From George Washington to Brigadier General Henry Knox, 3 August 1780
To Brigadier General Henry Knox
Head Quarters [Peekskill] August 3. 1780
Sir
I wish to be informed, whether what Arms and Accoutrements you have on hand, together with those in the Magazines capable of being put in repair in three weeks; are sufficient to equip five thousand men, exclusive of the troops now on this ground, who are destitute and must be supplie⟨d⟩.
If there are not Arms and Ac⟨co⟩utrements to this amount, I beg you will give me the best information you can of the number in an hour after the receipt of this. I am, with great esteem Your Most Obedient Humble Servant.
Go: Washington
LS, in David Humphreys’s writing, in private hands; Df, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW.
Knox replied to GW from “Park Artillery” on this date: “I have not received the returns of the receipts, and stores of Arms lately, therefore I cannot asscertain with any precision how many defective arms are on hand and could be repaird in three weeks; but from the state of the A[r]mories at Albany & Philadelphia, I suppose that three or four thousand arms might be repaird at those places in the above time but whether they would have bayanets I am not able to say.
“We sent about 2000, damag’d Arms to Philadelphia a month ago, & at the same time there were about 1000 at Albany, and I presume that there may be one thousand, repairable with the Army and neighbouring posts, which shall be transported to albany immediately and I will write to that place and Philadelphia to expedite the repairs as much as possible” (ALS, DLC:GW).