Dubois's regiment
is unfit to be ordered on duty, there being not one blanket in the
regiment. Very few have either a shoe or a shirt, and most of them have
neither stockings, breeches, or overalls.... Several hundred men are
rendered useless, merely for want of necessary apparel, as no clothing
is permitted to be stopped at this post."
No complaint was made, but merely a statement of facts; for Putnam must
have known that many of the soldiers under his commander were at that
very time half starved and half naked at Valley Forge. The day after
writing this letter to Washington, having secured permission for a
brief furlough, General Putnam went home to attend to private affairs
which demanded his attention. He had applied for this leave of absence
two months previously, but before receiving it had attended to the
exigent matter of fortifying West Point, like the good soldier that he
was.
Since he last left home much had happened to distract and break him
down, including the loss of his wife by death, and the loss of
Washington's friendly support, through no fault of his own.
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