GEORGE WASHINGTON LETTERS

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On Sept. 24, 2021, DIA received a letter from George Washington, the pride of Mount Vernon, to display in the DIA Museum for the Agency’s 60th anniversary celebration.

Welcomed by the DIA Director and Deputy Director, a representative from the Library of Congress delivered the first in a series of 18 original letters from the George Washington Papers, the largest collection of original George Washington documents in the world. Each letter will be displayed in DIA’s Heritage Gallery at the DIA Museum for three months, rotating out when the next letter arrives.

Dated July 16, 1780, the first displayed letter was written to Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, the Comte de Rochambeau. In it, Washington welcomes the French to America’s revolutionary fight against the British. Scans of the letter are available on the Library of Congress' website.

The
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Each of the 18 letters provided by the Library of Congress were written in July 1780, the turning point in the American Revolution. The collection also contains letters written to George Washington from Alexander Hamilton, Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, and Col. Elias Dayton.

Demonstrating the progression of George Washington’s intelligence campaign, the letters detail reports from the Culper and Mersereau Spy Rings, individual spies throughout the region, and an active scout network.

The letters directly reflect the history of the intelligence mission DIA was charged with upon the Agency’s inception. Carrying on in the footsteps of George Washington, DIA continues to support the warfighter and provide intelligence on foreign militaries to prevent and decisively win wars.