General Howe's Dog
George Washington to General Howe

6 October 1777

The Revolutionary War at its lowest level often degenerated into unrestrained violence both on and off the battlefield, and neither side hesitated to accuse the other of committing the most detestable atrocities. The contending generals, nevertheless, prided themselves on being gentlemen and acting as such on all occasions. A small but notable instance of George Washington's steadfast adherence to the code of eighteenth-century gentlemanly behavior amidst the strife of war appears in the forthcoming volume 11 of the Revolutionary War Series. Writing from his headquarters at Perkiomen, Pennsylvania, two days after the Battle of Germantown, Washington apparently sent the following message to General William Howe, who remained at Germantown:

Neither the name nor the breed of the dog is known, nor the circumstances under which it was found. As tempting as it is to speculate that Howe's faithful canine was perhaps not so faithful after all and had deserted to the Americans in search of true liberty or better food, it is more logical to think that the animal happily and unknowingly pursued a deer or other game across American lines and was captured much against its will. Certainly the Americans could not accuse the dog of being a spy since its inscribed collar clearly indicated that it was in proper "uniform."

The draft of Washington's note to Howe (below), which is in the handwriting of his aide-de-camp Alexander Hamilton, is in the Washington Papers at the Library of Congress. The receiver's copy of the note, presuming that it was sent to Howe with his dog, has not been found probably because Howe's private correspondence was burned in an accidental house fire during the early nineteenth century.