without any; and many of our poor soldiers quite barefoot, and ill clad in other respects. I have the honor to be, &c.1

SIR,

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS

2

CHESTER twelve o'clock at Night, 11 September, 1777.

I am sorry to inform you, that, in this day's engagement [the battle of Brandywine], we have been obliged to leave the enemy masters of the field. Unfortunately the intelligence recd., of the enemy's advancing up the Brandywine & crossing at a ford about six miles above us, was uncertain & contradictory, notwithstanding all my pains to get the best. This prevented my making a disposition adequate to the force with which the enemy

1 In both the actions at Trenton and Princeton, General Washington encouraged the troops by his presence in the most exposed situations. An officer who was in these engagements wrote from Morristown on the 7th of January: "Our army love their General very much, but they have one thing against him, which is the little care he takes of himself in any action. His personal bravery, and the desire he has of animating his troops by example, make him fearless of danger. This occasions us much uneasiness. But Heaven, which has hitherto been his shield, I hope will still continue to guard so valuable a life.”— Sparks.

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2 It is told of this letter that Washington after the fatigues of this day was too wearied to write to Congress, and directed one of his aides to do it. Harrison was too distressed," and so it fell to Pickering, the Adjutant-General. "I wrote it and gave it to the General to read. He, with perfect composure, directed me to add a consolatory hope that another day would give a more fortunate result." Greene, Life of Nathaniel Greene, i., 454. The draft and original letter are both in Pickering's handwriting.-Ford.

attacked us on our right; in consequence of which, the troops first engaged were obliged to retire before they could be reinforced. In the midst of the attack on our right, that body of the enemy, which remained on the other side of Chad's Ford, crossed it, & attacked the division there under the command of General Wayne, & the light troops under Genl Maxwell, who, after a severe conflict, also retired. The militia under the command of MajorGeneral Armstrong, being posted at a ford about two miles below Chad's, had no opportunity of engaging.

But altho we fought under many disadvantages, and were, from the causes above mentioned, obliged to retire, yet our loss of men is not, I am persuaded, very considerable; I believe much less than the enemy's. We have also lost seven or eight pieces of cannon, according to the best information I can at present obtain. The baggage, having been previously moved off, is all secure, saving the men's blankets, which being at their backs, many of them doubtless were lost. I have directed all the troops to assemble behind Chester, where they are now arranging for this night. Notwithstanding the misfortune of the day, I am happy to find the troops in good spirits; and I hope another time we shall compensate for the losses now sustained. The Marquis de Lafayette was wounded in the leg, & General Woodford in the hand; divers other officers were wounded, & some slain; but the numbers of either cannot now be ascertained. I have the honor to be, &c.

P. S. It has not been in my power to send you earlier intelligence, the present being the first leisure moment I have had since the action.

TO LIEUTENANT-COLONEL ALEXANDER HAMILTON

SIR,

CAMP, 22 September, 1777.

The distressed situation of the army for want of blankets, and many necessary articles of cloathing, is truly deplorable; and must inevitably be destructive to it, unless a speedy remedy be applied. Without a better supply than they at present have, it will be impossible for the men to support the fatigues of the campaign in the further progress of the approaching inclement season. This you well know to be a melancholy truth. It is equally the dictate of common sense and the opinion of the Physicians of the army, as well as of every officer in it. No supply can be drawn from the public magazines. We have therefore no resource but from the private stock of individuals. I feel, and I lament, the absolute necessity of requiring the inhabitants to contribute to those wants, which we have no other means of satisfying, and which if unremoved would involve the ruin of the army, and perhaps the ruin of America. Painful as it is to me to order and as it will be to you to execute the measure, I am compelled to desire you immediately to proceed to Philadelphia, and there procure from the inhabitants contributions of blankets and cloathing, and materials to answer the purposes of

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both, in proportion to the ability of each. This you will do with as much delicacy and discretion, as the nature of the business demands; and I trust the necessity will justify the proceeding in the eyes of every person well affected to the American cause, and that all good citizens will chearfully afford their assistance to soldiers, whose sufferings they are bound to commiserate, and who are eminently exposed to danger and distress, in defence of every thing they ought to hold dear.

As there are also a number of horses in Philadelphia both of public and private property, which would be a valuable acquisition to the enemy, should the city by any accident fall into their hands, you are hereby authorized and commanded to remove them thence into the Country to some place of greater security, and more remote from the operations of the enemy. You will stand in need of assistance from others to execute this commission with despatch and propriety, and you are therefore empowered to employ such persons as you shall think proper to aid you therein. I am, Sir, &c.1

1"I do not wish your exertions to be solely directed to obtaining Shoes and Blankets-extend them to every other article you know to be material for the army; your own prudence will point out the least exceptionable means to be pursued in these instances but remember, that delicacy and a strict adherence to the ordinary modes of application must give place to our necessities. We must if possible, accommodate the soldiery with such articles as they stand in need of or we shall have just reasons to apprehend the most injurious and alarming consequences from the approaching season. . . . The business you are upon I know is disagreeable, and perhaps in the execution you may meet with more obstacles than were at first ap

TO JOHN AUGUSTINE WASHINGTON

DEAR BROTHER,

PHILADELPHIA COUNTY, 18 October, 1777.

Your kind and affectionate Letters of the 21st of Septr. & 2d Inst. came safe to hand.

When my last to you was dated I know not; for truly I can say, that my whole time is so much engrossed, that I have scarcely a moment, but sleeping ones, for relaxation, or to indulge myself in writing to a friend. The anxiety you have been under, on acct of this army, I can easily conceive. Would to God there had been less cause for it; or that our situation at present was such as to promise much from it. The Enemy crossed the Schuylkill which, by the by, above the Falls (& the Falls you know is only five miles from the city) is as easily crossed in any place as Potomac Run, Aquia, or any other broad & shallow water, rather by stratagem; tho I do not know, that it was in our power to prevent it, as their manœuvres made it

prehended and also with opposition. To the parties I have mentioned, call in such a number of militia as you may think necessary, observing however, over the conduct of the whole, a strict discipline, to prevent every species of rapine and disorder."-Washington to Hamilton, 22 September, 1777.

"I am glad you have began the collection of Blankets and Shoes. This business cannot be carried to too great an extent, and I think if the measure is properly pursued, great quantities of Blankets, Rugs and coverlids may be collected in the back Counties. The approach of the enemy to Philadelphia hindered the officers I sent upon that Business from doing much, the disaffected hid their goods the moment the thing took wind, and our friends had before parted with all they could spare." -Washington to Elbridge Gerry, 27 September, 1777.