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Revolutionary War-dated manuscript orderly book, 7.75 x 6, maintained at American headquarters in Newburgh, New York, from October 1782 through June 1783. The volume was kept by Joseph Williams, quartermaster of the 3rd Massachusetts Regiment, and later apparently belonged to a Major Buffington. Written in a neat contemporary hand throughout, the orderly book comprises approximately 120 quarto leaves and preserves a remarkable record of the Continental Army during the closing months of the Revolutionary War, documenting unrest within the army, the formal announcement of peace with Great Britain, and the founding of the Society of the Cincinnati.
The earliest pages contain quartermaster receipts for military supplies signed by Maynard and Jos. Miller, together with transportation orders directing troop movements from Verplanck’s Point under Colonel Pickering. The volume also preserves extensive contemporary transcripts relating to the so-called Newburgh Conspiracy, including George Washington’s Newburgh Address of March 15, 1783, delivered to officers angered by Congress’s failure to provide long-promised pay and pensions. Appealing to their patriotism and restraint, Washington warns against the “insidious designs of our Enemies” and urges the officers to reject anonymous calls for action, praising their “unexampled patriotism and patient virtue.” The journal further contains the anonymous address to which Washington replied, extracts from General Orders issued at Headquarters, Newburgh, March 11, 1783, concerning anonymous letters circulated among the officers, and related orders issued by General Gates concerning the officers’ meeting later addressed by Washington.
Additional entries record resolutions of support presented by the army to Congress, Congressional resolutions of thanks to army personnel, and correspondence from the President of Congress to Washington announcing the attainment of a treaty of peace, with mentions of Count d’Estaing and the Marquis de Lafayette. Most significantly, the orderly book preserves headquarters orders issued at Newburgh on April 18, 1783, formally announcing the end of hostilities between the United States and Great Britain: “The commander in chief orders the cessation of Hostilities between the United States of America and the King of Great Britain to be publicly proclaimed tomorrow at 12 o’clock.” The orders continue with celebratory instructions directing “An extra Ration of Liquor to be issued to every man tomorrow to drink perpetual [sic] peace, independence and happiness to the United States of America.”
The closing pages, issued from the “Cantonment of the American Army on Hudsons river, May 10th,” record lengthy proposals for the establishment of the Society of the Cincinnati, with references to Generals Knox, Hand, Huntington, and von Steuben, and noting the adoption of the eagle as the symbol of the Cincinnati. Established by Continental Army officers in 1783, the Society of the Cincinnati became an enduring hereditary organization commemorating the service and ideals of the Revolutionary generation. Includes a custom-made slipcase bound in red cloth boards with dark red leather spine, both with gilt-stamped text. In very good condition, with heavy wear to the covers, damage to the spine, and the front cover and some pages detached but present.
A remarkable headquarters record spanning the final military and political chapter of the American Revolution, preserving in one continuous wartime volume Washington’s response to unrest within the army, the official announcement of peace, and the establishment of the Society of the Cincinnati.
