To George Washington from Colonel Stephen Moylan, 4 January 1780
From Colonel Stephen Moylan
Middletown [Conn.] 4th Jany 1780
Dear Sir
I received your Excellencys Letters of the 20th & 25th ulto and have orderd Sheldons Regimt on from Weathersfield, to Colchester, the 4th is at Walingsford where they will remain a few days in order to give Mr Hubbard time to make Some preparation for their reception which you will See by the enclosed report is necessary1—the representation made to you Sir were not founded on facts,2 but it is not my business to dispute, but to obey your orders which I shall put in execution as Soon as possible—you will receive by this conveyance returns of the two Regiments for last month,3 and you may be assured of my transmitting them monthly agreeable to your orders, you have allso a return of the Officers and men belonging to the 4th Regiment who are from the State of virginia4—the weather here is very Severe, and many, indeed the Majority of the Dragoons have neither boots, or Shoes I have spoke to Capt. Starr of this place who promises me to Supply them with Shoes, as it is a case of necessity I hope neither he or I can receive censure.5 I have the honor to be Dear Sir Your Most ob. H. St
Stephen Moylan
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. The enclosed letter from Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge of the 2d Light Dragoons and Capt. David Hopkins of the 4th Light Dragoons to Moylan, dated 3 Jan. at Colchester, Conn., reads: “Agreeable to your directions we have repaired to this place for the purpose of examining into the State of the Magazines prepared for the Cavalry, & other accommodations necessary for their Reception. We find that the public magazine contains about 350 Ton of good hay, possibly there may be 400 Ton, & little or no Grain. With respect to the Stables which have been erected, they are in three separate buildings within the Compass of about 500 Yards. The Stables are calculated for a double Tier of Horses. Two of the buildings are about 60 feet in length, the other 50, which affords about 340 feet of Stabling. The partitions are at every 10 or 12 feet, & part of the Stables much too short. These are the Stables which have been erected for the Cavalry. Within the distance of ¾ths of a mile from the Continental Stables possibly 300 feet more might be engaged & repaired.
“The next thing to be attended to was the quartering of the men. There are about 18 or 20 dwelling Houses within the distance of about ¾th⟨s⟩ of a mile from the Stables. This is all the Covering that can be expected for the Dragoons within any reasonable Distance of the Stables. Upon the whole we esteem it our Duty to inform that we look upon it absolutely impossible to quarter the two Regts of Horse at Colchester with any tolerable prospect of recruiting them. The present unprepared State of the Stables; The insufficiency of the present State of the hay magazine, & the very bad prospect of getting even a scanty Supply of Grain; added to the difficulty we may say the impossibility of quartering the Dragoon⟨s⟩ within the Distance of 6 miles extent, without obliging the Inhabitants to quit their Habitations, or putting them to the greatest inconveniences, induce us to report the place absolutely improper for the Winter Quarters of the Cavalry. The Dragoons being totally destitute of blankets, gives additional Weight to our opinion.
“We are convinced His Excellency Genl Washington has been grossly misinformed with respect to the preparations made at Colchester for the Cavalry, & as his late order for the removal of the whole to Colchester has been grounded on misrepresentation, which if pursued will defeat his own purposes for recruiting the Horse for the next Campaign, we beg leave to recommend it to Col. Moylan to delay the March of the Horse to Colchester, ’till he can have an opportunity of making a further examination into the preparations made at Colchester himself, or hear further from His Excellency Genl Washington.” The officers added the following postscript: “There are about 500 Head of Continental Oxen already at Colchester recruiting” (DLC:GW).
2. For the “representation” regarding the difficulty of supplying the cavalry at Middletown and Wethersfield, Conn., see GW to Moylan, 20 Dec. 1779, in GW to Nathanael Greene, 20 Dec. 1779, n.2; see also Greene to GW, 24 Dec. 1779.
3. These returns have not been identified.
4. This return has not been identified.
5. GW replied on 3 February.