Memoirs, Correspondence and Manuscripts of General Lafayette by Lafayette

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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. Washington 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, Washington 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 Washington, 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 WASHINGTON.

(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 circumstances 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 circumstances, 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 circumstances, have prompted me to adopt.

The merchants of Baltimore lent me a sum of about 2,000_l_., which will
procure some shirts, linen, overalls, shoes, and a few hats. The ladies
will make up the shirts, 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
pass 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 be flew into a violent passion,
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 Washington. To each of those letters is
usually annexed a copy of his official reports to General Greene.

TO GENERAL WASHINGTON.

(ORIGINAL.)

Alexandria, April 23rd, 1781.

My Dear General,--Great happiness is derived from friendship, and I
experience it particularly in the attachment which unites me to you.
But friendship 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
Washington 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
circumstances.

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 nobody
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 fashion. Requesting my best
respects to Mrs. Washington, and my compliments to the family, I have
the honour to be, with those sentiments which you know, &c.

FROM GENERAL WASHINGTON 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
friendship. In this light I view the intimation respecting the conduct
of Mr. Lund Washington. 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
friendship; because I wish you to be assured, 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 assistance.

Mrs. Washington 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.

FROM GENERAL WASHINGTON TO LUND WASHINGTON.

(ORIGINAL.)

New Windsor, April 30, 1781.

Dear Lund,--I am very sorry to hear of your loss; I am a little sorry
to hear of my own; but that which gives me most concern is, that you
should go on board the enemy's vessels, and furnish them with
refreshments. It would have been a less painful circumstance to me to
have heard that, in consequence of your non-compliance with their
request, they had burnt my house and laid the plantation in ruins. You
ought to have considered yourself as my representative, and should have
reflected on the bad example of communicating with the enemy, and
making a voluntary offer of refreshments to them, with a view to
prevent a conflagration.

It was not in your power, I acknowledge, to prevent them from sending a
flag on shore, and you did right to meet it; but you should, in the
same instant that the business of it was unfolded, have declared
explicitly, that it was improper for you to yield to the request; after
which, if they had proceeded to help themselves by force, you could but
have submitted, and, being unprovided for defence, this was to be
preferred to a feeble opposition, which only serves as a pretext to
burn and destroy.

I am thoroughly persuaded that you acted from your best judgment, and
believe that your desire to preserve my property, and rescue the
buildings from impending danger, was your governing motive; but to go
on board their vessels, carry them refreshments, commune with a parcel
of plundering scoundrels, and request a favour by asking a surrender of
my negroes, was exceedingly ill judged, and, it is to be feared, will
be unhappy in its consequences, as it will be a precedent for others,
and, may be, become a subject of animadversion.

I have no doubt of the enemy's intention to prosecute the plundering
plan they have begun; and, unless a stop can be put to it by the
arrival of a superior naval force, I have as little doubt of its ending
in the loss of all my negroes, and in the destruction of my houses. But
I am prepared for the event, under the prospect of which, if you could
deposit in a place of safety the most valuable and less bulky articles,
it might be consistent with policy and prudence, and a means of
preserving them hereafter. Such and so many things as are necessary for
common and present use must be retained, and must run their chance
through the fiery trial of this summer. I am sincerely, yours.

TO GENERAL WASHINGTON.

(ORIGINAL.)

Camp Wilton, on James River, May 17, 1781.

Dear General,--My correspondence with one of the British generals, and
my refusal of a correspondence with the other, may be, perhaps,
misrepresented, I shall therefore give an account of what has passed,
and I hope your excellency and General Greene will approve of my
conduct. On the arrival of our detachment at Richmond, three letters
were brought by a flag, which I have the honour to inclose, and which,
as commander of the troops in this state, it became my duty to answer.
The enclosed letters were successively sent in pursuit of General
Phillips, who received them both with a degree of politeness that
seemed to apologize for his unbecoming style. General Phillips being
dead of a fever, an officer was sent with a passport and letters from
General Arnold. I requested the gentleman to come to my quarters, and
having asked _if General Phillips was dead_,~[1] to which he answered
in the negative, I made it a pretence not to receive a letter from
General Arnold, which, being dated head-quarters, and directed to the
commanding officer of the American troops, ought to come from the
British general chief in command. I did, however, observe, should any
officers have written to me I should have been happy to receive their
letters. The next day the officer returned with the same passport and
letter, and informed me that he were now at liberty to declare that
Phillips was dead, and Arnold was commander-in-chief of the British
army in Virginia. The high station of General Arnold having obliged me
to an explanation, the enclosed note was sent to the officer of the
flag, and the American officer verbally assured him that were I
requested to put in writing a minute account of my motives, my regard
for the British army was such that I would cheerfully comply with the
demand.

Last evening, a flag of ours returned from Petersburg, who had been
sent by the commander of the advanced corps, and happened to be on his
way while the British officer was at our picquets. Inclosed is the note
written by General Arnold, in which he announces his determination of
sending our officers and men to the West Indies.

The British general cannot but perfectly know that I am not to treat of
partial exchanges, and that the fate of the continental prisoners must
be regulated by a superior authority to that with which I am invested.

With the highest respect, I have the honour to be, &c.

Footnote:

1. Gordon places the death of General Phillips on the 13th of May: he
was very ill in his bed, when a cannon ball traversed his bed-room.
General Phillips commanded at Minden the battery whose cannon killed
the father of M. de Lafayette.

FROM GENERAL PHILLIPS TO THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE.

(ORIGINAL.)

British Camp, at Osborn, April 28, 1781.

SIR,--It is a principle of the British army engaged in the present war,
which they esteem as an unfortunate one, to conduct it with every
attention to humanity and the laws of war; and in the necessary
destruction of public stores of every kind, to prevent, as far as
possible, that of private property. I call upon the inhabitants of
Yorktown, Williamsburg, Petersburg, and Chesterfield, for a proof of
the mild treatment they have received from the king's troops; in
particular at Petersburg, when the town was saved by the labour of the
soldiers, which otherwise must have perished by the wilful inactivity
of its inhabitants.

I have now a charge of the deepest nature to make against the American
arms: that of having fired upon the king's troops by a flag of truce
vessel; and, to render the conduct as discordant to the laws of arms,
the flag was flying the whole time at the mast head, seeming to sport
in the violation of the most sacred laws of war.

You are sensible, sir, that I am authorized to inflict the severest
punishment in return for this bad conduct, and that towns and villages
lay at the mercy of the king's troops, and it is to that mercy alone
you can justly appeal for their not being reduced to ashes. The
compassion, and benevolence of disposition, which has marked the
British character in the present contest, still govern the conduct of
the king's officers, and I shall willingly remit the infliction of any
redress we have a right to claim, provided the persons who fired from
the flag of truce vessel are delivered into my possession, and a public
disavowal made by you of their conduct. Should you, sir, refuse this, I
hereby make you answerable for any desolation which may follow in
consequence.

Your ships of war, and all other vessels, not actually in our
possession in James River, are, however, driven beyond a possibility of
escaping, and are in the predicament and condition of a town blockaded
by land, where it is contrary to the rules of war that any public
stores should be destroyed. I shall therefore demand from you, sir, a
full account of whatever may be destroyed on board vessels or
otherwise, and need not mention to you what the rules of war are in
these cases.

I am, sir, your most humble servant,

W. PHILLIPS.

FROM GENERAL PHILLIPS TO THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE.

(ORIGINAL.)

Camp at Osborn, April 29th, 1781.

Sir,--When I was at Williamsburg, and at Petersburg, I gave several
inhabitants and country people protections for their persons and
properties. I did this without asking, or even considering, whether
these people were either friends or foes, actuated by no other motive
than that of pure humanity. I understand, from almost undoubted
authority, that several of these persons have been taken up by their
malicious neighbours, and sent to your quarters, where preparations are
making for their being ill treated; a report which I sincerely hope may
be without foundation. I repeat to you, sir, that my protections were
given generally from a wish that, in the destruction of public stores,
as little damage as possible might be done to private property, and to
the persons of individuals; but at any rate, I shall insist upon my
signs manual being held sacred, and I am obliged to declare to you,
sir, that if any persons, under the description I have given, receive
ill treatment, I shall be under the necessity of sending to Petersburg,
and giving that chastisement to the illiberal persecutors of innocent
people, which their conduct shall deserve. And I further declare to
you, sir, should any person be put to death, under the pretence of
their being spies of, or friends to, the British government, I will
make the shores of James River an example of terror to the rest of
Virginia. It is from the violent measures, resolutions of the present
house of delegates, council, and governor of Virginia, that I am
impelled to use this language, which the common temper of my
disposition is hurt at. I shall hope that you, sir, whom I have
understood to be a gentleman of liberal principles, will not
countenance, still less permit to be carried into execution, the
barbarous spirit which seems to prevail in the council of the present
civil power of this colony.

I do assure you, sir, I am extremely inclined to carry on this
unfortunate contest with every degree of humanity, and I will believe
you intend doing the same.

I am, sir, your most obedient humble servant,

W. PHILLIPS.

TO MAJOR GENERAL PHILLIPS.

(ORIGINAL.)

American camp, April 30th, 1781.

Sir,--Your letters of the 26th, 28th, and 29th, came yesterday to hand.
The duplicate dated at Petersburg being rather of a private nature, it
has been delivered to Major-General Baron de Steuben. I am sorry the
mode of your request has delayed the civility that had been immediately
intended.

From the beginning of this war, which you observe is an unfortunate one
to Great Britain, the proceedings of the British troops have been
hitherto so far from evincing benevolence of disposition, that your
long absence~[1] from the scene of action is the only way I have to
account for your panegyrics. I give you my honour, sir, that the charge
against a flag vessel shall be strictly inquired into, and in case the
report made to you is better grounded than the contrary one I have
received, you shall obtain every redress in my power, that you have any
right to expect. This complaint I beg leave to consider as the only
part in your letter that requires an answer. Such articles as the
requiring that the persons of spies be held sacred, cannot certainly be
serious.

The style of your letters, sir, obliges me to tell you, that should
your future favours be wanting in that regard due to the civil and
military authority in the United States, which cannot but be construed
into a want of respect to the American nation, I shall not think it
consistent with the dignity of an American officer to continue the
correspondence.

I have the honour to be, your most obedient servant,

LAFAYETTE.

Footnote:

1. General Phillips had been made prisoner at Saratoga.

TO MAJOR GENERAL PHILLIPS.

(ORIGINAL.)

May 3rd, 1781.

Sir,--Your assertion relating to the flag vessel was so positive, that
it becomes necessary for me to set you right in this matter. Inclosed I
have the honour to send you some depositions, by which it is clearly
proved that there has been on our side no violation of flags.

I have the honour to be, sir, your humble servant,

LAFAYETTE

NOTE FOR CAPTAIN EMYNE.

May 15th, 1781.

The Major-General Marquis de Lafayette has the honour to present his
compliments to Captain Emyne, and begs him to recollect that, on the
supposition of the death of General Phillips, he said, "that he should
know in that case what to do." From regard to the English army, he had
made use of the most polite pretence for declining all correspondence
with the English general who is at this moment commander-in-chief. But
he now finds himself obliged to give a positive denial. In case any
other English officer should honour him with a letter, he would always
be happy to give the officers every testimony of his esteem.

NOTE FROM GENERAL ARNOLD TO CAPTAIN RAGEDALE.

Brigadier-General Arnold presents his compliments to Captain Ragedale,
and takes the liberty of informing him, that the flag of truce having
been sent by Brigadier-General Nelson, who is not commander-in-chief of
the American army, is an inadmissible act. The letters are accordingly
sent back unopened. If Captain Ragedale thinks proper to leave them
with the servants, a receipt must be given for them.

Brigadier-General Arnold has given orders that the officers lately
taken in that place should be sent to New York; their baggage will
follow soon after them, and all the officers and soldiers of the
American army that shall be taken prisoners in future, shall be sent to
the West Indies, unless a cartel be immediately granted for the
exchange of prisoners, as General Arnold has repeatedly demanded.

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