eight millions of livres. Couriers, we understand, are despatched with
this memorial to Madrid by both the ambassador of Spain and the
minister here; and we are desired to wait with patience the answer, as
the two Courts must act together. In the meantime, they give us fresh
assurances of their good will to our cause, and we have just received
a fourth sum of five hundred thousand livres. But we are continually
charged to keep the aids, that are, or may be afforded us, a dead
secret, even from the Congress, where they suppose England has some
intelligence; and they wish she may have no certain proofs to produce
against them, with the other powers of Europe. The apparent necessity
of your being informed of the true state of your affairs, obliges us
to dispense with this injunction; but we entreat that the greatest
care may be taken that no part of it shall transpire; nor of the
assurances we have received, that no repayment will ever be required
from us, of what has been already given us, either in money or
military stores. The great desire here seems to be, that England
should strike first, and not be able to give her allies a good reason.
The total failure of remittances from you, for a long time past, has
embarrassed us exceedingly; the contracts we entered into for clothing
and arms, in expectation of those remittances, and which are now
beginning to call for payment, distress us much, and we are in
imminent danger of bankruptcy; for all your agents are in the same
situation, and they all recur to us to save their and your credit. We
were obliged to discharge a debt of Myrtle's, at Bordeaux, amounting
to about five thousand livres, to get that vessel away, and he now
duns us at every post for between four and five thousand pounds
sterling, to disengage him in Holland, where he has purchased arms for
you. With the same view of saving your credit, Mr Ross was furnished
with twenty thousand pounds sterling, to disentangle him. All the
captains of your armed vessels come to us for their supplies, and we
have not received a farthing of the produce of their prizes, as they
are ordered into other hands. Mr Hodge has had large sums of us.
But to give you some idea for the present, till a more perfect account
can be rendered of the demands upon us, of what we have paid, we
enclose a sketch for your perusal; and shall only observe, that we
have refused no application, in which your credit appeared to be
concerned, except one from the creditors of a Mr Ceronio, said to be
your agent in Hispaniola, but of whom we had no knowledge; and we had
reason to hope, that you would have been equally ready to support our
credit, as we have been yours, and from the same motives, the good of
the public, for whom we are all acting, the success of our business
depending considerably upon it.
We are sorry, therefore, to find all the world acquainted here, that
the Commissioners from Congress have not so much of your regard as to
obtain the change of a single agent, who disgraces us all. We say no
more of this at present, contenting ourselves with the consciousness,
that we recommended that change from the purest motives, and that the
necessity of it, and our uprightness in proposing it, will soon fully
appear.
Messrs Gardoqui, at Bilboa, have sent several cargoes of naval stores,
cordage, sailcloth, anchors, &c. for the public use, consigned to
Elbridge Gerry. They complain, that they have no acknowledgment from
that gentleman of the goods being received, though they know that the
vessels arrived. We have excused it to them, on the supposition of his
being absent at Congress. We wish such acknowledgments may be made,
accompanied with some expressions of gratitude towards those from whom
the supplies come, without mentioning who they are supposed to be. You
mention the arrival of the Amphitrite and Mercury, but say nothing of
the cargoes.
Mr Hodge is discharged from his imprisonment, on our solicitation, and
his papers restored to him; he was well treated while in the Bastile.
The charge against him was, deceiving the government in fitting out
Cunningham from Dunkirk, who was represented as going on some trading
voyage; but, as soon as he was out, began a cruise on the British
coast, and took six sail. He is got safe into Ferrol.
We have received and delivered the commissions to Mr William Lee, and
Mr Izard. No letters came with them for these gentlemen, with
information how they are to be supported on their stations. We suppose
they write to you, and will acquaint you with their intentions.
Some propositions are privately communicated to us, said to be on the
part of Russia, for forming a commercial company at Emden. We shall
put them into the hands of Mr Lee.
We do not see a probability of our obtaining a loan of two millions
sterling, from any of the money holders in Europe, till our affairs
are, in their opinion, more firmly established. What may be obtained
from the two crowns, either as loan or subsidy, we shall probably
know on the return of the couriers, and we hope we shall be able to
write more satisfactory on those heads by Captain Young, who will, by
that time, be ready to return.
With the greatest respect, we have the honor to be, &c.
B. FRANKLIN,
SILAS DEANE,
ARTHUR LEE.
* * * * *
FROM THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO THE COMMISSIONERS.
Yorktown, 18th October, 1777.
Gentlemen,
We have the pleasure of enclosing to you the copy of a letter from
General Gates, containing the circumstances of a victory gained over
General Burgoyne, on the 7th. This event must defeat the main views of
General Clinton, in proceeding up Hudson's river. He has, it is true,
got possession of fort Montgomery, but with much loss, as we hear.
Though the enemy should boast much of this acquisition, yet we are
persuaded the consequences will be very little profitable to them, as
Governor Clinton, of New York, and his brother General James Clinton,
are acting vigorously in concert with General Putnam, who commands in
that quarter.
Our army under General Washington is numerous and in high spirits,
while General Howe is busied in forming obstructions in the roads
leading to the city of Philadelphia, by which he supports the hopes of
keeping our troops from routing him out of his stolen quarters. The
enclosed resolves need no comment from us, being sufficient of
themselves to determine your conduct in the points to which they
relate. It is with concern we find, that British property has lately
been covered by conveyance in French bottoms, which practice pursued,
and American search disliked by France, it is obvious, that the most
vulnerable part of Great Britain, her commerce, will be secured
against us, and that by the intervention of our professed friends. We
desire, therefore, gentlemen, that you will confer with the ministers
of France on this subject, and satisfy them of the propriety, and even
the necessity which there is, that either this commerce should be
prohibited, or that the United States be at liberty to search into,
and make distinctions between the bottom and the enemy's property
conveyed in that bottom.
To prevent ill impressions being made, by a number of officers who are
returning to France, we think it proper to observe, that without
totally deranging and risking even the annihilation of the American
armies, it was not possible to provide for many of those gentlemen in
the manner they wished, and which some of them had stipulated for,
previous to their leaving France. We have done all in our
power to prevent discontent, but no doubt there will be some,
whose dissatisfactions will produce complaints, and perhaps
misrepresentations. You will be guarded on this head, and represent
our conduct as founded solely on the necessity of our situation.
We have the honor to be, &c.
B. HARRISON,
R. H. LEE,
R. MORRIS,
J. LOVELL.
* * * * *
FROM THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO THE COMMISSIONERS.
York, 31st October, 1777.
Gentlemen,
We have the pleasure to enclose to you the capitulation by which
General Burgoyne and his whole army surrendered themselves prisoners
of war. This great event might have been still greater, had not the
operations on the Hudson river, below Albany, rendered it probable,
that Sir Henry Clinton might come to the relief of General Burgoyne,
as he had urged his way up to within fortyfour miles of Albany, at
which place were lodged the principal magazines of war and provisions
for our northern army. General Gates is now moving down the north
river, having sent General Stark with two thousand brave men, to
reduce Ticonderoga and the passes yet occupied by the enemy on lake
George.
General Howe is yet at Philadelphia, but whether he will be able to
continue there, may be judged from a consideration of General
Burgoyne's surrender, from the hitherto unavailing efforts of the
enemy to get their fleet up to the city, from General Washington's
being with a good army now near Germantown, and closing upon the
enemy's lines, which run across the commons by Philadelphia, as we are
informed, from Delaware to Schuylkill.
After many smaller attempts had been made in vain, upon fort Island
and the chevaux de frize, a general and very powerful attack was made
upon the 22d and 23d of this month, on Red Bank, by twelve hundred
Hessians, and on Fort Island, by several ships of war, which
approached as near as the chevaux de frize would admit, and by fire
from batteries erected on Province Island. The Hessians were led on by
Count Donop, Colonel Commandant. They attempted the place by storm,
and were repulsed with the loss of seventy dead on the spot, and
seventyeight prisoners wounded; among the latter, are Colonel Donop,
and his aid major. Among the former, are a Lieutenant Colonel, and
some inferior officers. From the ships and Province Island batteries,
a furious cannonade was long continued, and warmly returned by fort
Mifflin and the gallies. At length the ships were obliged to retire
with the loss of two, which the enemy set on fire themselves, and
which were thus blown up. These two are said to be the Augusta, of
sixtyfour guns, and the Liverpool frigate. The names of the ships we
cannot be sure of yet, but, that two men of war were destroyed is
certain, and being desirous of giving you the most early information
of the great events at the northward, we shall be more particular
about the Delaware business hereafter. We rely on your wisdom and care
to make the best and most immediate use of this intelligence, to
depress our enemies, and produce essential aid to our cause in Europe.
The public acknowledgment of the independence of these United States,
would be attended with beneficial consequences, and whilst we proceed
with diligence and care to profit from our advantages, we are sensible
how essential European aid must be to the final establishment and
security of American freedom and independence. We are in daily
expectation of hearing from you, which we have not done since May
last.
As some of our frigates are ordered to France, under your after
direction, we hope to hear in due time, that more effectual distress
has been conveyed to the commerce of our enemies. It is a pity that
some of their towns should not be made to suffer for the licentious
conflagrations, which have been kindled by them in America.
We have the honor to be, &c.
R. H. LEE,
J. LOVELL.
* * * * *
FROM THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO THE COMMISSIONERS.
York, 8th November, 1777.
Gentlemen,
At the time this will be delivered to you, bills of exchange will also
be presented for your acceptance, drawn by Henry Laurens, of
Charleston, South Carolina, who was elected President of the
Continental Congress, on the first day of this month, of which we
thought proper to give you thus early information, that you may duly
honor his draughts, the particulars of which we shall forward speedily
by another opportunity, concluding with much regard, &c.
R. H. LEE,
J. LOVELL.
* * * * *
TO THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Passy, 30th November, 1777.
Gentlemen,
In a former letter we acquainted you that we had engaged an officer,
one of the most skilful in naval affairs this country possessed, to
build us a frigate in Holland, on a new construction (drafts of which
we sent you) and to go over in her to America, and enter your
service. The frigate is almost finished. She is very large, is to
carry thirty 24 pounders, on one deck, and is supposed equal to a ship
of the line. But the infinite difficulties we find in equipping and
manning such a ship in any neutral port, under the restrictions of
treaties, together with the want of supplies from you, have induced us
to sell her to the king, who, by a large pension offered to our
officer, has engaged him to remain in his service, and pays us what we
have expended on her.
We have built a small frigate at Nantes, which we hope to get away
soon, laden with supplies of various sorts. We meet with difficulties
too in shipping arms and ammunition in her, but hope they will be
surmounted. Several other vessels, some under the direction of Mr
Ross, others belonging to French merchants, are almost ready to sail
for America, and we had thoughts of sending them in a little fleet,
under convoy of the Raleigh, and Alfred, but on consultation,
considering the spies maintained by England in all the ports, and
thence the impossibility of making up such a fleet, without its being
known, so as to give time for a superior force to be in wait for it,
we concluded the chance better of their going off singly, as they
should be ready. In these vessels are clothes, ready made, for thirty
thousand men, besides arms, cloths, linens, and naval stores to a
great amount, bought up by us and Mr Ross. The private adventures will
also be very considerable. And as we shall continue our endeavor to
complete your orders, we hope that if the ships have common success in
passing, you will be better provided for the next campaign, than you
have been for any of the preceding.
How we are enabled to make these supplies, must be a matter of some
surprise to you, when you reflect that little or nothing from you has
been received by us, since what came by Captain Wickes, till now by
the arrival of the Amphitrite, and that the seeming uncertainty of
your public affairs has prevented hitherto our obtaining the loan
proposed. We have however found, or made some friends, who have
helped, and will, we are confident, continue to help us.
Being anxious for supporting the credit of Congress' paper money, we
procured a fund for payment of the interest of all the Congress had
proposed to borrow. And we mentioned in several of our letters, that
we should be ready to pay all bills drawn for the discharge of such
interest, to the full value in money of France, that is, five livres
for every dollar of interest due. We were persuaded, that thus fixing
the value of the interest would fix the value of the principal, and
consequently of the whole mass. We hope this will be approved, though
we have yet no answer. We cannot apply that fund to any other purpose,
and therefore wish to know as soon as may be, the resolution of
Congress upon it. Possibly none of those letters had reached you, or
your answers have miscarried; for the interruptions of our
correspondence have been very considerable. Adams, by whom we wrote
early this summer, was taken on this coast, having sunk his
despatches. We hear that Hammond shared the same fate on your coast.
Johnson, by whom we wrote in September, was taken, going out of the
channel, and poor Captain Wickes, who sailed at the same time, and had
duplicates, we just now hear foundered near Newfoundland, every man
perishing but the cook. This loss is extremely to be lamented, as he
was a gallant officer, and a very worthy man. Your despatches also,
which were coming by a small sloop from Morris's River, and by the
_Mere Bobie_ packet, were both sunk, on those vessels being boarded by
English men of war.
The Amphitrite's arrival, with a cargo of rice and indigo, near one
thousand barrels of the one, and twenty of the other, is a seasonable
supply to us for our support; we not having for some time past, (as
you will see by our former letters) any expectations of further
supplies from Mr Morris; and though we live here with as much
frugality as possible, the unavoidable expenses, and the continual
demands upon us for assistance to Americans, who escape from English
prisons, &c. &c. endangered our being brought to great difficulties
for subsistence. The freight of that ship too calls for an enormous
sum, on account of her long demurrage.
We begin to be much troubled with complaints of our armed vessels
taking the ships and merchandise of neutral nations. From Holland,
they complain of the taking of the sloop Chester, Captain Bray,
belonging to Rotterdam, by two privateers of Charleston, called the
Fair American and the Experiment; from Cadiz, of the taking the French
ship Fortune, Captain Kenguen, by the _Civil Usage_ privateer, having
on board Spanish property; and here, of the taking the Emperor of
Germany, from Cork, with beef, belonging to the marine of France, just
off the mouth of Bordeaux river. We send herewith the papers we have
received, and answers given, relating to those captures, and we
earnestly request, that if upon fair trials it shall appear that the
allegations are true, speedy justice may be done, and restitution made
to the reclaimants, it being of the utmost consequence to our affairs
in Europe, that we should wipe off the aspersions of our enemies, who
proclaim us every where as pirates, and endeavor to excite all the
world against us.
The Spanish affair has already had very ill effects at that Court, as
we learn by the return of the courier mentioned in our last. We have,
by letters to our correspondents at the several ports, done all in our
power to prevent such mischiefs for the future, a copy of which we
herewith send you. The European maritime powers embarrass themselves,
as well as us, by the double part their politics oblige them to act;
being in their hearts our friends, and wishing us success, they would
allow us every use of their ports consistent with their treaties, or
that we can make of them without giving open cause of complaint to
England; and it being so difficult to keep our privateers within those
bounds, we submit it to consideration, whether it would not be better
to forbear cruising on their coasts, and bringing prizes in here, till
an open war takes place, which, though by no means certain, seems
every now and then to be apprehended on both sides; witness among
other circumstances, the recall of their fishing ships by France, and
the king of England's late speech. In consequence of this embarrassed
conduct, our prizes cannot be sold publicly, of which the purchasers
take advantage in beating down the price, and sometimes the Admiralty
Courts are obliged to lay hold of them in consequence of orders from
Court, obtained by the English Ambassador. Our people, of course,
complain of this as unfriendly treatment; and as we must not
counteract the Court in the appearances they seem inclined to put on
towards England, we cannot set our folks right by acquainting them
with the essential services our cause is continually receiving from
this nation, and we are apprehensive, that resentment of that supposed
unkind usage may induce some of them to make reprisals, and thereby
occasion a deal of mischief. You will see some reason for this
apprehension, in the letter[45] from Captain Babson, which we send you
herewith, relating to their two prizes confiscated here for false
entries, and afterwards delivered up to the British, for which,
however, we have hopes of obtaining full satisfaction, having already
a promise of part.
The king of England's Speech blusters towards these kingdoms, as well
as towards us. He pretends to great resolution, both of continuing
this war, and of making two others, if they give him occasion. It is
conceived he will, with difficulty, find men and money for another
campaign of that already on his hands; and all the world sees it is
not for want of will, that he puts up with the daily known advantages
afforded us by his neighbors. They, however, we have reason to
believe, will not begin the quarrel as long as they can avoid it, nor
give us any open assistance of ships or troops. Indeed, we are scarce
allowed to know that they give us any aids at all, but are left to
imagine, if we please, that the cannon, arms, &c. which we have
received and sent, are the effects of private benevolence and
generosity. We have, nevertheless, the strongest reasons to confide,
that the same generosity will continue; and it leaves America the
glory of working out her deliverance by her own virtue and bravery, on
which, with God's blessing, we advise you chiefly to depend.
You will see by the papers, and a letter of intelligence from London,
that the continuance of the war is warmly condemned in Parliament, by
their wisest and best men in the debates on the Speech; but the old
corrupt majority continues to vote, as usual, with the Ministers. In
order to lessen their credit for the new loans, we have caused the
paper, which we formerly mentioned, to be translated and printed in
French and Dutch, by our agent in Holland. When it began to have a run
there, the Government forbad the further publication, but the
prohibition occasions it to be more sought after, read, and talked of.
The monument for General Montgomery is finished, and gone to Havre, in
nine cases, to lie for a conveyance. It is plain, but elegant, being
done by one of the best artists here, who complains that the three
hundred guineas allowed him is too little; and we are obliged to pay
the additional charges of package, &c. We see, in the papers, that you
have voted other monuments, but we have received no orders relating to
them.
The Raleigh and Alfred will be well fitted and furnished with every
thing they wanted, the Congress' part of the produce of their prizes
being nearly equal to their demands. Be pleased to present our dutiful
respects to the Congress, and assure them of our most faithful
services.
We have the honor to be, &c.
B. FRANKLIN,
SILAS DEANE,
ARTHUR LEE.
FOOTNOTES:
[45] Missing.
* * * * *
FROM THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO THE COMMISSIONERS.
York, 1st December, 1777.
Gentlemen,
As we wish the subject of this letter to be well attended to and
understood, we shall confine ourselves entirely to the business of
such French gentlemen as have returned without getting employment in
North America, and particularly those of Mons. Du Coudray's corps.
Whatever may be the clamor excited by discontent, we think that a
candid consideration of our circumstances, and what Congress have
really done, will fully justify them in the eyes of reasonable men. We
will observe, in the first place, that of all those who have returned,
not one came here at the request of Congress; that they have cost the
States a very large sum of money, and that the circumstances of
affairs would not permit any benefit to be drawn from them here.
It was necessary, previous to the opening of the campaign, that the
affairs of the army should be arranged, officers appointed, and every
thing systematically made ready for the serious business that was
approaching. At this time, it was not known by Congress or the
Commander in Chief, that such a character as Mons. Coudray (under such
agreements as he brought over with him) was to visit us. The best that
could be done was therefore undertaken, and General Knox, the father
of the American artillery, was appointed to that command, and all the
other divisions of the army were filled with Major Generals. In this
state of things arrived General Du Coudray, with an agreement by which
he was to command the artillery, and the greatest part of the Major
Generals of the army, by being of older commission. A plentiful crop
of resignations began presently to sprout up, and the whole army must
have been deranged and thrown into confusion, just in the opening of a
campaign, or this agreement not accorded to in the whole.