COUNCIL OF WAR TO PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, &c., IN COUNCIL OF WAR.,

PROVIDENCE, April 26th, 1779.

SIR-In December, 1776, the enemy took possession of Rhode Island, with a great force, and the other islands, belonging to our State consequently fell into their hands. The remaining part of the State is only a strip of land bordering upon the sea, not having a fort in it twenty miles from a good landing place. Rhode Island is nearly the centre, from whence the enemy may arrive at Providence, (which at present is the capital of the State,) or at any other of the trading towns, in so short a time after their embarkation, that it will be impossible to assemble a body of militia to oppose them before they have affected their business and retreated. And further, our most fertile land lies upon the coast, exposed to the ravages of the enemy. In this situation, not having any Continental troops in the State, and receiving but little assistance from the neighboring states, we ordered a brigade of 1800 men, to be raised for fifteen months, and were obliged for some time to call the whole militia upon duty, and to keep out one-third of all our fencible men many months.

In the spring of 1777, an attack upon Rhode Island was meditated, but after collecting a comfortable body of men, it was given up. By the preparation for this attack, the State was put to very great expense, and was much distressed. In September following, the plan of another expedition to Rhode Island was concerted, in which more than half the fencible men in the State were employed for a month. This also failed. In the spring of the year following, the brigade having served their limited time, we were obliged to raise another of 1500 men for twelve months. We continued from time to time to call forth a considerable part of our militia, until August, 1778, when the last expedition to Rhode Island took place. In this expedition, so intolerable had been the suffering of the inhabitants, and so great their zeal to expel the enemy, that all our fencible men were ordered into the service. The Convention of the New England states, which met at Providence, in December, 1776, were so sensible of the inability of this State to defend itself against the common enemy, that they entered into stipulations, that the three other states should furnish certain quotas of men for the defence of this, which were approved by Congress. These stipulations, we are sorry to say, (though sometimes partially,) were never fully complied with. Indeed, for months together, we have had no troops from either of those states. Owing to these causes, we have been under the cruel necessity of taking the inhabitants from their farms in the

The time for which 16th of March last. about three hundred

season of plowing, planting, sowing, and gathering in their crops; by which means husbandry hath been neglected, the State impoverished, and we are now almost upon the verge of a famine. Since the arrival of the brigade under the command of Gen. Varnum and Gen. Glover, and of Col. Jackson's regiment, the State hath been much eased. We have, nevertheless, been obliged to keep part of our militia upon duty. The enemy are now six thousand strong, in the very heart of the State. the State's brigade was enlisted expired on the Another is ordered, but as yet we have reïnlisted but and fifty of them, owing principally to the want of money to pay their bounties, and the great discouragement the service hath received by the soldiers not having been paid any wages for several months past. The states of Connecticut and New Hampshire do not even encourage us to expect a single man from them. Massachusetts Bay, it is true, has ordered a regiment of five hundred to our relief, of which about forty only have arrived; nor do we see any prospect of their soon completing the number ordered. The enemy are in possession of one-third part of the whole State, in value. Our commerce, from whence we derived great part of our subsistence, is in a manner annihilated. The inhabitants have been harrassed beyond measure. The State is burdened with debt, reduced to poverty, and cannot even support their brigade now raising, without the aid of Congress. And we have not, exclusive of our own militia, more than 3000 men upon duty in the State. In this most critical and deplorable situation, we are much surprised at an order received from his Excellency, Gen. Washington, for Gen. Glover's brigade to hold itself in readiness to march from the State, upon the shortest notice. The duty we owe to ourselves and to our country compels us to remonstrate against this order. Should it be carried into execution, our whole sea coast must be depopulated, unless we call forth our militia to guard against it. And of the two evils we can hardly say which we would choose. Nay, our very existence as one of the United States will be greatly endangered.

We cannot avoid observing that a distinction seems to have been made between this and every other state invaded by the enemy; there being no other in which the enemy have posted themselves with force, left in so defenceless a condition. Nor can we help humbly giving our opinion that there is no place where so great proportions of the Continental troops can be more usefully employed than in this State, which at present contains a third part of the whole strength the enemy have in the United States. We, therefore, must earnestly request Congres, to take the matter in immediate consideration, and to give directions to his Excellency Gen. Washington not

to call Gen. Glover's brigade out of the State, until it shall be replaced by an equal number of other Continental troops.

At the request, and in behalf of the Council of War, I have the honor to subscribe myself, with great respect, sir,

Your Excellency's most obedient and most humble servant,

WILLIAM GREENE.

WILLIAM ELLERY TO Gov. GREENE.

PHILADELPHIA, May 4th, 1779.

SIR: - After encountering every obstacle that ingenuity could throw in the way of our motion, and after amendments and postponings without number, at length Congress, this minute, came to the enclosed resolution, which was the best that our utmost efforts could obtain. The post, being just about to set out, will not admit of our enlarging. The only news that we have to communicate is an annunciation of the birth of a princess, in a letter from the King of France to Congress, with fresh assurances of his friendship.

We beg leave to renew our expressions of regard for the State of Rhode Island, &c., and to your Excellency, and to assure you that we are

Your Excellency's most obedient, humble servant,

WILLIAM ELLERY.

P. S.—Time will not allow my waiting for Mr. Collins to sign this letter.

The resolution referred to was as follows:

That Congress approve the raising of a brigade of 1500 men by the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, for the common defence of that and the United States, for the space of one year; to be entitled to Continental pay, clothing and subsistence, and a bounty not exceeding one hundred and fifty dollars, for every non-commissioned officer and soldier; upon condition that no further or other wages be allowed to the said men, by the said State, than what is paid to other Continental troops.

MESSRS. ELLERY AND COLLINS TO Gov. GREENE.

PHILADELPHIA, May 8th, 1779.

SIR: We had the honor of enclosing in a letter hastily written to your Excellency, last Tuesday, a copy of a resolution of Congress, approving the raising of a brigade in the State of Rhode Island, &c. And on Friday morning last, received your letter of the 26th of April, enclosing a letter to Congress open. We perused, sealed and presented it to the President. It

was read and referred to Gen. Washington, as you will see by the enclosed resolution.

We took this opportunity and brought upon the tapis our motion recommending to our sister states to send to and keep up their quotas of militia in our State,—which passed. A copy of it we now enclose to your Excellency. We will procure the commissions you require and send them by the post. We have spoken to the President for them, but he could not prepare them to be sent by this opportunity. We hope that the resolutions of Congress will be agreeable to the State and produce happy effects. The condition annexed to the resolution approving the raising a brigade in our State, we would have prevented if it had been in our power, but it was impossible as you will see when the journals are printed. As to those soldiers who shall be enlisted before the resolution reaches your Excellency there can be, we think, no difficulty. As to those who may be enlisted thereafter, the State will add their bounty, or devise some other method which will give them satisfaction without violating that condition. If Congress should have approved of giving additional pay to the soldiers of our brigade, they must have advanced the pay of all the Continental soldiers, which, at this time, would prove ruinous to our finances. When money is wanted to pay the troops in our State, or for other military purposes, the best way would be for the paymaster to write to the Treasury Board, setting forth the sum wanted, and the uses to which it is to be applied, and to have his application backed by the commanding officer, in his department. A sum of money which issued from the treasury for the paymaster, not long since, we imagined, had not reached the State when your letter was

wrote.

A letter from Gen. Gates, in which he applies for money, came to Congress by the last post, and is referred to the Treasury Board, with the President whereof I have conversed on the subject. The recommendation to our neighboring states, to send to our defence their stipulated quotas, will, we believe, have little or no effect upon Connecticut, her shores being exposed to the enemy. We expect that it will stimulate New Hampshire and Massachusetts Bay to a performance of their engagements, for they are without any reasonable excuse. We trust that Gen. Washington will attend to the necessities of our State, and not deem it inconsistent with the good of the service to let Gen. Glover's brigade remain there, at least until our brigade shall be completed, and our sister states shall have furnished us their quotas. We were about to write to him upon this subject, but, upon being informed by Col. Wheelock, the bearer of your Excellency's letter, that the State had written to Generals Washington and Greene, we relinquish our design.

We have reason to think that Great Britain will strengthen her armies in America, and that they will exert themselves to the utmost of their power this campaign. It behooves us, therefore, to guard ourselves. They have possessed themselves of Georgia, and aïm at the possession of South Carolina. If they should obtain that, and add our State to their acquisitions, which God in His infinite mercy forbid, the war would be protracted to a most ruinous length, and we must be compelled to submit to a disadvantageous and dishonorable peace. We have had no news from the southern army for sixteen days past. Col. Laurens told Mr. Ellery yesterday, that he heard it was said at New York that there had been an action between Gen. Lincoln and Prevost, in which the former had gained an advantage. We wish it may be true. Last week, the King of France, in a letter to Congress, announced the birth of a princess, and gave us fresh and strong assurances of his friendship. A committee, according to form. and etiquette, waited upon the minister with their congratulations on this happy occasion, and a proper answer will be written to the letter of his most Christian Majesty. Congress are now engaged in our foreign affairs, and, as soon as they can get through them, will take up the business of financing. We are almost worn out with a constant attendance on Congress for seven months, and wish that two of the gentlemen now elected may come on immediately. If anything new should come to hand between this and the next post, we will impart it to him. In the mean time, we have only to add, that we are, with the highest sentiments of respect, Your Excellency's most obedient servants,

WILLIAM ELLERY.
JOHN COLLINS.

In May, 1778, Congress was in session in Yorktown, Pennsylvania. On Wednesday, June 24th, it was resolved that, on the Saturday following, the meeting should be adjourned to the second day of July, then to meet at the state house in Philadelphia. On Tuesday, July 7th, a quorum assembled there for business. President Laurens resigned his office on the 9th of December, and, on the following day, John Jay, a delegate from New York, was elected to succeed him.

In the beginning of May, 1778, Congress received dispatches from the Commissioners of the United States, among which was a treaty of alliance and commerce between France