done by American armed vessels to
neutral nations, by seizing ships
belonging to their subjects and under
their colors, and in making captures
of those of the enemy, when under the
protection of neutral coasts, contrary
to the usage and custom of nations;
this is therefore to warn and request
you not to commit any such violation of
the law of nations, but (according to
the powers given in your commission)
to confine yourselves to the capture
of the enemy’s vessels, when not
within sight of a neutral coast, and
of all others whatsoever that shall be
carrying soldiers, arms, ammunition,
provisions, or other contraband goods,
to any of the British armies or ships,
employed against the United States. And
that in other cases you will treat all
neutral ships with the utmost kindness
and friendship, for the honor, of your
Country and of yourselves.[21]
There remains nothing for me to add at present, but to assure you,
that I have neglected no opportunity of writing to you, and giving a
full account of my proceedings in Spain and Prussia.
I have the honor to be, &c.
ARTHUR LEE.
_P. S. November 30th._ I have written to Spain for ten thousand
blankets to be sent to you immediately, which order, as I have also
remitted the money, will I hope be executed.
[21] This letter was agreed upon by the Commissioners, and sent by them
conjointly as a circular “To the Captains or Commanders of all ships
of war, armed vessels, and privateers from the United States of North
America.”
BARON DE SCHULENBURG TO ARTHUR LEE.
Translation.
Berlin, November 28th, 1777.
Sir,
As to the commission of Mr William Lee, the King having repeatedly
declared his sentiments respecting the actual difficulties attending
a commercial connexion with America, notwithstanding his constant
good disposition towards the Colonies, cannot possibly conjecture, as
circumstances have not changed, what proposition Mr Lee can make more
acceptable to his Majesty, nor consequently what can be the object of
his mission.
I have the honor to be, &c.
BARON DE SCHULENBURG.
TO DR BERKENHOUT.[22]
Paris, December 3d, 1777.
Sir,
My last might serve as an answer to yours. We have powers to receive,
but not to make overtures. _Voilà la difference._ We have as much
dignity, and I hope more reason on our side. If they, therefore,
stay for overtures from us, I promise you they will not receive
them, till their faith can move our mountains. I hoped something
from this negotiation, and therefore more willingly lent myself to
it; but I now see too well their abundant pride and folly, to think
the public will derive any advantage from it. They are determined to
make us a great people, by continuing a contest which forces us to
frugality, industry, and economy, and calls forth resources, which,
without such necessity, would never have been cultivated. I have long
thought, that if they intended us the benefits their conduct will
bring us, we should owe them statues of gold. As you love me, do not
fail endeavoring to learn to whom I am indebted for reporting the
difference between Dr Franklin and me, which you mention. It concerns
me infinitely to know it. Adieu.
ARTHUR LEE.
[22] Dr Berkenhout had been formerly a friend of Arthur Lee in London,
and was employed by the government as a secret agent to endeavor to
obtain from the Commissioners in Paris the terms of an accommodation
with England.
TO THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Paris, December 8th, 1777.
Gentlemen,
Since my last to you, I have seen your despatches of the 6th of
October. The answer relative to the Havanna will be obtained as soon
as possible; but I think such a connexion will in a short time take
place between the two countries, as will put that matter out of all
doubt.
I received yesterday a letter from the Messrs Gardoqui at Bilboa,
containing the following passage.
“Our worthy friend, Elbridge Gerry, thinking that the goods shipped
per Captain Hodges to his address were on his account, he wrote us
that he would place the amount thereof to our credit; but as we
have answered him, that this remittance, as well as the rest that
followed through the same channel, were on account of Congress,
and of consequence out of our power, as he will have seen by the
sundry letters written to him since, we doubt not that he will of
consequence conform thereto, and we assure you, that in future all
possible means will be used to prevent mistakes of this kind.”
By a letter from Holland we are assured, that the king of Prussia
has announced to the States his having refused a passage through his
territories to German troops hired by Great Britain. The West India
fleet from Amsterdam, &c. is to be convoyed by six men of war. I
cannot be more explicit than to assure you, that the prospect of our
enemies is as gloomy here as with you, and that I am not mistaken in
what I formerly wrote you, that the confirming our independence would
be matter of serious consideration among the powers of Europe this
winter.
I have remitted Mons. Gardoqui money for ten thousand blankets, which
he promises to send with all possible expedition.
I have the honor to be, &c.
ARTHUR LEE.
THE COMMISSIONERS IN PARIS TO COUNT DE VERGENNES.
Paris, December 8th, 1777.
Sir,
The Commissioners from the Congress of the United States of North
America, beg leave to represent to your Excellency, that it is near
a year since they had the honor of putting into your hands the
propositions of Congress for a treaty of amity and commerce with this
kingdom, to which, with sundry other memorials, requesting the aid
of ships of war and offering engagements to unite the forces of the
said States with those of France and Spain, in acting against the
dominions of Great Britain, and to make no peace but in conjunction
with those Courts, if Great Britain should declare war against
them; to all which they have received no determinate answer; and
apprehending that a continuance of this state of uncertainty with
regard to those propositions, together with the reports that must
soon be spread in America of rigorous treatment met with in the
ports of these kingdoms, may give advantage to our enemy in making
ill impressions on the minds of our people, who, from the secrecy
enjoined on us, cannot be informed of the friendly and essential
aids that have been so generously, but privately afforded us; the
Commissioners conceive, that, the present circumstances considered,
the completing of such a treaty at this time must have the most
happy effect, in raising the credit of the United States abroad, and
strengthening their resolution at home, as well as discouraging and
diminishing their internal enemies and confirming their friends who
might otherwise waver. And the Commissioners are further of opinion,
that the aid of ships desired might at this juncture be employed with
great advantage to America, which when honored with a conference they
can more particularly explain. They therefore request your Excellency
most earnestly to resume the consideration of those affairs, and
appoint them some speedy day of audience thereupon.
They pray also, that their grateful acknowledgments may be presented
to the king, for the additional aid of three millions, which he has
been graciously pleased to promise them; and that his Majesty may be
assured whatever engagements they may enter into in behalf of the
United States, in pursuance of the full powers they are vested with,
will be executed with the most punctual good faith by the Congress,
who, believing their interest to be the same, and that a sure
increase of the commerce, wealth, and strength of France and Spain
will be one consequence of their success in this contest, wish for
nothing so much, after establishing their own liberty, as a firm and
everlasting union with those nations.
B. FRANKLIN,
SILAS DEANE,
ARTHUR LEE.
TO COUNT D’ARANDA.
Paris, December 9th, 1777.
Sir,
I have the honor of enclosing to your Excellency a copy of a Memorial
presented to his Excellency Count de Vergennes, by the Commissioners
of Congress for this Court. The knowledge I have of the great
veneration entertained by the United States for the king of Spain,
and affection for the people, enables me to assure your Excellency,
that nothing will give them greater joy than the happy conclusion
of a firm and lasting treaty of amity and commerce between the two
nations.
Permit me therefore to hope, that your Excellency will co-operate
with the favorable disposition of this Court, in bringing the treaty
formerly proposed to a speedy conclusion.
I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration and respect,
&c.
ARTHUR LEE.
TO BARON DE SCHULENBURG.
Paris, December 11th, 1777.
Sir,
I have the honor of enclosing to your Excellency a detail of the
operations in the North, in addition to what I sent on the 4th. Since
that time, I have been honored with yours of the 28th of November.
I have apprized my brother, the Commissioner, of his Majesty’s
pleasure. He desires me to say, that whenever the king thinks his
coming to Berlin will be of any utility he hopes your Excellency will
inform him of it. Till that time arrives, he would not wish to give
trouble, or excite suspicions by coming, even in a private character.
We have heard reports of his Majesty’s gracious interposition,
relative to the march of troops hired against us, which I hope are
well founded.
I have the honor to be, &c.
ARTHUR LEE.
THE COMMISSIONERS IN PARIS TO LORD NORTH.
Passy, December 12th, 1777.
My Lord,
From motives of duty and an earnest desire of mitigating the
calamities of war, we proposed near a year since, to the king of
Great Britain’s Ambassador here, an exchange of prisoners in Europe.
The answer we received must have been made known to your Lordship,
and the world will judge of its decency. It would have been honorable
for that noble lord, and happy for thousands who have since suffered
unnecessarily, if he had considered that moderation is a mark of
wisdom, and humanity an ornament to the highest station. These are
the sentiments at least, which have governed the Congress and people
of the United States. They have wished that this war, into which they
entered with reluctance, might be distinguished by the humanity with
which it was conducted; and that compassion might heal the wounds
that were inflicted. The records of Congress, my lord, are filled
with proofs of tender care and attention, not only to the wants, but
to the comforts and accommodation of their prisoners.
We have wished in vain to find such instances in the acts of the
British government, for unhappily all we have seen on this subject,
is the public declaration of the governor and general, who was chosen
to commence this war, that the American officer and soldier should be
treated with equal indignity, and all devoted without distinction to
the most ignominious fate, in terms too low for us to repeat. We have
never heard of this proceeding having been censured by the government
from which he derived his authority. Neither has the invitation to
the Indian savages, at a public treaty, to drink the blood and feast
upon the bodies of those, whom you called your subjects, been ever
disavowed.
It is a universal complaint, that the practices of those in authority
under you have been conformable to the principles of those public
acts. Colonel Parker, a gentleman of rank, was thrown into a common
jail in Boston, covered over with wounds, where he perished unpitied
for want of the common comforts, which his situation and humanity
required. Colonel Ethan Allen was dragged in chains from Canada to
England, from England to Ireland, and from Ireland to Carolina, and
from thence to New York, at a time when the officers taken from you
in the same expedition were treated not only with lenity but with
every possible indulgence. The barbarous treatment of Mr Lovell in
Boston has no parallel. Of the prisoners made in Fort Washington,
two thirds of them perished by the unexampled cruelty and rigors of
their captivity. Even in England, the severities which the American
prisoners suffer are, according to the testimony of every one we
have seen, of the most grievous kind. Stripes have been inflicted on
some to make them commit the deepest of all crimes, that of fighting
against the liberties of their country. And numbers are now groaning
in bondage in Africa and India, to which they are compelled by
menaces of an immediate and ignominious death, as contrary to every
rule of war among civilized nations, as to every dictate of humanity.
It is with the greatest regret we mention these cruelties. For the
honor of humanity, we hope they will not be committed again. Your
Lordship must know, that it is in the power of those we have the
honor to represent, to make ample retaliation upon the numerous
prisoners of all ranks in their possession; and we warn and beseech
you not to render it their indispensable duty. Upwards of five
hundred British seamen have been generously treated, set at liberty
by our cruisers in those seas, and sent at the public expense to
their country. We trust you will think yourselves bound to dismiss an
equal number of seamen, taken in the service of the United States.
We also desire, that a person appointed by us may have permission to
furnish the citizens of the United States, who are in your prisons,
with the necessaries they may want from time to time; and that a
general cartel may be immediately settled, by which the unfortunate
on both sides may be relieved as soon as possible from the miseries
of imprisonment.
We must beg a speedy answer, that we may transmit Without delay the
determination of your Court to our constituents.
We have the honor to be, with the highest respect, my Lord, your
Lordship’s obedient servants,
B. FRANKLIN,
SILAS DEANE,
ARTHUR LEE.
TO LORD SHELBURNE.
Paris, December 14th, 1777.
My Lord,
I have the honor of enclosing to you a copy of a letter, transmitted
at the same time to the First Lord of the Treasury. The honor of the
nation, and the rights of humanity, are too much interested in the
object of it, not to receive your Lordship’s advocation.
The enclosed papers contain the principal transactions between the
northern armies. The burning of defenceless towns, and of every
thing before him, as General Clinton has done, will probably draw
upon him and his government the vengeance which such enormities
deserve, in spite of all the efforts of Congress to prevent any hasty
retaliation. The South Carolina Gazette mentions the arrival of an
American captain, who had been taken by Captain Jarvis, and who
mentions with the highest praise the generous and humane treatment
he received from that officer. We have had from other prisoners
accounts equally to his honor, which I am sure will give your
Lordship pleasure. Captain Jarvis may be assured, that such conduct
will command from us the praise and esteem, which are always due to a
generous enemy.
The necessity, which has made us enemies for a time, and separated
us forever from the same government, has not altered the esteem I
felt for the good and wise in England. Among those, I hope your
Lordship and your friends will accept an assurance of my respect and
friendship. I condole most sincerely with the family at Combwood for
the misfortune at New York.
I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect and esteem, your
Lordship’s humble servant and friend,
ARTHUR LEE.
BARON DE SCHULENBURG TO ARTHUR LEE.
Translation.
Berlin, December 18th, 1777.
Sir,
A few days after the departure of my last of the 13th inst. in
which I requested you to give me authentic intelligence concerning
the progress of General Howe, of which the English Ambassador had
received an account, I learned by the letter you did me the honor to
write on the 4th of this month, that these advantages, far from being
so considerable as they were thought to be, are more than balanced
by the surrender of General Burgoyne, and by the liberty which the
troops under Arnold will have of acting where they shall be most
wanting, which may very much harass General Howe.
I am much pleased, Sir, with these favorable events, and as from
the situation in which affairs were when your despatches were sent,
other events of consequence are to be expected before the end of
the campaign, or even during the winter, I hope you will continue
to communicate, without delay, all the authentic advices you may
receive.
The King, who always graciously receives the news you send me, and
expresses his satisfaction when it is in your favor, has seen the
passage of your brother’s letter, and I can assure you, Sir, that his
Majesty will not be the last power to acknowledge your independency;
but you must feel yourself, that it is not natural that he should be
the first, and that France, whose commercial and political interests
are more immediately, connected with yours, should set the example.
I have the honor to be, with distinguished consideration, Sir, your
very humble servant,
BARON DE SCHULENBURG.
TO THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Paris, December 19th, 1777.
Gentlemen,
Our joint despatches will inform you of the forwardness in which
things are here towards the desired conclusion. In three weeks we
shall hear from Spain, and all will I hope be settled. The late
intelligence from America has staggered and confounded our enemies,
as much as it has elated and decided our friends. Should they at
length resolve to continue in rage and despair what they commenced
in wickedness and folly, and venture upon a general war, by which
they must be overwhelmed, their principal efforts will be pointed
against us, unless your being in a respectable state of preparation
should deter them. In that case they will probably confine themselves
to a piratical coasting war, and preying upon our commerce. I have
directed all the naval stores that are collected at Bilboa to be
shipped forthwith, the moment the Court of Spain agrees to furnish
the money. To accelerate this material supply, I proposed to my
colleagues to remit the money from our funds here, but they did not
think it advisable.
Should Congress want any person to serve them in a public character
in Europe, I am authorised to say, that Edmund Jennings, now in
London, will obey their commands. His abilities, attachment, and
respectable character are well known. It has also fallen very
particularly within my knowledge, that Mr Thomas Digges, of Maryland,
has exerted himself with great assiduity and address, in gaining
intelligence and doing other services in England.
ARTHUR LEE.
BARON DE SCHULENBURG TO ARTHUR LEE.
Translation.
Berlin, December 23d, 1777.
Sir,
I received the letter, which you did me the honor to write to me
the 11th of this month, and I give you many thanks for the detail
of operations in the north of America, which you were so kind as to
add. I will not fail to acquaint Mr William Lee, as soon as the king
shall judge that his arrival at Berlin can be of mutual utility, and
I assure you, Sir, that the information which you have had, that his
Majesty has refused a passage to the auxiliary troops of Germany
destined for America, is strictly true.
I have the honor to be, &c.
BARON DE SCHULENBURG.
TO THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Paris, January 5th, 1778.
Gentlemen,
My despatches by Captain Young, and since by Mr Deane, Jr, will have
informed you of whatever has happened worthy of your attention in the
departments of Spain and Prussia. The latter is now resigned to the
care of the Commissioner appointed to it, who will inform Congress
(as he is instructed) of the assurance from Baron de Schulenburg,
Secretary of State to the king of Prussia, that his master will not
be the last to acknowledge your independency. This may show you the
favorable disposition of that monarch, who I believe waits only for
the example of this Court. That example, I trust, will not be long
delayed.
I have received a complaint from St Sebastian, of the imprisonment
of the sailors who carried in a prize made by an American privateer,
and the seizure of the prize. This passed previous to the news of
Burgoyne’s surrender, and General Washington’s having given battle
to the British army. As this news has made a strong sensation in our
favor, I am in hopes the representations I have made will not only
relieve them, but prevent any violence of this kind in future.
It would seem, that the Court of Spain will not enter into any
negotiation, till we have concluded the business here. But I shall
hold myself ready to execute that duty, in obedience to the commands
of Congress, the moment it is permitted. I expect every day to hear,
that the blankets and stockings ordered from Bilboa are shipped.
I have this moment received the letter, of which I enclose an
extract.[23] It proves the sincerity of those professions I had the
honor of receiving from his Prussian Majesty, and as he is in great
esteem with the Empress of Russia, I think we may be satisfied that
he will use all his influence to prevent our enemies from succeeding
in their solicitations with her.
There appears no reason to alter my opinion of the obstinacy with
which our enemies are determined to pursue the war. Their ill success
has produced a disinclination in the public to persevere, which gives
them some alarm. I have secret and sure information, that in order
to overcome this reluctance, by the hope of a speedy end to the war,
they mean very soon to lay before Parliament a plan of accommodation.
Under the delusion of this hope, they expect to pass easily over the
inquiry into the state of the nation, and to have its force continued
another year under their direction.
Mr Stevenson, who will have the honor of delivering you this, was a
merchant in Bristol, whom I have long known to be zealously attached
to the cause of his country.
The British Court are greatly alarmed about Canada, for the
defence of which, they are informed eight thousand men at least
are necessary. I hardly think it will be possible for them to
procure anything like that number. The refusal of a passage by the
king of Prussia will embarrass and impede their German supplies as
stipulated; and I have good intelligence that it was done with the
approbation of the Emperor, and that he will use his influence to
prevent any future supplies.
I beg the favor of having my duty and respects recommended to
Congress, and have the honor to be, &c.
ARTHUR LEE.
[23] From Baron de Schulenburg.
TO THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Paris, January 15th, 1778.
Gentlemen,
I have the pleasure to inform you, that our friends in Spain have
promised to supply us with three millions of livres in the course of
this year. I should be happy that immediate and precise orders were
sent from Congress for the appropriation of it; which will prevent
it from being expended in a manner, perhaps, less useful than the
purposes they may wish to fulfil.
My last advices from Bilboa assure me, that they are shipping the
blankets and stockings I ordered. The enemy are raising men in
England and Scotland with great industry; but their best stock (the 3
per cent consols) has fallen 7 per cent.
I have the honor to be, &c.
ARTHUR LEE.
BARON DE SCHULENBURG TO ARTHUR LEE.
Translation.
Berlin, January 16th, 1778.
Sir,
In answer to the letter, which you did me the honor to write me the
28th of December last, I begin with remarking, that before this last,
I have received two letters from you, viz. of the 4th and 11th of
the same month; but as you say that you have written twice to me
since the 4th of December, this expression may leave some doubt,
whether the letter of the 4th is comprehended in these two or not; in
the latter case, one of your letters must be lost. With respect to
myself, Sir, since my letter of the 13th of December, the receipt
of which you acknowledge, I have sent you two answers, dated the
18th and 23d of the same month, which, as I hope, have reached you.
I address this, as you desire, to the care of Mr Grand, banker, Rue
Montmartre, and to be certain in future, that none of our letters
miscarry, I propose to you, Sir, to number yours as I shall do mine,
beginning with the present.