On this day 250 years ago, at his headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Gen. George Washington dictated a letter to John Hancock, the President of the Continental Congress. The letter read in part:

The Connecticut & Rhode Island Troops stand engaged to the first of December only, & none longer than to the 1st January. A Dissolution of the present Army therefore will take Place, unless some early Provision is made agst such an Event. Most of the General Officers are of Opinion, the greater Part of them may be re-inlisted for the Winter, or another Campaign, with the Indulgence of a Furlough to visit their Friends which may be regulated so as not to endanger the Service. How far it may be proper to form the new Army intirely out of the old for another Campaign, rather than from the Contingents of the several Provinces, is a Question which involves in it too many Considerations of Policy & Prudence, for me to undertake to decide. It appears to be impossible to draw it from any other Source, than the old Army for this Winter, & as the Pay is ample, I hope a sufficient Number will engage in the Service for that Time at least; but there are various Opinions of the Temper of the Men on the Subject, & there may be great Hazard in deferring the Tryal too long.

. . .

Among many other Considerations, which the Approach of Winter will demand, that of Cloathing appears to be one of the most important. So far as regards the Preservation of the Army from Cold, they may be deemed in a State of Nakedness. Many of the Men have been without Blankets the whole Campaign, & those which have been in Use during the Summer, are so much worn, as to be of little Service.

. . .

I am now to inform the Honbl. Congress, that encouraged by the repeated Declarations of the Canadians & Indians, & urged by their Requests, I have detached Col. Arnold with 1000 Men to penetrate into Canada by Way of Kennebeck River, &, if possible, to make himself Master of Quebeck. By this Manoeuvre I proposed, either to divert Carlton from St Johns, which would leave a free Passage to General Schuyler, or, if this did not take Effect, Quebeck in its present defenceless State must fall into his Hands an easy Prey. . . . They have now left this Place 7 Days, &, if favoured with a good Wind, I hope soon to hear of their being safe in Kennebeck River. For the Satisfaction of the Congress, I here inclose a Copy of the proposed Rout, No. 3. I also do myself the Honour of inclosing a Manifesto, which I caused to be printed here, & of which Col. Arnold has taken a suitable Number with him. This is the Inclosure No. 4. I have also forwarded a Copy of his Instructions (No. 5) from all which, I hope, the Congress will have a clear View of the Motives, Plan, & intended Execution, of this Enterprize, & that I shall be so happy, as to meet with their Approbation in it.

I was the more induced to make this Detachment, as it is my clear Opinion, from a careful Observation of the Movements of the Enemy, corroborated by all the Intelligence we receive by Deserters, & others, of the former of whom we have some every Day, that the Enemy have no Intention to come out, untill they are re-inforced. They have been wholly employed for some Time past, in procuring Materials for Barracks, Fuel, & making other Preparations for Winter. These Circumstances, with the constant Additions to their Works, which are apparently defensive, have led to the above Conclusion, & enabled me, to spare this Body of Men, where I hope they will be usefully & successfully employed.

The State of Inactivity, in which this Army has lain for some Time, by no Means corresponds with my Wishes, by some decisive Stroke to relieve my Country from the heavy Expence, its Subsistence must create. After frequently reconnoitring the Situation of the Enemy, in the Town of Boston, collecting all possible Intelligence, & digesting the whole, a Surprize did not appear to me wholly impracticable, though hazardous. I communicated it to the General Officers, some Days before. I called them to a Council, that they might be prepared with their Opinions. The Result I have the Honour of sending in the Inclosure No. 6. I cannot say that I have wholly laid it aside; but new Events may occasion new Measures. Of this, I hope, the honbl. Congress can need no Assurance, that there is not a Man in America, who more earnestly wishes such a Termination of the Campaign, as to make the Army no longer necessary.

The Season advances so fast, that I have given Orders to prepare Barracks, & other Accomodations for the Winter. The great Scarcity of Tow Cloth in this Country, I fear, will totally disappoint us, on our Expectations of procuring Hunting Shirts. Govr Cooke informs me, few or none are to be had in Rhode Island, & Govr Trumbull gives me little Encouragement to expect many from Connecticut.

. . .

It gives me great Pain, to be obliged to sollicit the Attention of the Honorable Congress, to the State of this Army, in Terms which imply the slightest Apprehension of being neglected: But my Situation is inexpressibly distressing, to see the Winter, fast approaching upon a naked Army: The Time of their Service within a few Weeks of expiring, & no Provision, yet made for such important Events. Added to these, the Military Chest is totally exhausted. The Paymaster has not a single Dollar in Hand. The Commissary General assures me, he has strained his Credit for the Subsistance of the Army to the utmost. The Quarter Master General is precisely in the same Situation: And the greater Part of the Troops are in a State not far from Mutiny, upon the Deduction from their stated Allowance. I know not to whom I am to impute this Failure, but I am of Opinion, if the Evil is not immediately remedied & more punctuality observed in future, the Army must absolutely break up—I hoped I had expressed myself so fully on this Subject, both by Letter, & to those Members of the Congress, who honoured the Camp with a Visit, that no Disappointment could possibly happen: I therefore hourly expected Advice from the Paymaster, that he had received a fresh Supply, in Addition to the 172,000 Dollars, delivered him in August, & thought myself warranted to assure the publick Creditors, that in a few Days they should be satisfied. But the Delay has brought Matters to such a Crisis, as admits of no farther uncertain Expectation. I have therefore sent off this Express, with Orders to make all possible Dispatch. It is my most earnest Request, that he may be returned with all possible Expedition, unless the Honbl. Congress have already forwarded, what is so indispensably necessary.

Source: “George Washington to John Hancock, 21 September 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-02-02-0025. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 2, 16 September 1775 – 31 December 1775, ed. Philander D. Chase. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1987, pp. 24–30.]