To George Washington from Samuel Tucker, 18 May 1776
From Samuel Tucker
Trenton [N.J.] 18th may 1776
Dear General
I am to acknowledge Your favor of the 24th ultimo then ask pardon for not answering Sooner, at Same Time Take the Liberty to Inform you that our Committee of Safety only Came into the following Regulation on the 15th Instant that one fourth of the militia of the Several Counties be Detacht by Lott to Stand as minute men for Two months to be well armed an[d] accoutered to march at a minutes warning on any alarm to the Several Places of Rendevoze, County of Bergin to Powles Hook1 Counties of Essex Morris and Sussex at Elizabeth Town & Newark Middlesex and Sommerset at woodbridge, Hunterdon at New Brunswick, and the Counties of Monmouth & Burlington at Perth Amboye at which Several Places they are to Expect General orders for which purpose I have given Brigadear General Dickinson the Resolution at Large that he may give orders to the Colonels in the Several Counties, and as the Militia of this Colony are firmly attacht to the great Cause of american freedom I have the firmest Reliance on the most Cherefull Complyance2 and have the Honour to be your Excellency Most obedient Humbe Servt
Saml Tucker
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. Paulus Hook, now the site of Jersey City, N.J., was a point of low sandy land protruding into the Hudson River directly opposite New York City. A well-used ferry ran from Paulus Hook to the city, and because of its strategic importance, a fortified outpost was maintained at Paulus Hook during the war first by the Americans and later by the British. Light-Horse Harry Lee received a gold medal from Congress for his raid on the British outpost there in August 1779.
2. Philemon Dickinson (1739–1809), who lived on an estate near Trenton, was appointed colonel of the Hunterdon County militia in July 1775 and first brigadier general of the colony’s militia the following October. Dickinson was also a member of the New Jersey provincial congress in 1776. Although he resigned his commission in February 1777, Dickinson accepted appointment as major general of the New Jersey militia in June of that year and held that rank until 1783. During the early campaigns of the war, Dickinson frequently took the field with militia detachments and supported the Continental army by harassing British forces and obtaining intelligence of their movements. He served in the Continental Congress 1782–83 as a delegate from Delaware, where he also owned land, and from 1782 to 1784 he was vice-president of the New Jersey state council.