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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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TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.Cambridge, 25 December, 1775. Sir,I had the honor to address myself to you on the 19th instant, since which I have received undoubted information, that the genuine instructions given to Connolly have not reached your hands; that they are very artfully concealed in the tree of his saddle, and covered with canvass so nicely, that they are scarcely discernible; that those, which were found upon him, were intended to deceive, if he was caught. You will most certainly have his saddle taken to pieces, in order to discover this deep-laid plot.1 Enclosed is a copy of General Howe’s letter in an swer to the one I wrote to him on the 18th instant. The conduct I am to observe towards Brigadier Prescott, in consequence of these letters, the Congress will oblige me by determining for me. The gentlemen by whom you sent the money are arrived. The sum they brought, though large, is not sufficient to answer the demands of the army, which at this time are remarkably heavy. There is three months’ pay due, one month’s advance, two dollars for each blanket, the arms, which are left by those who are dismissed, to be paid for, besides the demands, on the commissary and quartermaster-generals. You will, therefore, see the necessity of another remittance, which I beg may be as soon as you conveniently can.2 I will take the opportunity of the return of these gentlemen, to send Colonel Kirkland to you for examination, and that you may dispose of him as to you may seem proper. A committee from the General Court of this province called on me the other day, informing me that they were in great want of ordnance for the defence of the colony; that, if what belonged to them, now in use here, was kept for the continent, they will be under the necessity of providing themselves with other; of course, what is kept must be paid for. There are many of the cannon of very little use; such of them as are good, I cannot at present part with; perhaps when I receive the supply from New York and Canada, it may be in my power to spare them. Mr. Wadsworth1 has sent in his report respecting Cape Cod harbor, a copy of which you will receive herewith. Also a letter from a Mr. Jacob Bayley, put into my hands by Colonel Little. It contains some things that may not be unworthy the consideration of Congress. We have made good progress in the works on Lechmere’s Point. They would have been finished ere this, but for the severity of the weather, which prevents our people from working. I received a letter from Governor Cooke, which expresses the fears of the people of Rhode Island, lest the ships, which we had information were sailed with some troops on board, were destined for Newport. I sent Major-General Lee there, to point out to them such defence as he may think the place capable of. I sincerely wish he may be able to do it with effect, as that place, in its present state, is an asylum for such as are disaffected to American liberty.2 Our returns of enlistments, to this day, amount to eight thousand five hundred men. I have the honor to be, &c.3 [1 ]Allen Cameron, Doctor John Smith (or Smyth) and John Connolly were apprehended at Hagers Town by the Committee of Frederick County, Maryland, and some incriminating documents found on them. Connolly had been commissioned by Gage to raise a company in the back country and Canada, and was arrested when on his way to the Delaware Indians bearing a speech from Dunmore to enlist their efforts against the colonists. Cameron was to be appointed a lieutenant, and Smith, a surgeon in the new company. Both were Scotchmen. Connolly was kept a prisoner till the end of the war. A narrative of his experiences is printed in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 1888 and 1889. See also note to the letter of Washington to Congress, 30 January, 1776, post. [2 ]“A gross calculation of the sum wanted to pay off the army upon the old establishment and to pay one month’s pay advance to the new established regiments, with the other necessary contingent and incidental charges.
[1 ]Peleg Wadsworth. [2 ]Intelligence had been received from Boston, that eight large ships and two small ones sailed out of the harbor on the 16th. Four days afterwards General Lee set off for Newport, attended by a guard and a party of riflemen. He went and returned through Providence, and was absent from camp ten days. Besides giving directions respecting the fortifications and other means of defence at Newport, he called before him several obnoxious persons, and tendered to them the oath of fidelity to the country. Two custom-house officers and another person, refusing to take the oath, were put under guard and sent to Providence. [3 ]Read 3 January, 1776. |
