Major General Charles Lee to George Washington, 30 June 1778

Maj. Gen. Charles Lee wrote to Washington on 28 June 1778 complaining of an insult received from Washington upon Lee’s retreating against orders during the fighting at Monmouth, New Jersey, on that day. Lee received a rebuking reply from Washington on 30 June 1778. In his reply, Washington pointedly noted that Lee had misdated his letter of 28 June as July 1st. Lee wrote the letter below to Washington, again misdating his correspondence (this time as 28 June), asking that he be allowed to justify his actions immediately and requesting that, in the meantime, he be relieved of his duties as Major General. Soon after writing this letter, Lee wrote again to Washington and asked that a court martial be put into effect in order that Lee would have the chance to vindicate himself as soon as possible.

Original manuscript images of Lee’s letter to Washington at the Library of Congress: Page 1 | Page 2

Also see the introduction to Washington’s correspondence with Lee.