'March 16. Resolved, That Frederick William, Baron de Woedtke, appointed Brigadier-General in the armies of the United Colonies, be ordered immediately to repair to New York, there to remain until the Commissioners appointed to go into Canada, shall reach that Colony: and that he be directed to join and accompany them into Canada, and there serve under the command of the Continental troops in that Province.

'March 19. A letter from, a Canadian prisoner, and sundry

'Resolved, That they be referred to the Committee on Prisoners. 'Resolved, That Monsieur Dohicky Arundel, be appointed a Captain of artillery, in the Continental service.

'That General Lee, be directed to set on foot the raising a company of artillery, and that it be recommended to the Convention or Committee of Safety, of Virginia, to appoint the other officers of the said company of artillery.

'Resolved, That Captain Woolverton, with his company, be taken into the service of the United Colonies; and that he be directed to repair with his company, as soon as properly armed and accoutred, to New York, and put himself under the commanding officer there.

'Resolved, That the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars be sent to the Paymaster General, for the use of the army under the immediate command of General Washington.

That the sum of fifty thousand dollars be sent to General Schuyler, for the use of the army under his command.

'March 20. Resolved, That three members be elected for the Committee, appointed to consider the propriety of a War-Office, in the room of three who are necessarily absent.

'March 21. Resolved, That General Washington be directed to send an account of the troops in his camp, who are deficient in arms, to the several Assemblies or Conventions of the Colonies, to which those men belong, and request them to send a sufficient number of arms for the men coming from the respective Colonies, and that, if arms cannot be procured, such as have not arms be dismissed the service.

'March 22. A petition from Thorowgood Smith and others, was presented to Congress, and read, setting forth, that they have procured a vessel, and raised money to fit her out as a privateer, in order to cruise and guard the coast of Virginia, and praying that a commission be granted to William Shippen, to whom they propose to give the command of said vessel; and further, that the Congress will grant them a small quantity of powder, upon their making satisfaction for the same:

'Resolved, That a commission be granted to William Shippen, as Captain of the above mentioned vessel, for the purposes aforesaid. That the Secret Committee be directed to sell Captain William Shippen, three hundred pounds of powder, for the use of his vessel.

'March 25. The committee appointed to take into consideration the state of the Colonies, in the Southern Department, brought in their Report, which was read as follows:

"That it appears highly probable that a very considerable force will be exerted in that Department by our enemies, early this spring; that the Continental forces employed in South Carolina and Virginia, respectively, can not prudently be solely relied on, for the defence of those Colonies; that South Carolina and Virginia, are at a very great separate expense in armed vessels, rendered absolutely necessary, by the situation and circumstances of those countries; that the militia of South Carolina, are obliged to perform a very laborious duty, which from the smallness of their number, and the consequent quick rotation, is excessively burdensome; and that the Colony of Virginia, in addition to the six Continental battalions already there, have resolved to raise, and are now embodying three other battalions." Whereupon,

'Resolved, That the Convention or Council of Safety, of South Carolina, be permitted to raise and embody two other battalions, and that they be on the pay and at the expense of the Continent, as soon as they shall be armed for the service, and accordingly mustered:

That the three Colonial battalions of Virginia, be also on the pay and at the expense of the Continent, as soon as they shall be armed, fit for service, and accordingly mustered.

'Resolved, That General Washington be directed to detach four battalions into Canada, from the army under his command, as soon as he shall be of opinion that the safety of New York, and the Eastern service will permit.

'March 26. Resolved, That the privates of the companies, ordered from Maryland, to Accomac and Northampton, be allowed the pay of the Southern Department, which is six dollars and sixtyseven cents, per calendar month.

'Resolved, That if the Convention or Council of Safety, of North Carolina, shall judge it necessary for the common safety, to raise one or two more battalions, the same when armed, fit for service and mustered, be taken into the pay of the Continent.

'March 28. Resolved, That the Marine Committee, be empowered to purchase on the most reasonable terms they can, the ship Molly, for the use of the Continent, to join Captain Barry, on his cruise along the coast, between New York and Virginia.

'March 30. Resolved, That the minute-men, employed by Congress, under the command of Colonel Heard, in the expedition to Long Island, be allowed, while on that service, the same pay and rations as the Continental troops in the Middle Department.

'April 3. Resolved, That the commanding officer of the battalion raised in Delaware government, be directed to send two com

.

panies of said battalion to Lewistown, there to remain in the service of the Continent till farther orders.

'Resolved, That the Marine Committee be directed and empowered to fit out, with all expedition, two armed cutters, for the service of the Continent.

'April 11. Resolved, That the commanding officer at New York, be directed to discharge the militia of New Jersey, who are in the pay of the Continent:

That the commanding officer at New York, be directed to discharge the whole, or such parts of the militia of New York and Connecticut, now in the pay of the Continent, as the public service will permit.

'April 13. Resolved, That the Marine Committee be empowered to build two galleys, capable of carrying each, two thirty-six or forty-two pounders, to oppose the enemy's vessels in bays and harbors.

'April 15. Resolved, That the officers of the rifle battalion, and independent rifle companies, be authorized and directed to recruit the said battalion and companies, and enlist the men as speedily as possible; and that their re-enlistment be for two years from the expiration of their present term, liable to be discharged sooner, if Congress shall think proper, upon receiving a month's pay in advance. 'April 17. Resolved, That the Committee of Safety of Pennsylvania, be requested to permit John Young, Jr. and Johnston Smith, to carry to Virginia, all such arms as they have already purchased, or shall purchase in Pennsylvania, for the use of the Continental army in the said Colony of Virginia, before the first of May next; not to exceed one thousand stand in the whole.

Resolved, That the commanding officer in New York, be directed to order two companies of Colonel Dayton's battalion to march to Cape May, and there remain till farther orders.*

'April 18. The Committee appointed to consider the propriety of establishing a War-Office, brought in their Report, which was read.

'April 19. Resolved, That three tons of powder be immediately forwarded to Virginia, for the use of the army in the Southern Department.

'Resolved, That General Washington be made acquainted with General Lee's request of a company of artillery, and be desired to furnish him with such a company, if it may be done consistent with the general good of the service.

'Resolved, That an immediate supply of arms, shoes, and blankets, be furnished for the troops in Virginia, and that proper persons

* General Washington arrived at New York on the 13th, and therefore, on the 17th was that 'commanding officer in New York.'

be appointed to procure them, subject to the orders of Congress already entered into.

'April 23. Resolved, That the resignation of Major-General Ward, and of Colonel Frye, be accepted, and that the President inform them thereof by letter.

'Resolved, That the commanding officer in Canada, be directed to be very attentive to military discipline, and inflict exemplary punishment on all those who violate the military regulations established by Congress.

'Resolved, That General Washington be directed to send six battalions into Canada, from the army of New York.

'Resolved, That a letter be written by the President to General Washington, requesting his opinion whether any farther additional troops are necessary to be sent for the reduction of Quebec, and for the security of Canada; and, if he shall think more troops necessary, whether they can, with safety, be spared from the army now in New York.

'Resolved, That if any of the troops from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which were raised at five dollars a month, be sent to Canada, they shall be allowed at the rate of six dollars and two thirds of a dollar a month, from the time they begin their march.

'April 26. Resolved, That none of the troops already raised, be for the present disbanded for want of arms.*

'April 27. Resolved, That Mr. Rodney and Mr. Read, be added to the Committee appointed to supply the troops in Philadelphia, and the battalion in the Lower Counties on Delaware.

'May 2. Resolved, That the commanding officer of the Delaware battalion, be directed to station thirty-five men with an officer, at the False Cape, till farther orders.

'May 8. Resolved, That whenever it shall appear to this Congress, that any officer or officers, bearing Continental commissions, shall have departed from orders, an inquiry shall be made?

The following letter may serve now to explain to the reader, as it did then to the Committee it was addressed to, the grounds of that anxious doubt, expressed in the General's letter to the same Committee, April 27, p. 190, in regard to the command of those four New York battalions.

GENERAL WASHINGTON to the COMMITTEE OF SAFETY of New York.

NEW YORK, 30 April, 1776. 'GENTLEMEN,I perceive by the tenor of your favor of yesterday, that my letter of the 27th † has given umbrage, which I am sorry for, as I had not the most distant idea of giving any. Three things led me to suspect that the New York battalions were not upon the same establishment as the other Continental troops; cur

*See Resolve, March 21, p. 209. † See that letter, p. 190.

rent report, an implied exception in the Order for detaching six more battalions to Canada, and that part of your letter signifying that four of these battalions were to be raised under your immediate direction, which intimation, coming in corroboration of the two first reasons, for I never had any information of this matter from Congress, led me to believe, that you intended it as a gentle hint, that I was not to consider them in the same light as I did the others. It was not to be wondered at, therefore, that I should wish to know the extent of my authority over them, that my conduct might be regulated thereby, or that I should not be so solicitous in arming regiments, raised for local purposes, as those for the general service, when the latter also are very deficient in this essential point. These were the ideas that filled my mind at the time of writing. If the extreme hurry, occasioned by a variety of business, which is continually pressing upon me, clouded the meaning I wished to convey, I can only add that it never was, and I hope never will be, my intention to give unprovoked offence. Of this your Committee may be once for all assured, that it is my earnest wish to cooperate with them in every measure which can conduce to the general good, and that, if I should at any time differ from them in the means, I shall feel my share of the concern; being, with respect &c.'

Wash. Writ.

Sparks, vol. iii. p. 376.

GENERAL WASHINGTON to the PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

NEW YORK, 22 April, 1776. 'SIR,- I was this day honored with the receipt of your favor of the 20th instant. I have now the pleasure to acquaint you, that the four regiments designed for Canada, embarked yesterday,† with a fair wind, for Albany, under the command of Colonels Greaton, Patterson, Bond, and Poor; besides which there was a company of riflemen, a company of artificers, and two engineers, the whole commanded by Brigadier-General Thompson. I have repeatedly mentioned to the honorable Congress the distressful situation we are in for want of arms. With much pains and difficulty, I got most of the regiments from the eastward tolerably well furnished; but I find the New York regiments very badly provided. Colonel Ritzema's has scarcely any.

*

'The militia, who, on my application, were ordered to this place to keep possession, until I should arrive with the Continental forces, were obliged to return home without their pay, as there was not then money sufficient in the Treasury for that purpose, and to answer the exigences of the army.

I therefore beg the Congress would make provision for their pay, and point out particularly whether it is to be done by the Com

* See that Order above, April 23.

† Those ordered March 25, p 210.