ACCOMACK COUNTY (VIRGINIA) COMMITTEE.

At a meeting of the Committee held in Accomack County, on Tuesday, the 20th of June, 1775:

JAMES HENRY, Esq., Chairman.

Whereas the trade carried on in small vessels in any of the rivers or creeks in this County, or goods imported by any of the merchants or traders here from any port or place in America, may be productive of very evil consequences, if not under proper regulations: For remedy whereof,

Resolved unanimously, That every master or owner of a vessel having any goods on board for sale, or any merchant or trader residing here having imported any goods, wares, or merchandise, from any part of America, shall not sell any goods or merchandise, or part with the same in exchange for any commodity whatever, unless they produce a certificate from the Committee of the County from whence they were brought to this Committee, that the same were imported into America agreeable to the terms of the Association of the General Congress.

Ordered, That this Resolution be published in the Virginia Gazette.

JOHN POWELL, Clerk.

GENERAL WASHINGTON TO THE OFFICERS OF THE INDEPENDENT COMPANIES OF FAIRFAX, ETC.

Philadelphia, June 20, 1775.

GENTLEMEN: I am now about to bid adieu to the companies under your respective commands, at least for a while. I have launched into a wide and extensive field, too boundless for my abilities, and far, very far, beyond my experience. I am called by the unanimous voice of the Colonies to the command of the Continental Army—an honour I did not aspire to; an honour I was solicitous to avoid, upon a full conviction of my inadequacy to the importance of the service. The partiality of the Congress, however, assisted by a political motive, rendered my reasons unavaling, and I shall to-morrow set out for the camp near Boston.

I have only to beg of you, therefore, before I go, (especially as you did me the honour to put your company under my direction, and know not how soon you may be called upon in Virginia for an exertion of your military skill,) by no means to relax in the discipline of your respective Companies. I have the honour to be, &c.

GO. WASHINGTON.

To the Officers of the Independent Companies of Fairfax, Prince William, Fauquier, and Spottsylvania, Va,

GENERAL WASHINGTON TO JOHN AUGUSTINE WASHINGTON,

Philadelphia, June 20, 1775.

DEAR BROTHER: I am now to bid adieu to you, and to every kind of domestick ease for a while. I am embarked on a wide ocean, boundless in its prospect, and in which perhaps no safe harbour is to be found. I have been called upon by the unanimous voice of the Colonies to take the command of the Continental Army; an honour I neither sought after nor desired, as I am thoroughly convinced that it requires greater abilities and much more experience than I am master of, to conduct a business so extensive in its nature, and arduous in the execution. But the partiality of the Congress., joined to a political motive, really left me without a choice; and I am now commissioned a General and Commander-in-Chief of all the forces now raised, or to be raised, for the defence of the United Colonies. That I may discharge the trust to the satisfaction of my employers, is my first wish; that I shall aim to do it, there remains little doubt; how far I may succeed is another point: but this I am sure of, that in the worst event I shall have the consolation of knowing, if I act to the best of my judgment, that the blame ought to lodge upon the appointers, not the appointed, as it was by no means a thing of my own seeking, or proceeding from any hint of my friends,

I am at liberty to inform you that the Congress, in Committee, have consented to a Continental currency, and have ordered two millions of dollars to be struck for payment of the Troops and other purposes, and have voted fifteen thousand men as a Continental Army; which number will be augmented, as the strength of the British Troops will be greater than was expected at the time of passing that vote. General Ward, General Lee, General Schuyler, and General Putnam are appointed Major Generals under me. The Brigadier Generals are not yet appointed. Major Gates is made Adjutant-General. I expect to set out tomorrow for Boston, and hope to be joined there in a little time by ten companies of Riflemen from this Province, Maryland and Virginia. For other articles of intelligence I shall refer you to the papers, as the printers are diligent in collecting every thing that is stirring.

I shall hope that my friends will visit and endeavour to keep up the spirits of my wife as much as they can, as my departure will, I know, be a cutting stroke upon her; and on this account alone I have many disagreeable sensations. I hope that you and my sister, although the distance is great, will find so much time this summer as to spend a little of it at Mount Vernon.

MEETING OF COMMITTEE AT BROAD CREEK, DELAWARE.

The new County proposed in the Delaware Government not having yet obtained Representatives in Assembly, have elected a very large Committee of respectable persons to transact all their affairs, to preserve the peace and a constitutional regard to the Sovereign, and to defend and secure the natural, civil, chartered, and sacred rights of the people. This Committee, at a meeting at Broad Creek, June 20, 1775, fifty members being present, came to the following determinations, among many others:

Colonel JOHN DAGWORTHY, Chairman.

That this Assembly, taking into serious consideration the present distressed situation and unparalleled hardships that our brethren at Boston are now suffering in consequence of their determined resolution to support the great cause of liberty, conceive ourselves, and all American freemen, to be bound by all the principles of humanity and justice to prevent them, if possible, from sinking under the hand of ministerial oppression.

That though we had not a legal representation in the Assembly of the three lower Counties on Delaware when they were elected to represent us, yet confiding in the known wisdom, prudence, and abilities of Casar Rodney, Thomas McKean, and George Read, Esquires, whom our brethren of Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex, have appointed to represent them in the honourable Continental Congress, now sitting at Philadelphia, we hereby do bind ourselves and our constituents, by every thing that is sacred, collectively and separately, to preserve and strictly enforce and carry into execution whatever measures have or may be recommended by them for the relief of our said brethren, and for the preservation of the liberties of America, with as much cheerfulness and zeal as though they had been appointed by us.

And we resolve that any artful or designing person or persons whatsoever, that shall attempt to defeat the purpose of this Association, shall be faithfully painted in their proper colours, and be hung up in the publick prints, or be otherwise stigmatized, and bear that load of odium that such miscreants justly merit.

And further to support the union of the Colonies, on which, under God, our safety depends, we unanimously Resolve, That John Dagworthy, John Jones, John Tennant, John Collins, Simon Kollock, William Holland, Samuel Slasse, Joshua Polk, Clement Bayley, William Polk, John Mitchell, Peter Hubbard, and Elijah Cannon be, and they are hereby appointed a Committee, to meet and correspond with the other Committees of this and the other Governments, and that any seven of them may act.

And whereas disadvantageous conclusions may probably be drawn from the conduct of the people here, with respect to their entering into this Association at, this late period, this Committee does with, pleasure embrace this opportunity to satisfy our fellow-subjects in general, that our backwardness in this affair has been totally and wholly owing to the fluctuating or unsettled state of the lines OF boundaries between the two Governments of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and not from the influence of any Tories among us, or any disregard to the common cause. But as these lines are now happily established, we hope to evince to the world that we have proper a sense, and as