Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Writings of George Washington, Vol. 3: Being His Correspondence, Addresses, Messages, and Other Papers, Official and Private, Selected and Published From the Original Manuscripts; With a Life of the Author, Notes, and Illustrations
Although the army was under the general control and pay of the Continental Congress, and the number of men to be furnished by each State was prescribed from time to time by that body, yet the mode of raising the men, and in part the supplying of them with arms and clothing, were left to the States themselves. It was the business of the Commander-in-chief to see, that the men were actually brought into the field at the proper times and places, as well as to call out the militia upon emergencies and to dismiss them when their services were no longer required. This duty opened a wide field of correspondence with the States, and some of Washington's best letters are circulars to the governors, making appeals to the patriotism of the peo ple, and urging powerful motives for exertion and sacri fice in the common cause. Wherever the army was stationed, he was always cautious to keep the military and civil powers distinct, and to refer to the respective States all matters of a local nature, which did not clearly come within the jurisdiction of the army. The delicate and troublesome concerns of the Tories were of this description. The safety of the country required him to use the force he commanded to apprehend suspected persons; but he invariably turned them over to the civil authorities of the State in which they resided, to be dealt with as the proper tribunals should decide. Oc casions frequently occurred, likewise, for corresponding with the committees of towns and smaller districts or communities.
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