Part 19

1 Cf., Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography.

TO ARTHUR LEE.

BOSTON March 12th 1778

MY DEAR FRIEND

This Letter will be deliverd to you by Captn Romanet a young French Gentleman Nephew to General Grobouval Commander of the french Artillery. He is a modest well behaved youth, and is one of Monsr du Coudrays Corps many of whom I suppose are returnd to France dissatisfied with the Determination of Congress against ratifying Mr Dean's Compact. The Necessity of doing this was disagreable to the Members, but it could not have been otherwise, without causing a great Uneasiness in our Army at a very critical Juncture. I hope no ill Consequences will result to our Country and Cause from the Complaints of these Gentlemen. Mr Romanet ingenuously acknowledges to me that Mr Du Coudrays Disappointment appears to him to have been necessary, and possibly his Connections in France may give Weight to his opinion.

I have been favord with your acceptable Letter of the 31 July from Paris. From your not having noticed several Letters which I have written to you, I suspect they have miscarried. I know not that they would have servd any other good Purpose, than to have shown how desirous I was of reviving a Correspondence which heretofore.....

TO JONATHAN TRUMBULL.

STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY BOSTON Mar 19 1778

SIR/

I am to acquaint your Excellency in the Name & by order of the Council of this State, that your Letter of the 16th Instant directed to the President, relative to the Defence of Hudsons River has been receivd & read at that Board. The General Assembly is now under a short Adjournment, and the Council are not authorizd in their Executive Capacity & seperate from the House of Repts to order any Part of the Militia of this State beyond its Limits. The Assembly will meet on the first Day of the next Month. Your Excellencys Letter, together with another receivd this Day from Govr Clinton upon the same Subject, will then be laid before that Body; and altho the Government of this State are now under the Necessity of keeping up more than fifteen hundred of the Militia to guard the Troops of Convention & for other extraordinary Service in and about the Town of Boston, yet there can be no Doubt but a due Attention will be given to so interesting & important a Concern as the Defence of Hudsons river.

I have the Honor to be with the most cordial Esteem

Yr Excys most Humble Servt

TO JAMES LOVELL.

BOSTON March 27 1778

MY DEAR SIR

You cannot imagine how much I feel my self obligd to you for writing to me frequently. Your Letters however do not come to me in regular Order. HOW is it that I did not receive those of the 10th & 16th of Feby by the Post till yesterday? I am affraid there is some Deficiency in the Post office Department; but as I would fain hope our Friend Mr Hastings is not in Fault, I will beg you in his Behalf, to move to the Post Master General for an Addition to his Salary, for he assures me he cannot live upon what he now receives.

I am very sorry your Letter of the 10th did not come in Season, for I should have gladly interrested my self for so valueable a Citizen as Mr Leach at the late annual Meeting. I have long wishd that for the Reputation as well as substantial Advantage of this Town a military Academy was instituted. When I was in Philadelphia more than two years ago I mentiond the Importance I conceivd it to be of, in Letters to my Friends here. At least we might set up a publick School for military Mathematicks, and I know of no one better qualified for an Instructor than Mr Leach. I wish he had mentiond it to me. Perhaps he may have had Promises of Attention to him from some other Person upon whom he relies. I will consult with such Men of Influence in the Town as I am acquainted with, and will not be wanting in Endeavors to improve your Hints for the mutual Benefit of the Publick & Mr Leach.

I am pleasd to observe in your Letter of 28 Feby that Mr Burgoyne seems to be alterd in his Ideas of Congress. The Gentleman to whom you request me to communicate the Contents of that Letter, I am not in the least acquainted with, but shall comply with your Request whenever I shall find an opportunity of doing it.

I fear from what you mention in your Letter of the 7th of March that the Expectations of the People with Regard to Ty. & Independence will be baulkd. If they are, the Cause in my opinion will be injurd & the Confidence of the People in those who have the Mannagement of our Affairs civil & military lessend, which I should be very sorry to see. In the same Letter you tell me that Lt Colo Anstruthers Request to seek his own Release on Condition of his getting Colo Allens is granted. I now inclose a Letter which I had mislayed & omitted to send, relating to Lt Colo Campbells who I wish might be exchanged for Friend Ethan.1

I do not wonder that you have been mortified upon the Delay of a certain Affair to which you refer in your Letter of the 10th Instant. I wrote you the Opinion of this Town respecting that Affair above a Month ago. I shall only observe that in my opinion, every one who is intrusted with the Affairs of the Publick does not feel so sensibly for its Reputation as I think you do. I have inclosd the Instructions of the General Assembly to their Delegates in Congress upon the Confederation, and when I shall have the pleasure of seeing you I may perhaps give you the Causes why that important Matter was not determind sooner. I immediately after reading your last mentiond Letter communicated to the Council that part of it which relates to the Propriety & Necessity of making regular Returns of what is done here in Consequence of the Recommendations of Congress; and a Committee of that Board is now looking over the Journals & Papers for that Purpose. In the same Letter you mention your having receivd a Letter from Mr John Amory, with his Request that you wd put a memorial into Congress for him. In what Manner could Congress interpose for him if you should comply with his Request? His Residence in this State was deemd by the Genl Assembly to be dangerous to the State. Will Congress order or recommend that He should reside in it notwithstanding? "He was surprizd into an Oath of Allegiance!" He said upon his Examination here that he was not compelled to take the Oath. He did not recollect the Form or Tenor of the Oath he had taken--but desired to live peaceably in his Native town but could not in Conscience take up Arms against the British King. I will desire Mr Appleton to write to you on the Subject.

1 Allen. Cf. page 9.

TO FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE.

MY DEAR SIR

It was much longer than the usual time before your very acceptable Letter of the 22 Decr came to my hand. I receivd it as a singular Favor and felt the more thankful for it, because I knew that hardly anything could induce you to write a Letter but the urgent Affairs of our Country or the powerful feelings of private Friendship. I should have written you an Answer sooner but the peevish nominal Saint who scrap'd an Acquaintance with me at Baltimore the last Winter, has followd me even to this place. I think he is the most impertinent & troublesome Visitant I ever had. I am so thoroughly disgusted at the Creature that I have taken every Method that could be devisd to prevent my being ever plagud with him again. He seems at length to be about leaving me & he may depend upon it I shall deny all his Visits for the future.

The Spirit of Avarice, I am sorry to be obligd to say it, prevails too much in this Town; but it rages only among the few, because perhaps, the few only are concernd at present in trade. The old substantial Merchants have generally laid aside trade & left it to Strangers or those who from nothing have raisd fortunes by privateering. The Body of this Community suffer proportionably as much as the great continental Publick. It must be confessd that the Charges of Trade are enormous, and it is natural for men when they have at great Risque & Expence imported Commodities which are wanted by every body, if they must receive in payment for them what is valued by no body, to demand as much of it as they please, especially if it is growing daily into less Repute. This you know has been the Case. There is but one effectual Remedy; & that is to lessen the Quantity of circulating paper Money. This is now doing here. Our Assembly have laid on a very heavy Tax, & are determind to repeat it again and again. Besides which they have called in a large Quantity of their bills, for which they have issued Notes payble with Interest. The Effects are already felt & the prices of Goods have been for some time past gradually sinking.

You tell me we have a great many men now inlisted & that you hope Means will be found to collect them. I joyn with you in these hopes, and that we may keep them together when they are collected and make a good Use of them. Howe I understand has fortified himself by a Line of Redoubts from River to River. Has he more than 13 or 14 Men in America? If not why should we wait till he is reinforced before we make an Enterprize somewhere.

Your Resolution to stop the Embarkation here I fancy has nettled Burgoyne. He has since been soliciting Interviews with A & B & wishes for private Conversations upon a Matter in which "he thinks the General Cause of Humanity and possibly the essential Interests of both our Countries are concernd."1 He has not prevaild upon A to comply with his Request; for more Reasons than one which I think must be obvious upon a short Review of our History. The Resolutions of Congress will afford Matter of Speculation for the Politicians in Europe. But must they not all acknowledge that Burgoyne himself had made it necessary? After a solemn Declaration made to the very Officer with whom he had enterd into the Convention that it was broken on our Part, Does he, if he believes his own Declaration hold him self bound by it on his part? Would he not, if sufferd to go to Sea, most probably carry a Reinforcement to Genl Howe & laugh at us for puting it in his Power?

I have twenty things to say to you, but my ill state of Health prevents my adding more than that I am, with sincere Regards to Mrs Lee in which Mrs A very cordially joyns