North Carolina Office of Archives and History

The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series. Volume I: June-September, 1775by Philander D. ChaseReview by: E. Wayne CarpThe North Carolina Historical Review, Vol. 63, No. 1 (JANUARY 1986), p. 138Published by: North Carolina Office of Archives and HistoryStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23518633 .

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138 Book Reviews

The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series. Volume I: June September, 1775. Edited by Philander D. Chase. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1985. Preface, editorial apparatus, illustrations, index. Pp. xxvii, 513. $35.00.)

"He seems discret & Virtuous, no harum Starum ranting Swearing fellow but Sober, steady & Calm." Thus, on June 17, 1775, did Con

necticut's delegate to the Continental Congress, Eliphalet Dyer, describe

the newly elected commander in chief of the Continental Army, George Washington. As this welcome first volume of the Revolutionary War

Series of The Papers of George Washington amply demonstrates, Washing ton would need to draw on all these qualities during the initial three months of the Revolutionary War as he evaluated schemes to defeat the British in Boston, planned Benedict Arnold's march to Quebec, cor

responded with state and national leaders, and attempted to forge an

army out of the ill-disciplined, ill-trained recruits that besieged Boston. In every conceivable way, the Revolutionary War Series of The Papers

of George Washington marks a significant advance over the J. C.

Fitzpatrick edition. In addition to printing for the first time five new

Washington documents and all of his incoming letters, the editors have

carefully and generously annotated the entire volume, paying special attention to identifying obscure individuals and minor skirmishes. Most

important, the editors have performed their primary responsibility of

publishing authentic and accurate texts with such scrupulousness that all future researchers will forever be in their debt. This is no small achievement. The superiority of the Chase over the Fitzpatrick trans

criptions is evident in every letter checked. In one document, Washington to Rhode Island's Governor Nicholas Cooke, August 4, 1775, for example, thirteen errors of transcription have been silently corrected. The cumula tive effect of such changes more than justifies the publication of this edition.

On the whole, the editing is superb, but there is still room for improve ment. The editors could make future volumes more useful to researchers

by including a brief introduction to each volume, increasing the number of cross-references to letters printed elsewhere in the text, and ending the

unscholarly practice of not citing primary or secondary sources for bio

graphical identifications. It is hoped that the editors will think seriously about implementing these suggestions, keeping in mind Richard Hoftstad ter's remark that the United States began with perfection and aspired to

progress.

University of Washington

E. Wayne Carp

THE NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL REVIEW

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