To Benjamin Franklin from George Washington, 21 November 1782
From George Washington
ALS: reproduced in Lion Heart Autographs, Catalogue No. 22 (1991), item 98; draft9 and transcript: Library of Congress
Head Qrs. Newburgh 21st. Novr 1782.
Sir,
The Credentials with which Mr. Wheelock is furnished are so ample, and so fully set forth the benevolent purposes of the Institution over which he presides, that I am confident nothing more is necessary for me, than barely to introduce him to you and to recommend him to your Patronage and Friendship—1 Under them, he will be sure to meet with a favorable reception among the Wise and Good.—
I have the honor to be with profound respect Sir Yr. most Obt Hble Ser
Go Washington
9. In the hand of his aide Tench Tilghman and dated Nov. 20. This text is published in Fitzpatrick, Writings of Washington, XXV, 355.
1. For John Wheelock’s mission see the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College to BF, Sept. 24. Wheelock ended his military service (1777–79) as a lieutenant colonel on the staff of Horatio Gates, and claimed to have enjoyed Washington’s “particular notice and friendship”: ANB; [John Wheelock], Sketches of the History of Dartmouth College … ([Newburyport, Mass., 1815]), p. 28.