Circular to Officers Commanding Virginia Brigades, 22 May 1778
Circular to Officers Commanding Virginia Brigades
Head Quarters Valley Forge 22d May 1778
Sir
I want to obtain a very particular Account of the Number of Men who have come from Virgina under the Old & new Draft Law1 You are therefore to order the Commanding Officers of the different Regiments in your Brigade to make you as soon as possible an exact return of the Men in their respective Corps who came out as Drafts or Substitutes, distinguishing those of the old from the New. If you can obtain a Return of those who either died or deserted after they Join’d their Regiments, I will be glad to have it.
After the Returns have been made to you, be pl⟨eased⟩ to examine them carefully & send them to me. I am Sir Your mo: Obedt Servant
Go: Washington
P.s. Let the County be mentiond from whence the Drafts came.
LS, in John Fitzgerald’s writing, NjMoHP; Df, DLC:GW; Varick transcript, DLC:GW. The LS was addressed to “The Officer commanding General Weedons Brigade”; Tench Tilghman noted on the draft that identical letters were sent to brigadier generals Charles Scott and Peter Muhlenberg and to the officer commanding Woodford’s brigade.
1. See “An act for the more speedily completing the Quota of Troops to be raised in this commonwealth for the continental army, and for other purposes,” passed in the May 1777 session of the Virginia general assembly, and “An Act for speedily recruiting the Virginia Regiments on the continental establishment, and for raising additional troops of Volunteers,” passed in the October 1777 session (, 9: 275–80, 337–49). See also GW to Patrick Henry, 23 May.