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Revolutionary War-dated LS, signed "Go: Washington," and penned in the hand of his trusted aide-de-camp, James McHenry, one page, 7.25 x 9, June 10, 1779. Addressed from "Head Quarters," the letter was sent to New York Governor George Clinton. In full: "I am honored with your Excellency's favour of yesterday by Col. Malcolm, who has communicated to me the particulars with which you charged him — I beg leave to refer you to my letter of yesterday which I hope you have received. In that, sensible of the inconvenience of keeping out the militia at this season of the year, I anticipated your wish for their discharge with my warmest acknowledgements for the zeal and alacrity they have discovered on the present interesting occasion." In very fine to fine condition.
Written during a critical phase of the Revolutionary War, this letter concerns New York militia forces called into service under Governor George Clinton, one of Washington's most important wartime allies, in response to a major British offensive in the Hudson Valley. On June 1, 1779, British forces under Sir Henry Clinton had seized the American fortifications at Stony Point and Verplanck's Point, capturing the strategically important King's Ferry crossing and threatening communications between New England and the Middle Colonies. The New York militia whose discharge Washington discusses had been mobilized to meet this threat, lending particular weight to his expression of gratitude for their "zeal and alacrity." Written amid the American response to the loss of Stony Point, the letter dates to the same campaign that culminated five weeks later in Brigadier General Anthony Wayne's celebrated midnight assault and recapture of the fortification.
The "Col. Malcolm" referenced is Continental Army officer William Malcolm, who frequently served as an intermediary between Washington and New York authorities. Acknowledging the burden of retaining militia in the field during the farming season, Washington moves to release the troops while maintaining the goodwill of the governor, whose cooperation remained essential to the defense of the Hudson Highlands. Penned by future Secretary of War James McHenry and signed by Washington at the conclusion, the letter reflects the constant coordination required between military and civil leadership during the struggle for American independence.
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