To George Washington from Brigadier General Henry Knox, 17 July 1780
From Brigadier General Henry Knox
Camp at Pracaness, 17 July 1780.
Sir,
In consequence of your Excellency’s directions to me of the 15th instant, To have the cannon and stores for the intended siege collected to the North river, I applied to the Quarter Master General for assistance to move the heavy park from Easton, and about two hundred tons of shot and shells from Hibernia, Mount Hope and Pompton furnaces. Enclosed are copies of my letter to him, and his answer on the subject.1
I cannot refrain from remarking, that if we are unable in the first instance to move so inconsiderable a quantity of stores as are specified, and which are vastly short of what must necessarily be transported by land, our imbecility does not augur much success in the very arduous enterprize we are about to undertake.2 I have the honor to be, with great respect, Your Excellency’s most obedt servant
H. Knox.
LS, DLC:GW.
1. The enclosed document contained copies of Knox’s letter to Q.M. Gen. Nathanael Greene of 16 July and Greene’s response to Knox of the same date. Knox’s letter to Greene, written from “Camp at Pracaness,” reads: “I am commanded by His Excellency General Washington to have the stores &ca for a ce[r]tain purpose collected at the North river, and to apply to you for assistance. The heavy park at Easton is among the first objects which claim Immediate attention.
“I have enclosed an estimate of horses and cattle necessary for this business, and beg your Directions how, and in what manner that shall be the most speedy, it can be effected.
“Besides the park at Easton, there are shot and shells at Mount Hope and Hibernia furnaces, about one hundred & 44 tons, and at Pompton about fifty or 60 tons, which also must be moved to the North river. … In addition to the above, there are a quantity of cannon, shot and shells at Providence, and perhaps Boston, which are necessary for our purposes. Pray give me your advice, and opinion whether they ought not to be brought to the places where they are to be used by water, or whether it is practicable to bring them by Land.”
Greene’s reply, also written at “Camp at Pracaness,” reads: “In answer to your letter of this date covering an estimate for teams to bring forward the ordnance from Easton; and the shells and shot from Mount Hope and Pompton, I can only say, it is my opinion the only practicable mode is to send out a party of light horse to impress the teams for the purpose.
“The inhabitants are busy in getting in their harvest, and we have no money to pay the people, therefore they cannot be got out; nor is the civil majistrate able to bring them out without money[.] Two attempts have been made lately without success—one at Sussex and one at Pompton, and I am confident this will be the fate of any future attempt without force. Mr Howe has just returned from Pompton and says it is impossible to get the teams without a military party, the justices having done all in their power, to little effect.
“I am fully with you in opinion that the ordnance and stores from the Eastward must come from Providence by water, if not directly from Boston. The transportation will be too great to bring them all the way by land.”
Knox’s enclosure to GW also included a copy of the “Estimate refered to in the letter to Gen. Greene” that listed the “Horses and oxen necessary to remove the heavy ordnance and stores at Easton.” The movement of three 24-pounders, seven 12-pounders, two 8-inch howitzers, eighteen wagons, and one traveling forge required forty-four oxen and ninety-eight horses (DLC:GW).
2. In compliance with GW’s directions in his letter of 15 July, Knox also wrote Massachusetts governor James Bowdoin on 19 July from “Camp” in New Jersey: “I am commanded by His Excellency General Washington to write to your honorable board, to request the loan of some heavy cannon and shot, howitzers and shells, for the intended operation of the present campaign.
“There is the most pressing demand for the number and sizes specified in the enclosed paper. But if the total can not be had, the number to be lent to be regulated by the quantity of shot that can be furnished to each piece.
“The great expence and difficulty of land transportation will dictate the propriety of having whatever shall be furnished, in consequence of this request, conveyed by water to the point of operation, which will be more particularly marked out in a future letter.
“The General informed me that he had written to the State of Massachusetts, solliciting a loan of powder; therefore, notwithstanding the most exigent calls for that article, it precludes the necessity of my repeating the request. … The nature and importance of this letter are such that I take the liberty to beg an answer as soon as possible” (DNA: RG 45, Naval Records Collection). The enclosed paper has not been identified. For GW’s request to the Massachusetts government, see Circular to Massachusetts and New Hampshire, 4 July; see also GW to the Massachusetts Council, 19 July.