General Orders, 22 July 1778
General Orders
Head Qrs Wrights-Mills [N.Y.] Wednesday July 22nd 78
Parole ExeterCountersigns: C.S. Egypt Elk.
The Troops will be brigaded as follow and the necessary changes are to be made accordingly
| No. Carolina—Clarke | Glover———Shepherd |
| Patton1 | Wigglesworth |
| Woodford—— Heth | Bigelow |
| Cropper | Vose |
| Mason | Patterson——Brewer |
| Febiger | Marshall |
| Muhlenberg—Parker | Bradford |
| Davies | Tupper |
| G. Gibson | late Learned—Bailey |
| Smith | Jackson |
| Scott———— Wood | Wesson |
| Green } joined | Mead—Militia |
| Gibson } | Poor————Cilly |
| Hall—Delaware | Hale |
| Grayson. | Scammell |
| Smallwood— Stone | Hazen. |
| Gist | Wayne———Chambers |
| Richardson | Steward |
| Gunby. | Irvine |
| 2d Maryld——Price | Humpton |
| Hall | 2d Pensa——Craig |
| Williams | Johnson |
| German-Battn | Magaw |
| Varnum—— Angell | R. Butler |
| Sherburn | Clinton——Vanscoick |
| S.B. Webb | Courtlandt |
| J. Livingston | Livingston |
| Nixon——— Greaton | Dubois |
| Nixon | Parsons——Meigs |
| Putnam | Wyllys |
| Wood’s—Militia2 | Durkee |
| Chandler | |
| Huntington—Prentice | |
| C. Webb | |
| Bradley | |
| Swift |
Woodford’s, Muhlenberg’s, Scotts, Smallwoods & the 2d Ma[ryland] Brigades are to compose the right wing of the first line—No. Carolina, Nixon’s, Patterson’s, Learneds, & Poors Brigades, are to compose the left wing of the same line—And Waynes, Second Pensylvania, Clintons, Parsonss & Huntingtons are to form the Second line.
Poors Regiment of Militia, and Moseleys a⟨re⟩ to march at Four Oclock tomorrow morning for West Point & put themselves under the Command of Colo. Malcom or the Officer Commanding at that Post.3
The detachment under the Command of Colo. Henry Jackson is to be4 in readiness to march at a moments warning with their Baggage.
The Quarter Master Genl so soon as he has marked the ground for a Camp is to direct the march of the Troops to it. They are to be Incampd in the Order just mentioned, beginning upon the right of each line.
The three Senr Majr Genls present, will command the right & left wing, and second line of the army according to their Rank.5
When the Troops arrive at their next Camp, Baron Steuben will please to resume his office of Inspector Genl and make his arrangements accordingly—He will please also to accept the thanks of the Commander in chief for his extra Services in conducting the right wing of the army from Brunswick to its present ground, and for his care and attention to the Troops during their march.
The Brigade Majors will in future attend at the Orderly Office daily precisely at—twelve oClock.
AD, in GW’s writing, NHi: George and Martha Washington Papers; Varick transcript, DLC:GW. The dateline and parole and countersigns, which were written at the end of the document, are not in GW’s writing, nor is the last sentence of the orders.
1. John Patten (1733–1787), who served as a captain at the Battle of Alamance in May 1771, was commissioned a major of the 2d North Carolina Regiment in September 1775. Promoted to lieutenant colonel in April 1776 and to colonel in November 1777, he was taken prisoner at the fall of Charleston, S.C., on 12 May 1780, and although paroled, he had not been exchanged by November 1782. He remained on the army rolls until January 1783.
2. Ezra Wood (1726–1815) of Worcester County, Mass., served as a colonel of the Massachusetts militia from 1775 to 1779. At this time he was acting as colonel of a regiment raised for eight months, which served from May 1778 to February 1779.
3. Thomas Poor (1732–1804) of Andover, Mass., was a brother of Brig. Gen. Enoch Poor. He served in 1775 as a captain and major in Col. James Frye’s Essex County regiment and was commissioned in May 1778 to be colonel of a regiment raised for service at Peekskill. Poor’s regiment was discharged in February 1779. Increase Moseley, Jr. (1740–1811), of Woodbury, Conn., was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 13th Regiment of Connecticut militia in March 1775 and promoted to colonel in October 1776. On 24 July, GW’s secretary Robert Hanson Harrison wrote Col. William Malcom at West Point that Moseley had “represented to his Excellency, that the number of men in it is too small and inconsiderable for the proportion of Officers which is all but complete, supposing that the Regiment was full in point of privates; and has also intimated that under these circumstances, he thought many or at least some of them might be permitted to return Home without injury to the service. His Excellency desires that you will inquire into the matter and if an arrangement can be made, which will justify the return of a part of the Officers, without detriment to the service, he will have no objection to the measure, if it is their choice” (DLC:GW). Malcom’s return of the West Point garrison, dated 25 July, shows Moseley’s regiment with 14 officers and 277 rank and file, only 147 of whom were “Present fit for Duty” (DNA:PCC, item 78).
4. At this point on the manuscript, GW wrote but struck out the words “attached to the Park of Artillery till further Orders.”
5. On 23 July, Maj. Gen. Alexander McDougall addressed Major General Kalb in regard to this order, confessing that “I have not the pleasure of being informed whether you or I is Senior” and asking for the date of Kalb’s commission. Kalb replied on the same day that his commission dated from 31 July 1777, prior to McDougall’s (both documents NHi: Alexander McDougall Papers).