To George Washington from James Clinton, 22 December 1781

Sir	Pompton December 22 1781

Your Excellencys favour of the 14th Inst. I had the Honour to receive this Morning and am happy to find that my Conduct in Building the Hutts of my Brigade meet your Excellency approbation.

In determining upon the Ground for our Huttments I shoud have given Preference to the place designated in your Excellency Letter the entrance into Ringwood Clove had there been Wood Suitable for the Purpose of Hutting but the destruction of Timber made by the Iron Works in that Vincinity forced me to this small distance. We are about two Miles West of Pompton [] in the Rear of a very large uncleared swamp on the back Road leading to Morris Town about Sixteen Miles distant from it.

As our supplies have hitherto been furnished from Morris Town we have experienced no small inconvenience in receiving them though I am informed that our difficulties on this score will be removed in ten or twelve Days, by the Contractor who intends to establish an Issuing Store at this place.

Our Hutts are in great forwardness the most of the Troops will move into them in two Days.

I have Order’d a Captains Command to the Block House in Smiths Clove to relieve a Detatchment now there from West Point.

As soon as the Hutts are compleated I will have a Party detatch’d to erect a Block House in the [Gore] of the Mountains leading to Ringwood for the Purpose expressed in Your Excellencys Letter. I am Your Excellencys most Obedient Humble Servant

James Clinton

DLC: Papers of George Washington.

This early access document derives from raw transcriptions, prior to editing and publication in Rotunda's American History Collection. If this document is cited in formal research, it should be noted that it is not a final version, and that the URL you used to access it is not permanent.
Please report any errors or problems you notice in documents.