Revolutionary War Journal of Household Expenses, July, 1776 - November, 1780 [Washington]

A journal maintained by steward Caleb Gibbs and housekeeper Mary Smith (until her departure, see Revolutionary War Receipt Book, May, 1776 - November, 1780) documenting the household expenses of Washington's headquarters in New York City and then as he moved from one headquarters to another during this period of the Revolutionary War. Memoranda and daily records of expenditures document life in detail. Purchases of food, supplies, and services are recorded; also payments of wages to servants and slaves. Gibbs notes the shift to New Jersey currency when Washington fled there after New York fell to the British in October, 1776. It also records the receipt of items captured from the British, including fruit baskets and pudding dishes that belonged to General Frederick Haldimand, taken on July 11, 1776.

This volume sheds some murky light on the story of Mary Smith: a page headed "general accounts with Mary Smith" documents her settlement of accounts with Washington on July 16, 1776. Her signature on the page shows that she was still in the city well after the date (June 24) of the anonymous letter identifying her as a possible loyalist plotter. A marginal note reports that she began working for Washington on April 11, 1776 and left his New York household on June 25, 1776, the day after the letter exposing her was written.

There are 135 pages.

Washington, George. George Washington Papers, Series 5, Financial Papers: Revolutionary War Journal of Household Expenses, July, 1776 - November, 1780. 07-/11-1780, 1776. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/mgw500028/. (Accessed February 16, 2017.)

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Library of Congress Title (Legacy): 

Revolutionary War Household Expenses, 1776 - 1780

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