Fisher Gay was a Patriot and successful shopkeeper from Connecticut. He was commissioned as a Captain in the Connecticut militia, 1771. Upon hearing news about the Batle of Lexington, Gay closed his shop and headed a group of about 100 volunteers, who marched to Boston. Gay was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel in March, 1775, as an officer in a regiment that took part in the siege of Boston. After the British had left Boston, Gay returned to Connecticut, but on June 20, 1776, was commissioned as a Colonel in a new state regiment raised to serve in New York. At the time Washington penned these orders, Colonel Fisher Gay had already died of dysentery, August 22, 1776. *
Sir,
Whether you do not get the General Orders with that regularity which is to be wished, or whether (which is hard to suppose) you do not attend to them, I will not undertake to determine ; but it is a melancholy truth that returns essentially necessary for the commanding officer to govern himself by, and which might be made in an hour after they are called for, where care and order are observed, are obtained with so much difficulty. Nor can I help regretting, that not only regular returns, but that orders, in instances equally important, should be so little attended to. I therefore address myself to you in this manner, requesting in express and peremptory terms, that you do without delay make out and return to the Adjutant General's office immediately an exact state of the regiment or corps under your command, and that the like return be given in every Saturday, at orderly time, without fail.
I also desire, in terms equally express, that you do not suffer the men of your corps to straggle from their quarters, or be absent from camp without leave, and even then but a few at a time. Your own reputation, the safety of the army, and the good of the cause, depend, under God, upon our vigilance and readiness to oppose a crafty and enterprising enemy, who are always upon the watch to take advantages. To prevent straggling, let your rolls be called over three times a day, and the delinquents punished. I have one thing more to urge, and that is, that every attempt of the men to plunder houses, orchards, gardens, &c., be discouraged, not only for the preservation of property and sake of good order, but for the prevention of those fatal consequences which usually follow such diabolical practices. In short, Sir, at a time when every thing is at stake, it behoves every man to exert himself. It will not do for the commanding officer of a regiment to content himself with barely giving orders; he should see (at least know) they are executed. He should call his men out frequently, and endeavor to impress them. with a just sense of their duty, and how much depends upon subordination and discipline.
Let me, therefore, not only command, but exhort you and your officers, as you regard your reputation, your country, and the sacred cause of freedom in which you are engaged, to manly and vigorous exertions at this time, each striving to excel the other in the respective duties of his department. I trust it is unnecessary for me to add further, and that these and all other articles of your duty you will execute with a spirit and punctuality becoming your station. I am, &c.
* Dexter, Franklin Bowditch. 1885. Biographical sketches of the graduates of Yale college with annals of the college history. New York: H. Holt and Company. pp 581, 582
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