. The winter, described as "intensely cold and freezing", proved to be one of the coldest on record, receiving twenty-eight snowfalls during this period. In January there was even a blizzard that lasted for two days leaving 4 feet of snow in its wake. As with Valley Forge, the soldiers had scant clothing, and serious lack of food and supplies. Washington noted that the soldiers sometimes went "5 or Six days together without bread, at other times as many days without meat, and once or twice two or three days without either", his men were so desperate they would eat tree bark, shoe leather or even dogs. The community members' reticence to offer their support to the Continental Army provided a constant source of frustration for Washington, but he was loathe to anger the locals by allowing his troops to pillage their fames and fields. Eventually matters became so grave he confiscated grain and cattle to keep his troops from starving. Washington recounted that “The situation of the Army with respect to supplies is beyond description alarming, it has been five or six Weeks past on half allowance, and we have not three days Bread or a third allowance on hand nor any where within reach.” Washington voiced his concerns regarding the shortages of food, supplies, and pay for the army, detailing the absence of adequate rations and funds for acquiring necessary provisions. According to Washington, the Army had “never experienced a like extremity at any period of the War,” signifying his distress over the conditions his troops faced. He expressed his fears that without relief, “the Army will infallibly disband in a fortnight.” Some historians suggest that this experience with the thirteen colonies during the Revolution influenced Washington’s advocacy for a more centralized Federal government during the Constitutional Conventions of the late 1780s.

 

The significance of this winter cannot be overstated. Offered here is a letter from Washington written in the middle of this crisis, shown transcribed in full below:

 

 

"Headquarters Morris town feby 20, 1780

Sir

I request that you will transmit His Excellency Governor Clinton, as soon as possible, an exact return of the Non Commissioned Officers + privates in your Regiment; designating in a particular manner the number inlisted for the War, and the different terms of service of the residue digested in Monthly Columns. You will nevertheless forward me a similar Return.

I am Sir

With esteem + regards

Yr most obed S

G.Washington"

 

 

 

It was here at Morristown that the Continental Army was nearly starved out of existence.  The constant lack of food and the never-ending hard winter led to the mutiny of several Continental regiments.  Washington declared that the army could "perish for want of food." Much like Valley Forge, the winter encampment at Morristown, New Jersey became an important symbol of patriotism and persistence in the American Revolution. In perhaps the most severe winter encampment of the war, Patriot forces held together, in spite of conditions that threatened to tear the army apart. In the winter of 1779-1780, the Continental Army’s perseverance and determination to overcome the challenges they faced prepared them for the campaigns that would eventually secure American Independence.


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