George Washington Papers

To George Washington from the Board of War, 17 April 1780

From the Board of War

War Office [Philadelphia] April 17th 1780.

Sir

The board have the honor to inclose the copy of a letter from Coll Broadhead for your Excellency’s consideration.1 The Military Stores are already forwarded agreeable to your request of sometime ago;2 And the board have reported to Congress, that six blank commissions should be sent to Col. Broadhead, to be filled up with the Names of such faithful Indians of the Delaware Tribe, as he shall Judge deserving;3 But they have not taken any order with respect to the Tents requested, as they are not informed whether Any operations to the Westward will require Tents. I have the honor to be With the highest respect Yr Excellency’s Most Obed. & most Hble Servt

by ord.
Ben. Stoddert Secy

ALS, DLC:GW.

1The Board of War enclosed a copy of Col. Daniel Brodhead’s letter to Richard Peters written at Fort Pitt, Pa., on 18 March: “I am sorry to inform you that the Savages have already commenced fresh hostilities. …

“As it is probable that the Enemy will make some attempt on our small posts or principal ones, in the course of this Spring or Summer I intreat you to order the Cannon and other Mily Stores forward as soon as possible, without which we cannot make any considerable resistance. This Fort alone ought to have sixteen pieces of Ordnance and at present it has but five.

“I have wrote to the Quarter Master Genl & his Deputies frequently to forward some Tents to this district, but cannot learn that any are upon the Communication altho’ I have not a Tent to cover my Men and the season is fast approaching in which we ought to take the field. If a reinforcement from the Main Army is not sent, and I am obliged to call out the Militia, three hundred Tents of the best kind will be necessary; if they are made of thin Linen, the Militia will cut them up for hunting Shirts as usual. …

“I apprehend that the Commissioning some of the Delaware Warriors will be attended with good consequences and I wish Congress may approve of the measure” (DLC:GW; see also Brodhead to GW, same date, and n.2 to that document).

2See GW to the Board of War, 8 Feb., and the Board of War to GW, 4 March; see also GW to the Board of War and to Brodhead, both 14 March, and Brodhead to Peters, 25 April, in Pa. Archives description begins Samuel Hazard et al., eds. Pennsylvania Archives. 9 ser., 138 vols. Philadelphia and Harrisburg, 1852–1949. description ends , 1st ser., 12:224–25.

3Congress sent the commissions on 18 April (see JCC description begins Worthington Chauncey Ford et al., eds. Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. 34 vols. Washington, D.C., 1904–37. description ends , 16:372–73, and Samuel Huntington to Brodhead, 22 April, in Smith, Letters of Delegates description begins Paul H. Smith et al., eds. Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774–1789. 26 vols. Washington, D.C., 1976–2000. description ends , 15:64).

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