From his Headquarters in New York, George Washington issued General Orders for April 14, 1776. Washington wanted soldiers to respect the general public, just as he wanted them to respect prisoners:
The General flatters himself, that he shall hear no Complaints from the Citizens, of abuse, or ill-treatment, in any respect whatsoever; but that every Officer and Soldier, of every Rank and Denomination, will pride themselves (as Men contending in the glorious Cause of Liberty ought to do) in an orderly, decent and regular deportment.
The George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799
Many of the men stationed in New York City and receiving these orders became prisoners of British and Tory personnel, suffering "all the insult possible" from anti-revolutionary hardliners crowded into the British-held city. John H. Rhodehamel, editor, The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence (New York: Library of America, 2001), page 293. On a few well-placed but malevolent "Tories," please consider the footnote here.
The General flatters himself, that he shall hear no Complaints from the Citizens, of abuse, or ill-treatment, in any respect whatsoever; but that every Officer and Soldier, of every Rank and Denomination, will pride themselves (as Men contending in the glorious Cause of Liberty ought to do) in an orderly, decent and regular deportment.
The George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799
Many of the men stationed in New York City and receiving these orders became prisoners of British and Tory personnel, suffering "all the insult possible" from anti-revolutionary hardliners crowded into the British-held city. John H. Rhodehamel, editor, The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence (New York: Library of America, 2001), page 293. On a few well-placed but malevolent "Tories," please consider the footnote here.
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