Letter from Martha Washington to Burwell Bassett

Martha Washington spent the hard winter of 1779-1780 with her husband George at Morristown, NJ, where he had set up headquarters in the home of the widow Theodosia Ford. Aside from the weather—which was the worst on the eastern seaboard in recorded history—Washington had to face some of his greatest challenges to keep his army together. This stress took a great toll on him and his wife.

When the Washingtons parted company in June of 1780, Martha Washington headed back home to Mount Vernon. After arriving, she wrote to her cousin Col. Burwell Bassett on July 13, 1780, asking him if his daughter could come and spent time at Mount Vernon. Near the end of the letter, on the verso pictured here, Mrs. Washington referred to the dire emotional state of her husband General Washington over the state and progress of the war. She wrote: “the poor general was so unhappy that it distressed my exceedingly.” This rare surviving letter of Martha Washington shows how the war impacted both her and her husband, especially during the hard winter at Morristown.