Memoirs, Correspondence and Manuscripts of General Lafayette Part 31

These considerations, my dear general, I beg you to be convinced, are not influenced by personal motives. I should most certainly prefer to be in a situation to attack New York, nor should I like, in an operation against New York, to see you deprived of the New England light infantry; but I think with you, that these motives are not to influence our determination, if this be the best way to help General Greene.

By the letters I have received from my two friends, Marquis de Castries and Count de Vergennes, I am a.s.sured that we shall soon get an answer to our propositions against New York, and am strongly led to hope that, having a naval superiority, the army under your immediate command will not remain inactive.

At all events, my dear general, I will use my best endeavours to be ready to move either way as soon as possible; and have the honour to be, with the highest respect and affection, &c.

Footnote:

1. Son of Mrs. Was.h.i.+ngton by a former marriage.

TO COLONEL HAMILTON.

(ORIGINAL.)

Susquehannah Ferry, 18th April, 1781.

Dear Hamilton,~[1]--You are so sensible a fellow, that you can certainly explain to me what is the matter that New York should be given up; that our letters to France go for nothing; that when the French are coming, I am going. This last matter gives great uneasiness to the minister of France. All this is not comprehensible to me, who, having been long from head-quarters, have lost the course of intelligence.

Have you left the family, my dear sir? I suppose so. But from love to the general, for whom you know my affection, I ardently wish it was not the case. Many, many reasons conspire to this desire of mine; but if you do leave it, and if I go to exile, come and partake it with me. Yours, &c.

Footnote:

1. The 11th of April, Was.h.i.+ngton renewed, with more detail, his instructions upon the movement to the south, and General Greene, desiring to carry the theatre of war into South Carolina, urged General Lafayette to march upon the capital of Virginia. The latter made his preparations accordingly, and with great activity, in spite of the regret he experienced, and the difficulties he encountered. He deplored, in truth, that long-promised expedition on New York being abandoned; and he had to combat the repugnance of the troops, who threatened to become weakened by desertion. This was the subject of several long letters we have thought proper to suppress. He wrote, also, frequently, to Colonel Hamilton, and we may see some of those letters in the life of the latter. We have only inserted this one letter, which expresses all he felt. Hamilton, at that period, having had a coolness with Was.h.i.+ngton, wished to quit his staff; and it was in reality as an officer of the line that he took part in the siege of Yorktown.--(See his Life, vol.

i., chap. xiii.)

TO GENERAL WAs.h.i.+NGTON.

(ORIGINAL.)

Baltimore, April 18th, 1781.

MY DEAR GENERAL,--Every one of my letters were written in so lamentable a tone, that I am happy to give you a pleasanter prospect. The anxiety I feel to relieve your mind from a small part of those many solicitudes and cares which our circ.u.mstances conspire to gather upon you, is the reason of my sending this letter by the chain of communication, and with a particular recommendation. When I left Susquehannah Ferry, it was the general opinion that we could not have six hundred men by the time we should arrive at our destination. This, and the shocking situation of the men offered the more gloomy prospects, as the board of war have confessed their total inability to afford us relief. Under these circ.u.mstances, I have employed every personal exertion, and have the pleasure to inform you that desertion has, I hope, been put to an end.

On my arrival on this side of the Susquehannah, I made an order for the troops, wherein I endeavoured to throw a kind of infamy upon desertion, and to improve every particular affection of theirs. Since then, desertion has been lessened. Two deserters have been taken up; one of whom has been hanged to-day, and the other (being an excellent soldier) will be forgiven, but dismissed from the corps, as well as another soldier who behaved amiss. To these measures, I have added one which my feelings for the sufferings of the soldiers, and the peculiarity of their circ.u.mstances, have prompted me to adopt.

The merchants of Baltimore lent me a sum of about 2,000_l_., which will procure some s.h.i.+rts, linen, overalls, shoes, and a few hats. The ladies will make up the s.h.i.+rts, and the overalls will be made by the detachment, so that our soldiers have a chance of being a little more comfortable. The money is lent upon my credit, and I become security for the payment of it in two years' time, when, by the French laws, I may better dispose of my estate. But before that time, I shall use my influence with the French court, in order to have this sum of money added to any loan congress may have been able to obtain from them.

In case you are told, my dear general, that my whole baggage has been taken in the bay, I am sorry I cannot discountenance the report. But when the mention of papers and maps is made, do not apprehend anything bad for the papers or maps you have put in my possession. Nothing has been lost but writing paper and printed maps. The fact is this: when at York, I had some continental soldiers and my baggage to send up in a safe barge and an unsafe boat. I, of course, gave the barge to the soldiers, who easily went to Annapolis. The baggage was put into the boat, and has not been since heard of. But being aware of the danger; I took by land with me every article that was, on public accounts, in the least valuable. By a letter from Baron de Steuben, dated Chesterfield Court House the 10th of April, I find that General Phillips has at Portsmouth 1500 or 2000 men added to the force under Arnold. Proper allowance being made for exaggerations, I apprehend that his whole army amounts to 2800 men, which obliges me to hasten my march to Fredericksburg and Richmond, where I expect to receive orders from General Greene.

The importance of celerity, the desire of lengthening the way home, and immense delays that would stop me for an age, have determined me to leave our tents, artillery, &c., under a guard, and with orders to follow as fast as possible, while the rest of the detachment, by forced marches, and with impressed wagons and horses, will hasten to Fredericksburg or Richmond, and by this derange the calculations of the enemy. We set off to-morrow, and this rapid mode of travelling, added to my other precautions, will, I hope, keep up our spirits and good humour.~[1]

I am, my dear general, &c.

P. S. The word _lessened_ does not convey a sufficient idea of what experience has proved to be true, to the honour of our excellent soldiers. It had been announced in general orders, that the detachment was intended to fight an enemy far superior in number, under difficulties of every sort. That the general was, for his part, determined to encounter them, but that such of the soldiers as had an inclination to abandon him, might dispense with the danger and crime of desertion, as every one of them who should apply to head-quarters for a pa.s.s to join their corps in the north might be sure to obtain it immediately.

Footnote:

1. This letter announces the real commencement of the Virginian campaign. M. de Lafayette marched upon Richmond, and thus wrote on the 4th of May:--

"The leaving of my artillery appears a strange whim, but had I waited for it, Richmond had been lost. It is not without trouble I have made this rapid march. General Phillips has expressed to a flag officer the astonishment he felt at our celerity; and when on the 30th, as he was going to give the signal to attack, he reconnoitred our position, Mr.

Osburn, who was with him, says, that he flew into a violent pa.s.sion, and swore vengeance against me and the corps I had brought with me."

The subsequent operations are given in detail, both in the Memoirs, and in a relation of the campaign; it was, therefore, thought proper to suppress the greatest part of the letters in which M. de Lafayette gave an account of them to General Was.h.i.+ngton. To each of those letters is usually annexed a copy of his official reports to General Greene.

TO GENERAL WAs.h.i.+NGTON.

(ORIGINAL.)

Alexandria, April 23rd, 1781.

My Dear General,--Great happiness is derived from friends.h.i.+p, and I experience it particularly in the attachment which unites me to you. But friends.h.i.+p has its duties, and the man who likes you best, will be the first to let you know everything in which you may be concerned.

When the enemy came to your house, many negroes deserted to them. This piece of news did not affect me much, as I little value these matters.

But you cannot conceive how unhappy I have been to hear that Mr. Lund Was.h.i.+ngton went on board the enemy's vessels, and consented to give them provisions.

This being done by the gentleman who, in some measure, represents you at your house, will certainly have a bad effect, and contrasts with spirited answers from some neighbours that have had their houses burnt accordingly.

You will do what you think proper about it, my dear general; but, as your friend, it was my duty confidentially to mention the circ.u.mstances.

With the help of some wagons and horses, we got, in two days, from the camp, near Baltimore, to this place. We halted yesterday, and having made a small bargain for a few pair of shoes, are now marching to Fredericksburg. No official account from Phillips, but I am told they are removing stores from Richmond and Petersburg. I am surprised n.o.body writes to me, and hope soon to receive intelligence.

Our men are in high spirits. Their honour having been interested in this affair, they have made a point to come with us; and murmurs, as well as desertion, are entirely out of fas.h.i.+on. Requesting my best respects to Mrs. Was.h.i.+ngton, and my compliments to the family, I have the honour to be, with those sentiments which you know, &c.

FROM GENERAL WAs.h.i.+NGTON TO MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE.

(ORIGINAL.)

New Windsor, May 4, 1781.

MY DEAR MARQUIS,--The freedom of your communications is an evidence to me of the sincerity of your attachment, and every fresh instance of this gives pleasure and adds strength to the bond which unites us in friends.h.i.+p. In this light I view the intimation respecting the conduct of Mr. Lund Was.h.i.+ngton. Some days previous to the receipt of your letter, which only came to my hands yesterday, I received an account of this transaction from that gentleman himself, and immediately wrote and forwarded the answer, of which the enclosed is a copy. This letter, which was written in the moment of my obtaining the first intimation of the matter, may be considered as a testimony of my disapprobation of his conduct, and the transmission of it to you, as a proof of my friends.h.i.+p; because I wish you to be a.s.sured, that no man can condemn the measure more sincerely than I do.

A false idea, arising from the consideration of his being my steward, and in that character more the trustee and guardian of my property than the representative of my honour, has misled his judgment and plunged him into error, upon the appearance of desertion among my negroes, and danger to my buildings; for sure I am, that no man is more firmly opposed to the enemy than he is. From a thorough conviction of this, and of his integrity, I entrusted every species of my property to his care, without reservation or fear of his abusing it. The last paragraph of my letter to him was occasioned by an expression of his fear, that all the estates convenient to the river would be stripped of their negroes and moveable property.

I am very happy to find that desertion has ceased, and content has taken place, in the detachment you command. Before this letter can reach you, you must have taken your ultimate resolution upon the proposal contained in my letters of the 21st and 22nd ultimo, and have made the consequent arrangements. I shall be silent, therefore, on the subject of them, and only beg, in case you should not return to this army, and the papers were not lost with your other baggage (on which event give me leave to express my concern) that you would permit M. Capitaine to furnish me with copies of the drafts, and the remarks of the pilots (taken at Colonel Day's) on the entrance of the harbour of New York. It is possible they may be wanted, and I am not able to furnish them without your a.s.sistance.

Mrs. Was.h.i.+ngton and the rest of my small family, which, at present, consists only of Tilghman and Humphreys, join me in cordial salutations, and, with sentiments of the purest esteem and most affectionate regard, I remain, my dear marquis, &c.