George Washington to Henry Lee

I have received your report of the attack of Powles Hook transmitted by Captain Rudolph, which I have forwarded to Congress by Lieutenant McCallester. I shall be sorry if this should be contrary to your wish or Captain Rudolph’s expectation, as I have the best opinion of this Gentlemans merit. My motives for sending Mr. McCallester with the dispatches were that he commanded one of the forlorn hopes and got possession of the standard. As custom required the sending this to Congress, I thought the bearer of it ought to be the Person who had the good fortune to gain possession of it, especially as you had forwarded it by him to me; nor would it have been warranted by precedent to have sent one with the dispatches and another with the standard. You will find my sense of your conduct and of that of the officers and men under your command, expressed in the General order of yesterday and in my letter to Congress. I congratulate you on your success. You will send a small escort of dragoons with Lt. McCallester.

I am, etc.