The Papers of U.S. President George Washington (1732-1799)

FAIN: RQ-271286-20

University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA 22903-4833)
Jennifer Stertzer (Project Director: December 2019 to present)

Preparation for publication of volumes 30 through 38 of the Revolutionary War series of the papers of George Washington (1732-1799). (24 months)

The Papers of George Washington is a scholarly documentary editing project that edits, publishes, publicizes, and makes accessible a comprehensive edition of George Washington's public and private papers. This edition, available in both digital and print formats, has been divided into six series, five of which have been completed: the Diaries; the Colonial Series; the Confederation Series; the Presidential Series; and the Retirement Series. Project staff now focuses on completing by 2028 the Revolutionary War Series. The University of Virginia Press has published seventy-eight of a projected ninety-two print volumes. The Washington Papers also are accessible on the web. Since 2007, all of our volumes have appeared in UVA Press's Rotunda digital edition following publication of the print edition. In addition, Founders Online incorporates all of previously published volumes, along with "Early Access" transcriptions of our remaining unpublished material. http://gwpapers.virginia.edu

Associated Products

Washington's Quill blog (Blog Post)
Title: Washington's Quill blog
Author: Project staff and invited guests
Abstract: The project blog includes posts on a variety of topics, from content-based to methods and practices.
Date: 12/13/21
Primary URL: https://washingtonpapers.org/washingtons-quill/
Website: The Washington Papers project website

The George Washington Financial Papers Project (Web Resource)
Title: The George Washington Financial Papers Project
Author: Project staff.
Abstract: The GWFPP exists at the intersection of two challenges editors currently face: managing complicated editorial work and navigating the world of digital publication. The project focuses on a particularly difficult and dynamic dataset—financial documents. Work has advanced on three interconnected fronts: 1) developing document templates for both traditional financial documents, such as account books and ledgers, and for more esoteric texts, including receipts, journals, and memoranda; 2) developing taxonomies and data visualizations; and 3) constructing an open-source platform for content management, editing, and publication. In the course of tackling these challenges, the project has not only developed an open-access digital edition of GW's, but also laid the groundwork for a Drupal for Editors prototype. This Drupal-based, open-source, editorial/publication platform will provide editors with a stable, flexible, and powerful platform to build engaging digital editions of financial documents.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: http://financial.gwpapers.org

Washington's Quill (Blog Post)
Title: Washington's Quill
Author: Washington Papers faculty, staff, and students
Abstract: Washington's Quill is the Washington's Papers official blog.
Date: 12/16/2022
Primary URL: http://washingtonpapers.org/washingtons-quill/

THE PAPERS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Revolutionary War Series, Volume 30 (Book)
Title: THE PAPERS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Revolutionary War Series, Volume 30
Editor: Benjamin L. Huggins
Abstract: This volume 30 of the Revolutionary War series opens in January 1781 with a mutiny in the Continental army’s Pennsylvania regiments, presenting Gen. George Washington with one of the most formidable crises of the war. Although a negotiated settlement resolved the problem, he feared the implications for discipline in the rest of the army. Washington’s concerns were well founded, as news reached him that the New Jersey troops had followed suit. He sent a detachment of New England troops to put down the rebellion. In the meantime, a coastal storm that damaged British ships offered Washington an opportunity to defeat and capture Benedict Arnold, now in command of British and Loyalist troops in Virginia. The subsequent joint naval and land offensive with the French shifted the main theater of war from New York to the southern states, foreshadowing the coming campaign of Yorktown.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/5455/
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Type: Edited Volume
ISBN: 9780813947655
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

THE PAPERS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Revolutionary War Series, Volume 29 (Book)
Title: THE PAPERS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Revolutionary War Series, Volume 29
Editor: William M. Ferraro
Abstract: In volume 29 of the Revolutionary War Series, problems and frustrations dominate the final nine weeks of 1780 for Gen. George Washington—particularly the failure to strike a meaningful blow against the British headquartered in New York City and its environs. He abruptly canceled implementation of his own complex plan to assault the forts on northern Manhattan in late November, focusing instead on maintaining his troops through the winter’s chronic shortages of provisions. Unlike previous winter encampments, Washington separated his command to avoid undue pressure on any one place for food and forage, as well as to protect strategic points. The distressing situation in the southern department was also a concern, as Major General Nathanael Greene traveled to take command of the shattered army and relayed discouraging reports on the lack of immediate assistance in the form of troops or supplies. Washington, who assured his anxious subordinate in a private letter written on 13 Dec. that "the great public" was not "so unreasonable as to expect impossibilities," did all he could to put men and material at Greene’s disposal and shared the ominous news that a British expedition had sailed from New York in late December. Washington and Major General Lafayette, who sought additional support from his French countrymen and from increasingly sympathetic European countries, both realized that overzealousness in diplomacy could be counterproductive. Meanwhile, a new congressional establishment of the Continental army adopted in October and promulgated in the general orders for 1 Nov. buoyed Washington’s optimism, and he welcomed Martha Washington’s arrival at his winter headquarters and penned a rare joke involving Greene’s son approaching his first birthday in a letter to that general’s wife, Catharine. Throughout these tumultuous times, rather than become unpleasant and brittle, Washington demonstrated emotional and mental balance, attributes essential to the eventual success...
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/5454/
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Type: Edited Volume
ISBN: 9780813947167
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

Revolutionary War Series, Volume 28 (Book)
Title: Revolutionary War Series, Volume 28
Editor: Washington Papers
Abstract: In late August 1780, Gen. George Washington was buoyed by expectations that French reinforcements would participate in an attack on New York City and that a southern army was poised to advance through South Carolina and possibly regain Charleston. News soon reached him that a key division was delayed in France and that units under Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates had been scattered near Camden, S.C. In response to these crises, Washington dismissed northern militia to conserve supplies, directed additional forces to the southern department, and selected Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene to replace Gates. In a dramatic turn of events, Washington learned of the defection of Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold—who had plotted with British adjutant general John André to betray West Point—and, acting decisively, concentrated his troops and rebuffed British appeals to spare the captured André (who was hanged as a spy), ensuring "the rescue of the Post & Garrison of West point from Arnolds villainous perfidy.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/5453/
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Type: Edited Volume
ISBN: 9780813944845
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

THE PAPERS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Revolutionary War Series, Volume 31 (Book)
Title: THE PAPERS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Revolutionary War Series, Volume 31
Editor: Jennifer Stertzer
Abstract: Volume 31 of the Revolutionary War Series of the Papers of George Washington. Abstract not available yet.
Year: 2023
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Type: Edited Volume
ISBN: 0813948908
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

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