Washington, George, as Continental Commander

Letter signed ("Go: Washington), 1 page (13 3/8 x 8 1/4 in.; 340 x 212 mm) on a sheet of laid paper (watermarked crowned gr), Head Quarters [Valley Forge], 26 April 1778, to Thomas Wharton Jr., President of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania, text in the hand of Henry Laurens, 24-word autograph postscript, endorsed at the top margin, reception docket on verso; lightly browned, neatly silked, closing several marginal tears and fold separations.

Andrew Supplee, Washington, D.C. (cited in Papers) — Hamilton, 6 November 1975, lot 20 — Sotheby's, 25 November 1997, lot 391

The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, ed. Chase, 14:657

Letter signed ("Go: Washington), 1 page (13 3/8 x 8 1/4 in.; 340 x 212 mm) on a sheet of laid paper (watermarked crowned gr), Head Quarters [Valley Forge], 26 April 1778, to Thomas Wharton Jr., President of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania, text in the hand of Henry Laurens, 24-word autograph postscript, endorsed at the top margin, reception docket on verso; lightly browned, neatly silked, closing several marginal tears and fold separations.
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Preparing for a Council of War before breaking camp at Valley Forge, General Washington asks Pennslyvania for an estimate of the "number of well armed Militias" she could furnish "in any emergency."

The American Army barely survived the deprivation of the encampment at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777–1778. Washington's authority had been challenged by rival officers and congressional critics who contrasted his inconclusive engagement with General Howe at Germantown with Horatio Gates's stunning victory over Burgoyne at Saratoga. As spring finally arrived on the banks of the Schuylkill River, Washington was determined not only to strengthen his own position but to bolster the reputation of the entire regular army. In a 21 April 1778 letter to John Banister, a congressional delegate from Virginia and a member of the Committee of Arrangements for the Continental Army, Washington attacked "the jealousy which Congress unhappily entertain of the Army": "it may be said, that no history, now extant, can furnish an instance of an army's suffering such uncommon hardships as ours have done, and bearing them with the same patience and Fortitude—To see men without Cloathes to cover their nakedness—without Blankets to lay on—without Shoes, by which their Marches might be traced by the Blood from their feet—and almost as often without Provisions as with; Marching through frost & Snow ... without a House or Hutt to cover them till they could be built & submitting to it without a murmur, is a Mark of patience & obedience which in my opinion can scarce be paralle'd" (Papers, Rev. War 14:577–78).

As he prepared his plan of operation for the summer campaign, General Washington pondered three options: "First, by a collected force, to aim at the destruction of the Enemy in Philadelphia. Secondly, by dividing it, to attempt something against New York whilst Troops are left to cover this Country.—& thirdly, by doing neither, lay quiet in a secure Camp and endeavour by every possible means to train and discipline our Army; thereby making our numbers (tho small) as formidable as possible" (Papers, Rev. War 14:641).

The General knew that the first two alternatives, at least, would require him to supplement his regulars with a fresh infusion of state militiamen, even though he had admitted in his letter to Banister that militia volunteers "should not be called for, but upon the spur of the occasion, and at the moment of executing an enterprize. They will not endure a long service, and of all Men in the military line, they are the most impatient of restraint and necessary government." Nevertheless, as he formulated his campaign strategy he sent the present letter to Thomas Wharton, the de facto governor of Pennsylvania, and included a virtually identical request in a letter sent the same day to New Jersey Governor William Livingston:

"The season for action is advancing very fast, and it is highly necessary in forming plans either offensive or defensive, to know with certainty what succors, I may look for from the country in any emergency. With this view I am to request you will be pleased to let me know as speedily as possible, what number of well armed Militias your State could afford if called upon, and what time of service they might be engaged for—In particular as to their being armed, because they cannot be supplied with arms from the continental Stores.

"It is of very great importance that your estimate should be well considered, that the experiment may not disappoint any expectations or projects, which may be formed in consequence." Before sending the letter to the temporary Pennsylvania capital at Lancaster, Washington added a postscript in his own hand, "Be so good also, to let me know in how short a time, after requisitn is made, they could be drawn into the Field."

Wharton replied on 5 May, vowing his state's full support, but admitting that "we have reason to fear that the number will be greatly short of what we could wish, perhaps three thousand [arms] are as many as we can expect to procure. ... Less than three weeks cannot be thought of, for the purpose of collecting a considerable body of militia in this state" (Papers, Rev. War 15:56).

Livingston returned a not dissimilar response, but during Washington's exchange of letters with the two governors he learned that a treaty of amity and commerce between the United States and France had been negotiated and signed in Paris. On the same day that he received this intelligence, Washington wrote to the President of Congress that "no event was ever received with a more heart felt joy" (Papers, Rev. War 15:5).

WIth the promise of impending French military support, Washington was able to implement elements of all three of his proposed strategies for the summer of 1778: strenghtening, supplying, and drilling his army, while at the same time harrassing the British as they moved their base of operations from Philadelphia to New York.

Thomas Wharton's role in the Revolution was shortly ended; he died less than three weeks after answering Washington's questions. But as the theatre of the American Revolution shifted southward, militiamen like those he had pledged to Washington played an increasingly significant and effective role on the battlefield.