My  best  respects  to  Colonel  Cox  and  his  family,  to  your  fam-
ily, Mr.  Mitchel  and  his  family.
GENERAL  GREENE  TO  GENERAL  WASHINGTON.
Camp  AT  Feedericksbukg,  November  16,  1778.
Sir,  —  The  repeated  instances  of  violence  committed  by
officers  of  inferior  ranl<  in  the  line,  upon  wagonmasters,  in  di-
rect violation  of  your  Excellency's  orders,  render  it  necessary
that  some  check  should  be  given  this   unwarrantable  practice.
The  warrant  oflBcers  begin  to  think  their  situation  so  very
disagreeable  that  they  are  determined,  one  and  all,  to  quit  the
service,  unless  they  can  find  some  freedom  from  such  acts  ot
oppression  and  injustice.
Wagonmasters  have  repeatedly  been  put  under  guard  for
the  most  trifling  offenses,  notwithstanding  your  Excellency
hath  again  and  again  directed  that  they  should  only  be  subject


APPENDIX.  413

to    the  same  modes  of  trial  and  arrest  for  misconduct  which
officers  in  the  line  were.
There  is  now  a  regular  complaint  made  to  me  by  Mr.  Byers,
wagonmaster  for  the  2d  Pennsylvania  brigade,  against  Mr.
Knox,  quartermaster  of  the  ninth  Pennsylvania  Regiment.
The  wagonmaster  was  in  the  line  of  his  duty  agreeable  to  the
orders  he  had  received  from  the  commanding  officer  of  the
brigade,  when  ihe  quartermaster  interfered,  and  prevented  •
him  from  pursuing  his  ordeis.  This  the  wagonmaster  took
as  an  injury,  and  wrote  him  a  note  not  the  most  polite,  nor  yet
very  insolent.  The  quartermaster  no  sooner  received  the  note
than  he  sent  a  file  of  men,  took  the  wagonmaster  prisoner,  and
confined  him  in  the  quarter  guard  all  night.
