Autograph Letter Signed ("A. Hamilton") 1 p, 8vo, bifolium, Hd. Qrs [Springfield, NJ,] June 12, 1780, to Baron de [von] Steuben, issuing Washington's orders to assemble the commanding officers, noted at the head "Arrangements of Militia," and with Von Steuben's aide Benjamin Walker's minutes across the two inner pages detailing the troop movements discussed, old folds, seals removed, minor staining, letter and transcription laid-into window mounts, modern half-morocco box.

WARTIME ALEXANDER HAMILTON LETTER FROM THE NEW JERSEY BATTLEFIELD TO BARON VON STEUBEN, issuing orders from General George Washington to assemble the commanding officers in his tent to "settle a general plan for the disposition of Militia," with a full sheet, detailed account of the discussion and resulting strategy to the verso by Von Steuben's aide-de-camp, Benjamin Walker, "The regiments of Col Scudder, Chamberlain Phillips ... to remain on the ground and to be joined released on Monday evening next...."
This missive from Hamilton was written during a critical juncture in the War for Independence, as Washington and his troops had weathered the coldest winter of the war in the Morristown encampment, significantly giving Von Steuben a chance to pull the militias into order (and Hamilton a chance to court Elizabeth Schuyler). By June, the British were firmly in control of the South after a resounding Continental defeat at Charleston, and were shifting attention to New York and New Jersey, where Washington and his armies remained encamped. On June 7th, the British attacked from Staten Island, and made it as far as Springfield, before being turned back in what is known as the Battle of Connecticut Farms by Maxwell's brigade and the militia, without meeting Washington and Von Steuben as they approached from the Morristown encampment. Washington set up Headquarters in Springfield and remained there until June 21st, when anticipating a British attack to the North at West Point, and having dispatched Von Steuben a week earlier toward that purpose, Washington moved back to Morristown, leaving General Nathaniel Greene in charge of Springfield. On June 23rd, the British army assayed into New Jersey again, this time with the British taking a two-pronged attack through Springfield, with another column moving North along the southern edge of Short Hills. Once again, the Continental Army and assorted militiamen, under Greene's command, turned back the British, who retreated back to their hold, and would not return to New Jersey for the rest of the war, a major victory for the resurgent Continental forces and a turning point in the war.
While the present letter has been published in the Hamilton papers, the extensive notes on the meeting itself in the hand of Von Steuben's aide-de-camp Benjamin Walker are heretofore unrecorded. Prepared at a critical moment, and likely in preparation for Washington's decision to send Von Steuben north, the movements detailed herein offer important detail to the final weeks of the war in the North. The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol 6, December 1789 – August 1790 (New York, 1962).