fault, that I could discover, unless
intrepidity bordering upon rashness could come under that denomination;
and to this he was excited by the purest motives."

Of another aide, Tench Tilghman, Washington said, "he has been a zealous
servant and slave to the public, and a faithful assistant to me for near
five years, great part of which time he refused to receive pay. Honor
and gratitude interest me in his favor." As an instance of this, the
commander-in-chief gave to him the distinction of bearing to Congress the
news of the surrender of Cornwallis, with the request to that body that
Tilghman should be honored in some manner. And in acknowledging a letter
Washington said, "I receive with great sensibility and pleasure your
assurances of affection and regard. It would be but a renewal of what I
have often repeated to you, that there are few men in the world to whom I
am more attached by inclination than I am to you. With the Cause, I
hope--most devoutly hope--there will be an end to my Military Service, when
as our places of residence will not be far apart, I shall never be more
happy than in your Company at Mt. Vernon. I shall always be glad to hear
from, and keep up a correspondence with you." When Tilghman died,
Washington asserted that

"He had left as fair a reputation as ever belonged to a human character,"
and to his father he wrote, "Of all the numerous acquaintances of your
lately deceased son, & midst all the sorrowings that are mingled on that
melancholy occasion, I may venture to assert that (excepting those of his
nearest relatives) none could have felt his death with more regret than I
did, because no one entertained a higher opinion of his worth, or had
imbibed sentiments of greater friendship for him than I had done.... Midst
all your grief, there is this consolation to be drawn;--that while living,
no man could be more esteemed, and since dead, none more lamented than
Colo. Tilghman."

To David Humphreys, a member of the staff, Washington gave the honor of
carrying to Congress the standards captured at Yorktown, recommending him
to the notice of that body for his "attention, fidelity, and good
services." This aide escorted Washington to Mount Vernon at the close of
the Revolution, and was "the last officer belonging to the army" who
parted from "the Commander-in-chief." Shortly after, Humphreys returned to
Mount Vernon, half as secretary and half as visitor and companion, and he
alluded to this