a letter and newspaper, with momentous intelligence, this instant arrived. We are your humble servants,

The Committee of Intelligence in Charlestown, to the care of the Honourable William Henry Drayton, Esq. Per Express.

Salem, Massachusetts, April 20, 1775.

Great Britain, adieu! No Longer shall we honour you as our mother; you are become cruel; you have not so much bowels as the sea monsters towards their young ones. We have cried to you for justice, but behold violence and bloodshed! Your sword is drawn offensively, and the sword of New-England defensively; by this stroke you have broken us off from you, and effectually alienated us from you. O Britain! see you to your own house.

King George the Third, adieu! No more shall we cry to you for protection; no more shall we bleed in defence of your person. Your breach, of covenant; your violation of faith; your turning a deaf ear to our cries for justice, for covenanted protection and salvation from the oppressive, tyrannical, and bloody measures of the British Parliament, and putting a sanction upon all their measures to enslave and butcher us, have dissolved our allegiance to your Crown and Government. Your sword, that ought in justice to protect us, is now drawn with a witness to destroy us. O George! see thou to thine own house.

General Gage, pluck up stakes and begone; you have drawn the sword; you have slain in cool blood a number of innocent New-England men; you have made the assault, and be it known to you, the defensive sword of New-England is now drawn; it now Studies just revenge, and it will not be satisfied till your blood is shed, and the blood of every son of violence under your command, and the blood of every traitorous Tory under your protection: therefore depart with all your master’s forces; depart from our territories; return to your master’s soon, or destruction will come upon you. Every moment you tarry in New-England, in the character of your master’s General, you are viewed as an intruder, and must expect to be treated by us as our inveterate enemy.

O my dear New-England, hear thou the alarm of war! The call of Heaven is to arms! to arms! The sword of Britain is drawn against us; without provocation, how many of our sons have been fired upon and slain in cool blood, in the cool of the day! What unheard-of barbarity has been committed on the sickly and helpless grey hairs and innocent babes, by the British Troops! Behold the fruits of our being declared rebels by the British Parliament! Behold what all New-England must expect to feel, if we don’t cut off and make a final end of those British sons of violence, and of every base Tory among us, or confine the latter to Simsbury mines. I beseech you, for God’s sake, and for your own sake, watch against every vice, every provocation of God Almighty against us; against intemperance in drinking; against profane language, and all debauchery; and let us all rely on the arm of the Most High; and whether we tarry by the stuff, or jeopard our lives in the high places of the field, let us all, like good Jehoshaphat, address the Throne of God, saying, “Behold how they reward us, to come to call us out of thy possessions, which thou hast given us to inherit! O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against them; neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon thee.”

We are, my brethren, in a good cause; and if God be for us, we need not fear what man can do. Let us be wise, be prudent, be firm, and courageous. The cause that General Gage has undertaken to execute, is so manifestly wrong, that he must be a terrour to himself. Our blood shed by the Troops under his command, cries, and the cry will soon appear to have reached Heaven against him.

O thou righteous Judge of all the earth, awake for our help Amen and Amen.

JOHANNES IN EREMO.

Concord, Massachusetts, April 20, 1775.

SIR: The Army under General Gage having murdered sundry inhabitants; this, with the industrious preparations making in Boston for a speedy march into the country, impresses us with the absolute necessity of convening the Provincial Congress at Concord, as soon as may be, agreeable to a vote of Congress at their last session. You are therefore requested immediately to repair to Concord, as the closest deliberations, and the collected wisdom of the people, at this alarming crisis, are indispensably necessary for the salvation of the Country.

RICHARD DEVENS, per order.

To the Members of the Provincial Congress.

THE COMMITTEE OF SAFETY OF MASSACHUSSETTS TO THE GOVERNOUR OF CONNECTICUT.

Cambridge, April 20, 1775.

On Wednesday, the 19th instant, early in the morning, a detachment of General Gage’s Army marched into the country to Lexington, about thirteen miles from Boston, where they met with a small party of Minute-men exercising, who had no intention of doing any injury to the Regulars. But they fired upon our men without any provocation, killed eight of them the first onset, then marched forward to Concord, where they destroyed the Magazines and Stores for a considerable time. Our people, however, mustered as soon as possible, and repulsed the Troops, pursuing them quite down to Charlestown, until they reached a place called Bunker’s Hill, although they received a very large reinforcement at Lexington, from General Gage. As the Troops have now commenced hostilities, we think it our duty to exert our utmost strength to save our Country from absolute slavery. We pray your Honours would afford us all the assistance in your power, and shall be glad that our brethren who come to our aid may be supplied with Military Stores and Provisions, as we have none of either more than is absolutely necessary for ourselves. We pray God to direct you to such measures as shall tend to the salvation of our common liberties. Per order of the Committee of Safety.

DOCTOR WARREN TO GENERAL GAGE.

Cambridge, April 20, 1775.

SIR: The unhappy situation into which this Colony is thrown gives the greatest uneasiness to every man who regards the welfare of the Empire, or feels for the distresses of his fellow-men; but even now much may be done to alleviate the misfortunes that cannot be entirely remedied; and I think it of the utmost importance to us, that our conduct duct be such as that the contending parties may entirely rely upon the honour and integrity of each other for the punctual performance of any agreement that shall be made between them. Your Excellency knows very well, I believe, the part I have taken in publick affairs; I ever scorned disguise. I think I have done my duty; some may think otherwise; but be assured, Sir, as far as my influence goes, every thing which can be reasonably required of us to do, shall be done; every thing promised, shall be religiously performed. I should now be very glad to know from you, Sir, how many days you desire may be allowed for such as desire to remove to Boston with their effects, and what time you will allow the people in Boston for their removal. When I have received that information, I will repair to Congress, and hasten, as far as I am able, the issuing a Proclamation. I beg leave to suggest that the condition of only admitting thirty Wagons at a time into the Town appears to me very inconvenient, and will prevent the good effects of a Proclamation intended to be issued for encouraging all wagoners to assist in removing the effects from Boston with all possible speed. If your Excellency will be pleased to take the matter into consideration, and favour me as soon as may be with an answer, it will lay me under a great obligation, as it so nearly concerns the welfare of my friends in Boston. I have many things which I wish to say to your Excellency, and most sincerely wish I had broken through the formalities which I thought due to your rank, and freely have told you all I knew or thought of publick affairs; and I must ever confess, whatever may be the event, that you generously gave me such an opening as I now think I ought to have embraced; but the true cause of my not doing it was the knowledge I had of the vileness and treachery of many