Washington had a small number ofaides-de-camp at any given time, with relatively frequent turnover. A total of 32 men were appointed to these positions, and served between July 4, 1775, and December 23, 1783.[1]: 15 Other people worked as volunteer aides or assistants, and helped with office duties when needed.[2]
The responsibilities of the headquarters staff included managing Washington's military correspondence, making copies of each day's General Orders (to be distributed to the commanding officer at each military post), and making copies of individual orders.[4] The 19-year-old artistJohn Trumbull, who was skilled at drawing maps, was appointed anaide-de-camp on July 27,[5] and served three weeks before being transferred.[6]
TheSecond Continental Congress inPhiladelphia authorized one military secretary and threeaides-de-camp for the commander-in-chief,[7] but this number soon proved insufficient. Washington's pleas for Congress to authorize two additional aides were ignored, so he augmented his staff with volunteers.[3] Sixaides-de-camp,George Baylor,Edmund Randolph,Robert Hanson Harrison, George Lewis,Stephen Moylan,William Palfrey, were appointed by Washington between August 1775 and March 1776, some replacing predecessors who had been transferred. Finally, in January 1778, Congress granted the commander-in-chief the power to appoint headquarters staff as he saw fit.[8]
The military secretary held the rank ofcolonel in theContinental Army, with a monthly pay of $66 in 1775 (equivalent to about $2,050 in 2018).[7][9] Theaides-de-camp held the rank oflieutenant colonel, with a monthly pay of $33 in 1775 (equivalent to about $1,025 in 2018).[7][9] Theaides-de-camp wore a greenriband across their chests as a rank insignia.[10] Washington referred to the headquarters staff as "my family."[11] Some were the sons of his friends and relatives, but above all he valued talent:
The Secretaries and Aid De Camps to the Commander in chief ought not to be confined to the line for plain and obvious reasons. The number which the nature and extent of his business require, in addition to the many drawn from the line to fill the different offices of the staff, when it is considered, that they ought all to be men of abilities, may seem too large a draft upon the line. But a consideration still more forcible is, that in a service so complex as ours, it would be wrong and detrimental to restrict the choice; the vast diversity of objects, occurrences and correspondencies, unknown in one more regular and less diffusive; constantly calling for talents and abilities of the first rate, men who possess them, ought to be taken, wherever they can be found.[12]
The commander-in-chief's headquarters staff was disbanded on December 23, 1783, whenGeneral Washington resigned his commission to the Second Continental Congress, which was then meeting atAnnapolis, Maryland.[3] Aides David Humphreys, David Cobb, and Benjamin Walker escorted him to and from the ceremony.[3] Many members of Washington's headquarters staff earned his trust and friendship and some later served in hispresidential administration.[3]
In 1906,Worthington Chauncey Ford, chief of the Manuscripts Division at theLibrary of Congress, published a list of Washington's 32 military secretaries andaides-de-camp.[2] He addedMartha Washington as number 33, acknowledging her unofficial clerical help at Washington's headquarters.[2]
Frank E. Grizzard, Jr., former editor ofThe Papers of George Washington: Revolutionary War Series, adds to the list Washington's nephew, George Augustine Washington—a volunteer aide from September 1779 to May 1781, and from December 1781 to May 1782.[17]
Joseph Reed (1741–1785) – Served as Gen. Washington's military secretary from June 19[18] to October 30, 1775.[19] He took leave to prepare a case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Reed rejoined the Continental Army on June 16, 1776, asAdjutant General.[20]
Stephen Moylan (1737–1811) – Served as Muster Master General from August 14[21] to November 1775; and as Gen. Washington's acting-military secretary (in Joseph Reed's absence) from November 1775 to May 1776. He served as a Washingtonaide-de-camp from March 6 to June 5, 1776, and as a volunteer aide from September 28, 1776, to January 1777.
Robert Hanson Harrison (1745–1790) – Served as Gen. Washington's military secretary from May 16, 1776[22] to March 25, 1781.[23] He had served as a Washingtonaide-de-camp from November 1775 to May 1776.
Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. (1740–1809) – Served as Gen. Washington's military secretary from June 8, 1781[24] to December 23, 1783.[1]: 233
Hodijah Baylies (1756–1842) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from May 14, 1782[25] to December 23, 1783.[26] He had graduated Harvard in 1777, was commissioned a lieutenant inJackson's Additional Continental Regiment, appointed asaide-de-camp to General Benjamin Lincoln, and was promoted to major. He was captured by the British at the siege of Charleston. Exchanged in November 1780, he returned to Harvard for a master of arts degree.[1]: 256
George Baylor (1752–1784) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from August 15, 1775[6] to January 1, 1777.[27]
Dr. David Cobb (1748–1830)– Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from June 15, 1781[30] to January 1783, and from June[31] to December 23, 1783.[32]
Col. John Fitzgerald (d. 1799) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from November 1776 to July 1778. Wounded at the June 28, 1778Battle of Monmouth,[15] he retired from the Continental Army.
Peregrine Fitzhugh (1759–1811) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from July 2[33] to October 1781.
Capt.Caleb Gibbs (1748–1818) – Commander of Washington's life-guard,[22] he managed the headquarters household accounts from May 16, 1776, to the end of 1780,[34] and served as a supplementalaide-de-camp.
Col.William Grayson (1740–1790) – Served as Gen. Washington's assistant secretary from July to August 1776, and served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from August 24, 1776[35] to January 11, 1777.[36]
Alexander Hamilton (1757–1804) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from March 1, 1777[37] to April 1781.[38]
Alexander Contee Hanson (1749–1806) – Served as Gen. Washington's assistant secretary from June 21[28] to September 1776.
Robert Hanson Harrison (1745–1790) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from November 6, 1775[39] to May 16, 1776, and as Gen. Washington's military secretary from May 16, 1776[22] to March 25, 1781.
David Humphreys (1752–1818) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from June 23, 1780[1]: 262 to December 23, 1783.[32] After the war, he was private secretary to Washington at Mount Vernon, and secretary to President Washington in New York City, 1789–90.
George Johnston, Jr. (1750–1777) – Major in the 5th Virginia Regiment; appointed anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington on January 20, 1777;[40] died of disease at Morristown, New Jersey, May 29, 1777.
John Laurens (1754–1782) – Served as volunteer aide from August 9[41] to September 6, 1777,[42] when he was appointed an extraaide-de-camp. He was officially appointedaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington on October 6, 1777,[43] and held that position until March 29, 1779,[44] when Congress commissioned him to travel home to South Carolina and attempt to recruit a regiment of slaves.[45] On behalf of the United States, Laurens traveled to Europe and negotiated a 10 million-livre loan from the Netherlands, to be guaranteed by France.[46] He returned to the United States in September 1781,[47] rejoined General Washington at thesiege of Yorktown, and helped to negotiate the surrender ofBritish General Cornwallis.[48] He returned to South Carolina in November 1781, and died nine months later in theBattle of the Combahee River.
Dr.James McHenry (1753–1816) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from May 15, 1778,[51] to August 1780.[52] An Irish-born Philadelphia medical student, he served as a surgeon early in the war. Left to join the staff of the Marquis de Lafayette.
Richard Kidder Meade (1746–1805) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from March 12, 1777,[53] to November 1780; supervised the October 2, 1780 execution of British MajorJohn André.
Stephen Moylan (1737–1811) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from March 6, 1776,[54] to June 5, 1776,[55] and as a volunteer aide from September 28, 1776, to January 1777.[56]
William Palfrey (1741–1780) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from March 6[54] to April 1776.
Pierre Penet (d. 1812) – A French merchant who had supplied arms andmateriel, 1775–76.[57] On Washington's recommendation, Congress confirmed him as abrevetaide-de-camp (October 14, 1776).[58] Penet served from October 1776 to January 1783.
Edmund Randolph (1753–1813) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from August 15[6] to November 2, 1775.[59]
Col.William Stephens Smith (1755–1816) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from July 6, 1781,[60] to June 1782.[61]
Peter Presley Thornton (1750–1780)[62] – A volunteer aide, August–September 1777; served as an extraaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from September 6, 1777[42] to [unknown].
Tench Tilghman (1744–1786) – A Maryland militiaman who spoke fluent French, he served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington for more than 7 years (longer than anyone else).[16] A volunteer aide from August 8, 1776, to June 21, 1780, Washington confirmed his special status in General Orders.[63] He was appointed anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington on June 21, 1780[64] and served until November 1783.[16] On June 5, 1781, at Washington's request, Congress awarded Tilghman the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, dating his military commission retroactively to April 1, 1777.[65]
John Trumbull (1756–1843) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from July 27[5] to August 15, 1775.[6]
Richard Varick (1753–1831) – Served as Gen. Washington's aide-de-camp and private secretary from May 25, 1781,[66][67] to mid-December 1783.[68] Hired after Congress approved Washington's request to have a team specifically designed to organize and catalogue and compose all of his correspondence, Varick was personally hired by Washington to lead that team. He would go on to serve at Mayor ofNew York City for eleven years.
Benjamin Walker (1753–1818) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from January 25, 1782,[69] to December 23, 1783.[32]
John Walker (1744–1809) – Served as a Washingtonaide-de-camp, February 19[70] to March 1777.
Samuel Blachley Webb (1753–1807) – Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen.Israel Putnam, and was wounded atBunker Hill.[14] Served as anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington from June 21, 1776[28] to January 11, 1777, during which he was wounded atWhite Plains, andTrenton.[14] On January 11, 1777, Washington appointed him commander of a new Connecticut regiment,Webb's Additional Continental Regiment.[71] In December 1777, Webb was captured by the British and held prisoner for three years.[1]: 54
George Augustine Washington (1759–1793) – Gen. Washington's nephew. A volunteer aide from September 1779 to May 1781, and from December 1781 to May 1782.[17] Estate manager at Mount Vernon, 1780s-1793.
John Parke Custis (1754–1781) – Gen. Washington's step-son. A volunteer aide from October to November 1781, including during thesiege of Yorktown. Died ofcamp fever, November 5, 1781.
Peter Bowman (1761–1835) – "Among the graves of distinguished Revolutionary War soldiers in Onondaga County [New York] is that of Peter Bowman, an aide of Gen. George Washington, who is buried in Belle Isle Cemetery."[72]
John Hopwood (1745–1802) – Family tradition holds that Hopwood was an aide to Gen. Washington.[73]
Ebenezer Mann – "Dr. Ebenezer Mann was a Brigade Surgeon at the Battle of Monmouth and Yorktown."[74]
Albert Pawling (1750–1837) – A family history claims he was anaide-de-camp to Gen. Washington.[75] Major Albert Pawling was an officer inMalcolm's Additional Continental Regiment, and tendered his resignation on February 25, 1779.[76] Washington tried to persuade him to reconsider, but was unsuccessful.
Mathias Swartzel (1739 - 1820) identified as "Adj. to General Washington" on his grave marker.[77]
^abcWashington, George (July 22, 1775)."General Orders".Founders Online. National Archives: note 2.
^abHamilton, Alexander (July 5, 1778).Letter to Elias Boudinot.Founders Online, National Archives. Retrieved September 25, 2019. Also published with an introduction in:"The Battle of Monmouth".The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography.2 (2):145–46. 1878.JSTOR20084337.
^abcFore, Samuel K. (2012)."Tench Tilghman". In Stoltz, Joseph F. III (ed.).George Washington Digital Encyclopedia. Mount Vernon Estate.
^abGrizzard, Frank E. (2005).George!: A Guide to All Things Washington. Mariner Publishing.
^abWashington, George (June 19, 1775)."Diary Entry".Founders Online. National Archives: see note.
^abcWashington, George (June 21, 1776)."General Orders".Founders Online. National Archives: note 1.
^Richard Cary married Anna Low, of New York, December 20, 1776, in Philadelphia. SeeFord, Worthington Chauncey, ed. (1893)."Richard Cary to Samuel Webb [December 22, 1776]".Correspondence and Journals of Samuel Blachley Webb, Vol. 1. New York: Wickersham Press. pp. 175–76.ISBN9780608358161.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^Washington, George (June 15, 1781)."General Orders".Founders Online. National Archives.
^Washington, George (July 6, 1781)."General Orders".Founders Online. National Archives. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. RetrievedDecember 24, 2019.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)[This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]. Also available via Internet Archive as archived on December 24, 2019. .
^"George Washington to William Stephens Smith".Founders Online. National Archives. June 24, 1782. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. RetrievedDecember 24, 2019.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)[This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]. Also available via Internet Archive as archived on December 24, 2019. .
^Washington, George (September 17, 1776)."General Orders".Founders Online. National Archives.the General's Orders are delivered by the Adjutant General, or one of his Aid's-De-Camp, Mr Tilghman, or Col. Moylan the Quarter Master General.
^Washington, George (June 21, 1780)."General Orders".Founders Online. National Archives. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. RetrievedDecember 24, 2019.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)[This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]. Also available via Internet Archive as archived on December 24, 2019. .
^Washington, George (June 5, 1781)."General Orders".Founders Online. National Archives. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. RetrievedDecember 24, 2019.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)[This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]. Also available via Internet Archive as archived on December 24, 2019. .
^"George Washington to Richard Varick".Founders Online. National Archives. May 25, 1781. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. RetrievedDecember 24, 2019.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)[This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]. Also available via Internet Archive as archived on December 24, 2019. .
^"George Washington to Richard Varick: Instructions to the Recording Secretary at Head Quarters".Founders Online. National Archives. May 25, 1781. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. RetrievedDecember 24, 2019.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)[This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]. Also available via Internet Archive as archived on December 24, 2019. .
^Washington, George (January 25, 1782)."General Orders".Founders Online. National Archives. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. RetrievedDecember 24, 2019.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)[This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.]. Also available via Internet Archive as archived on December 24, 2019. .
^Washington, George (February 19, 1777)."General Orders".Founders Online. National Archives.
^Wiley, Samuel T., ed. (1889)."William H. Hopwood, M.D.".Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Chicago: John M. Gresham & Co. p. 349 – viaInternet Archive.
^Lockwood, Mary S. (1908)."Mrs. Susan McCulloch".Lineage Book of the Charter Members of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Washington, D.C.: D.A.R. p. 99.
