Revolutionary War Expense Account, 1775 - 1783 [Washington]

George Washington refused to accept a salary as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, instead offering to claim only his expenses. Congress accepted this offer in 1775. At the end of the war, Washington compiled his accounts from his record books, including the ones in this series. Washington's total expenses included not only what he spent on himself, but also on the members of his headquarters (who he referred to as his "military family"), his retinue while traveling, and spy services. This is one of at least two copies of the expense account that Washington made. Another is at the National Archives in RG 56, General Records - Treasury Department.

The expense account has been published several times. See these listed in the bibliography in Related Resources. It is accompanied on this website by explanatory notes from one such edition, George Washington's Account of Expenses While Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army 1775-1783 ed. John C. Fitzpatrick (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1917).

There are 92 pages.

Washington, George. George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers: George Washington's Revolutionary War Expense Account, 1775 to 1783. /1783, 1775. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/mgw500022/. (Accessed February 16, 2017.)

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Revolutionary War Expense Account, 1775 - 1783

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