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Subject Area: Political Theory
Subject Area: War and Peace
Topic: The American Revolution and Constitution

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS. - George Washington, The Writings of George Washington, vol. III (1775-1776) [1889]

Edition used:

The Writings of George Washington, collected and edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford (New York and London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1889). Vol. III (1775-1776).

Part of: The Writings of George Washington, 14 vols.

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Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.


TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Camp atCambridge, 5 October, 1775.

Sir,

I was honored with your favor of the 26th ultimo, late the night before last; and a meeting of the general officers having been called upon a business, which will make a considerable part of this letter, I took the opportunity of laying before them those parts of yours, which respect the continuance and new-modelling the army, the fuel, clothing, and other preparations for the ensuing winter. They have taken two or three days to consider; and, as soon as I am possessed of their opinions, I shall lose no time in transmitting the result, not only on the above subjects, but the number of troops necessary to be kept up. I have also directed the commissary-general and the quartermaster-general to prepare estimates of the expense of their departments for a certain given number of men, from which a judgment may be made, when the number of men to be kept in pay is determined; all which I shall do myself the honor to lay before the Congress, as soon as they are ready.

I have now a painful though a necessary duty to perform, respecting Dr. Church, director-general of the hospital. About a week ago, Mr. Secretary Ward of Providence sent up to me one Wainwood, an inhabitant of Newport, with a letter directed to Major Cane in Boston, in characters; which he said had been left with Wainwood some time ago, by a woman who was kept by Dr. Church. She had before pressed Wainwood to take her to Captain Wallace,1 Mr. Dudley the collector, or George Rome, which he declined. She then gave him a letter, with a strict charge to deliver it to either of those gentlemen. He, suspecting some improper correspondence, kept the letter, and after some time opened it; but, not being able to read it, laid it up, where in remained until he received an obscure letter from the woman, expressing an anxiety after the original letter. He then communicated the whole matter to Mr Ward, who sent him up with the papers to me. I immediately secured the woman; but for a long time she was proof against every threat and persuasion to discover the author. However, at length she was brought to a confession, and named Dr. Church. I then immediately secured him and all his papers. Upon his first examination he readily acknowledged the letter, said it was designed for his brother Fleming, and, when deciphered, would be found to contain nothing criminal. He acknowledged his never having communicated the correspondence to any person here but the girl, and made many protestations of the purity of his intentions.1 Having found a person capable of deciphering the letter, I in the mean time had all his papers searched, but found nothing criminal among them. But it appeared, on inquiry, that a confidant had been among the papers before my messenger arrived. I then called the general officers together for their advice, the result of which you will find in the enclosure No. 1. The deciphered letter is the enclosure No. 2. The army and country are exceedingly irritated; and, upon a free discussion of the nature, circumstances, and consequence of this matter, it has been unanimously agreed to lay it before the honorable Congress for their special advice and direction; at the same time suggesting to their consideration, whether an alteration of the twenty-eighth article of war may not be necessary.1

As I shall reserve all farther remarks upon the state of the army till my next, I shall now beg leave to request the determination of Congress, as to the property and disposal of such vessels and cargoes, as are designed for the supply of the enemy, and may fall into our hands. There has been an event of this kind at Portsmouth as by the enclosure No. 3,2 in which I have directed the cargo to be brought hither for the use of the army, reserving the settlement of any claims of capture to the decision of Congress.

As there are many unfortunate individuals, whose property has been confiscated by the enemy, I would humbly suggest to the consideration of Congress the humanity of applying, in part or in the whole, such captures to the relief of those sufferers, after compensating any expense of the captors, and for their activity and spirit. I am the more induced to request this determination may be speedy, as I have directed three vessels to be equipped in order to cut off the supplies; and from the number of vessels hourly arriving, it may become an object of some importance. In the disposal of these captures, for the encouragement of the officers and men, I have allowed them one third of the cargoes, except military stores, which, with the vessel, are to be reserved for the public use. I hope my plan, as well as the execution, will be favored with the approbation of Congress.

One Mr. Fisk, an intelligent person, came out of Boston on the 3d instant, and gives us the following advices; that a fleet, consisting of a sixty-four, and a twenty-gun ship, two sloops of eighteen guns, [and] two transports with six hundred men, were to sail from Boston yesterday; that they took on board two mortars, four howitzers, and other artillery calculated for the bombardment of a town; their destination was kept a profound secret;1 that an express sloop of war, which left England the 8th of August, arrived four days ago; that General Gage is recalled, and last Sunday resigned his command to General Howe; that Lord Percy, Colonel Smith, and other officers, who were at Lexington, are ordered home with Gage; that six ships of the line and two cutters were coming out under Sir Peter Dennis; that five regiments and a thousand marines are ordered out, and may be expected in three or four weeks; no prospect of an accommodation, but the ministry determined to push the war to the utmost.

I have an express from Colonel Arnold, and herewith send a copy of his letter and an enclosure No. 4; and I am happy in finding he meets with no discouragement. The claim of the rifle officers to be independent of all the superior officers, except Colonel Arnold, is without any countenance or authority from me, as I have signified in my last despatch, both to Colonel Arnold and Captain Morgan. The captain of the brig from Quebec for Boston informs me, that there is no suspicion of any such expedition; and that, if Carleton is not drove from St. John’s, so as to be obliged to throw himself into Quebec, it must fall into our hands, as it is left without a regular soldier, and many of the inhabitants are most favorably disposed to the American cause; and that there is the largest stock of ammunition ever collected in America. In the above vessel some letters were also found, from an officer at Quebec to General Gage and Major Sheriff at Boston, containing such an account of the temper of the Canadians, as cannot but afford the highest satisfaction. I have thought it best to forward them. They are enclosures No. 6 & 7.1 I am, with the greatest respect, &c.2

[1 ]James Wallace, Commander of his Majesty’s ship Rose, stationed at Newport.

[1 ]Having acknowledged the letter as deciphered to be correct, Dr. Church explained that the letter was intended to “impress the enemy with a strong idea of our strength and situation in order to prevent an attack at a time when the Continental army was in great want of ammunition, and in hopes of effecting some speedy accommodation of the present dispute, and made solemn asseverations of his innocence.”

[1 ]By the twenty-eighth article of war, whoever was convicted of holding correspondence with the enemy, or of giving intelligence, was to suffer such punishment as should be ordered by a general court-martial. There was no provision for referring such cases to Congress, or other civil authorities.

[2 ]The ship Prince George which sailed from Bristol July 19th, with provisions for Gage’s army.

[1 ]Washington sent word to every important town on the coast of this armament, that they might be on their guard.

[1 ]“No prospect yet of the militia being embodied here; nor do I think they will. General Carleton, I am apt to think, is afraid to give the order lest they should refuse to obey, and I believe this year will pass over without the Canadians doing anything in favor of government. . . . You must look for no diversion in favor of the army immediately under your Excellency’s command this year from Canada, the language here being only to defend the Province; and it’s generally thought here that if the rebels were to push forward a body of four or five thousand men, the Canadians would lay down their arms, and not fire a shot.”—Thomas Gamble to General Gage, Quebec, 6 September, 1775.

“Their minds [i. e. the Canadians] are all poisoned by emissaries from New England and the damned rascals of merchants here and at Montreal. . . . The Quebec bill is of no use, on the contrary the Canadians talk of that d—d abused word liberty.”—Thomas Gamble to Major Sheriff, 6 September, 1775.

General Gage wrote to Lord Dartmouth, on the 20th of August, that General Carleton did not find the Canadians so ready for war as he had hoped, and that some of the Indian tribes were backward. He said the minds of the Canadians had been poisoned by the enemy, but that a good force there would set them all in motion. He advised, that General Carleton should be reinforced with four thousand men, a supply of arms, military stores, and Indian goods.—MS. Letter.

[2 ]Read before Congress, October 13th.