To George Washington from Major General Benjamin Lincoln, 1 November 1777
From Major General Benjamin Lincoln
Albany Novr 1st 1777
Dear Genl
Mr Claiborne, who has acted as my Aid de Camp, and whom I have permitted to return to Virginia, will have the honor of delivering this to your Excellency.1
The great distance from Virginia to New-England, and the uncertainty of my state of health, and in what part of the Continent I may serve, should I ever be able to take the field, may render it uncertain whether he can again join my family—Your Excellency will give me leave to mention him as a faithful, good officer, and to wish he might be noticed.
I am happy to inform you that my wound is in a good way, and my Surgeons doubt not but will do well—I have been very ill for a few days past, but I hope soon to be relieved.2 Wishing you success and safety, I am, Dear Genl, with the greatest regard & esteem Your most Obedient Hble Sert
B. Lincoln
LS, DLC:GW. Lincoln also signed the cover.
1. Buller Claiborne (1755–1804) was appointed a first lieutenant in the 2d Continental Regiment in October 1775, and he was promoted to captain the following January. In November 1776 he declined an offer to serve as a captain in the Virginia Artillery Regiment. Claiborne apparently again served as aide-de-camp to Lincoln later in the war. After the war Claiborne settled in Dinwiddie County, Va., where he served as a county justice and as sheriff.
2. On 8 Oct. Lincoln had been shot in the right ankle while reconnoitering British positions near Bemis Heights, New York. He spent the next four months in a military hospital in Albany before going home to Hingham, Massachusetts. Lincoln did not return to active service until August 1778 ( , 49–51, 54).