WASHINGTON IN PHILADELPHIA.
[Two Original Letters from Washington, Contributed to
Our Daily Fare.J
BY BENSON J. LOSSING,
Editor op Ouii Daily Fare
I send you two unpublished letters of Gen.
Washington'to Gen. Schuyler, now lying be
fore me. They respectively, have a local in
terest for us both, one having been written at
Poughkeepsie, and the other at Philadelphia.
The first of the subjoined letters was written
ten days before the British evacuated the city
of New York, at the close of the Revolution.
Washington had received a verbal message
from Silt Guy Carleton, on the Oth of No
vember, at Rocky Ilill, New Jersey, announ
cing his intention to withdraw his army from
New York, as early as possible. At that time,
a part of the Continental Army Avas at West
Point, on the Hudson, under General Knox,
and Washington proceeded to that post to
make preparations for the evacuation. On the
14th of November he went from West Point to
Poughkeepsie, twenty-four miles further up
the Hudson, where George Clinton, the Go
vernor of New York, had his official residence;
and in consequence of the interview between
these public officers on the evening of the 14tli,
Clinton, on the following day issued a pro
clamation, giving notice of the intended de
parture of the British. On the same day,
Washington wrote the subjoined letter :
The second letter was written while Wash
ington was on a visit to Philadelphia, a year
before his death. At that, time, Avar with
France was expected, and Washington had
accepted the position of Commander-in-Chief
of the Provisional Army then raised or about
to be raised for the occasion, on the condition
that General Alexander Hamilton (alluded to
in the letter) should be the acting general-in
chief in the field. At the time when he wrote
the subjoined letter, he Avas in consultation
Avith General Hamilton, Pinckney, and others,
concerning the organization of the army.
Poughkeepsie, June, 1804.
[copy.]
“ Poughkeepsie, 15tli Nov., 1783.
Dear Sir: —lt gives me great pleasure to
inform you that Sir Guy Carleton has an
nounced to me his intention to relinquish the
forts he holds on York Island from ICingsbridgc
to McGavan’s Pass inclusive, on the 21st inst.;
Herrick and Hampstead, Avith all to the east-
Avard on Long Island on the same day, and,
if possible, to give up the city, with Brooklyn,
on the day following; and Paulus’ Hook, Den
yces and Staten Island as soon afterward as
practicable.
“ From this disposition I have great hopes
that in case no accident should happen, I shall
have it in my potver to congratulate you on
Otte ID .a. i Fabe.
the full possession of this state by its Govern
ment before the close of the present month.
“ With the greatest esteem, I am, dear sir,
Your most obe’t, humble servant,
Geo. Washington.
The best respects to Mrs. Schuyler and
your fireside.
Major-General Schuyler.”
[copy.]
Philadelphia, 4th Dec., 1798,
My Dear Sir
I have been honored with your letter of the
20th ult., and congratulate you, very sincerely,
on the favorable change you have lately expe
rienced (as I have been informed) in your
health.
“ 1 wish it may be perfectly restored.
“I persuade myself, that it is unnecessary
for me to add that, if health and other circum
stances had enabled you and Mrs. Schuyler to
have visited Mrs. Washington and myself, at
Mount Yernon, it would have been considered
as a most pleasing and flattering evidence of
your regard; and the more so, as neither she
nor I, ever expects to be more than twenty
five miles from that retreat, during the rem
nant of our lives.
“But, strange to relate, here I am! buried
in scenes far removed and foreign from any I
had contemplated when I quitted the chair of
Government.
“Y'our grandson, Mr. Church, has all the
exterior of a fine young man, and, from Avhat
I have heard of his intellects and principles,
will do justice to and reward the precepts he
has received from yourself, his parents, and
Uncle Hamilton. So far, then, as my atten
tions to him will go, consistent with my other
duties, he may surely count upon me.
“I pray you to present me (and I am sure
Mrs. IVashington would unite in them if she
was here) to Mrs. Schuyler, in the most re
spectful terms, and let me pray you to be as
sured of the sincere esteem, regard, and
wishes of the most affectionate kind, of
“ Dear, sir, your most obedient and
“ Very humble servant,
“ G. Washington.
“ Philip Schuyler, Esq.”
A NOBLE TESTIMONIAL.
The folloAving letter from a soldier tells
“briefly and bravely” Avhat the Sanitary is
Washington, D. C., April 4, 1804.
Miss , Member of Ladies Executive
Committee of Central Fair of Sanitary Com-
For the past two months on arduous duty,
and often compelled to seek shelter in the tents
of the Sanitary Commission, I have often in
tended to acknoAvledge my obligations to that
organization through the press, but want of
time, together Avith other causes, l)as as often
prevented my doing so. And, to-day, acci
dent, rather than anything else, prompts my
acknowledgments, and to you. On duty at
Alexandria, Va., engaged in distributing re
cruits to the several armies noiv in the field, I
have often found myself with detachments of
men, Avhen night Avas falling around me, Avitli
no place of shelter, and never yet have I ap
plied to the Sanitary Commission in vain. The
accommodations they provide are not—cannot
be—excelled in the army, Avhile those in charge
are always kind and obliging. Until the last
bed is full, until the last blanket is exhausted,
and the last vacant space on the floor is occu
pied, no soldier, either sick or well, is turned
aAvay. The amount of expense incurred is
necessarily great, but the good done is more
than proportionate. In no possible way can
money for the alleviation of misery and suffer
ing in the army be so well applied. I speak
from my own experience, better than that of
many others, from the fact that I have been,
in the discharge of my duties, to every corps,
and to nearly every division and brigade in
the Army of the Potomac. More than the
foregoing is deserved, less I could not say and
be just.
Your obedient servant,
Williaji Austin,
Ist Lt. Co. G, 107f/t K. I'. Vols.
THE ART GALLERY.
Among the most remarkable features of the
Fair, the Art Gallery deserves special men
tion. A single room, four hundred feet in
length, is of itself a wonder; but Avhen we
think of it as lined at the distance of from
three to ten feet from the ground with excel
lent pictures, it will be readily admitted
that no exhibition of the kind was ever before
Avitnessed in America. And these pictures
are truly excellent, having been, notwithstand
ng their vast number, carefully selected. Had
the Committee on Art taken all which Avere
available, they might have filled a gallery of
twice the size of the present one. The best
private collections from Boston to the Border
have contributed their treasures, thanks to
the Committee, aided by the indefatigable
exertions of Messrs. Joseph Harrison and
James L. Clagiiorn, who did all in their power
to ascertain where the choicest pictures were
to be found. This part of the Fair alone is in
reality well worth far more than the price of
admission.
OUR HISTORY OF THE SANITARY FAIRS.
We give on our leading page the first of a
series of articles by Mr. Charles Stille, devoted
to a history of the Sanitary Fairs which have
been held in this country. We believe that we
are guilty of no idle vaunt when Ave venture
to commend these papers to our renders as one
of the most valuable records of the domestic
history of our Avar ever written.