General Orders, 20 February 1780
General Orders
Head-Quarters Morristown sunday Feby 20th 1780.
Parole Colours— C. Signs—Camp. Command—
Dead carcases in and about camp are to be buried by fatigue parties from the brigades near which they lie.
At the particular intercession of Ensign Bagley and the officers of the 3rd New-York regiment, the Commander in Chief is pleased to remit the sentence against Edmund Burke of the same corps: He is therefore to be released from confinement.1
The case of Burke ought to be a striking example to the soldiery of the dangerous excesses and fatal consequences into which the pernicious crime of drunkenness will frequently betray them.
Varick transcript, DLC:GW.
Adj. Gen. Alexander Scammell’s orderly book entry for this date includes the following additional general orders: “A Corporal and Six Men from the second Pennsylvania Brigade to be sent early tomorrow Morning as a Fatigue Party to finish a Hutt at the Forage Master Generals[.] They are to continue ’till relieved.”
“A Corporal and six men from each Brigade in the army, with picks and Spades, are to be sent to the Quarter Master Generals Office at Morris Town Tomorrow.
“In future the Fatigue for the Orderly room will turn out at sunrising, take their Dinners with them, and continue to work till sunsetting under the Direction of the Officer from the Corps of Artificers, The Captain commanding the Party will be answerable that the men do their Duty” (orderly book, 17 Oct. 1779–22 March 1780, DNA: RG 93, Orderly Books, 1775–1783, vol. 33).
On this date, GW’s aide-de-camp Tench Tilghman wrote from headquarters at Morristown to Capt. Henry Bedkin: “Be pleased to make a return of the non commissioned Officers and privates of your troop, designating the States to which they belong and the term for which they are engaged. inclosed is the form of a proper Return—You are to include those who are prisoners. As soon as the Return is compleated be pleased to send it to Head Quarters. If it can be done this day it will be the more agreeable.” Tilghman added the following postscript: “You need not insert the Names of the Men” (DLC:GW).
1. For Burke’s court-martial, see General Orders, 3 January.