possibly can be prepared, either in whole or in part companies, at their discretion, with necessary officers, to the Camp near Boston, to be under the proper regulation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.

And adjourned to Wednesday, 2d of August next, at 9 o’clock, A.M.

GOVERNOUR TRUMBULL TO GENERAL SCHUYLER.

Lebanon, July 24, 1775.

SIR: Your favour of the 18th July I have this moment received, and observe the contents, I shall send an express to New-York to move their Congress to supply Colonel Hinman’s Regiment with tents, as I apprehend this Colony is so far exhausted of the materials for making tents, that it will be difficult to have them in season. I take the liberty to insert some queries, &c, which I forwarded yesterday to our Delegates of the honourable General Congress at Philadelphia, viz: “Is it not high time to proceed into, and even to hasten forward to secure the Government of Quebeck, and thereby the whole Indian strength in our interest and favour? Is there any thing to expect from the present Administration that is favourable or kind? If needful, may not Colonel Waterbury with his Regiment be spared to the Northward?” “We are near the grand scene of action; are anxious for the safety of our friends, the security of our rights, and to convince our enemies that we are in earnest, and that the object in view is American Liberty; the barrier of Virtue to be defended and maintained even at the sacrifice of life;” which went express. Captain Derby, who went to England with the Provincial account of the Lexington fight, is returned. He informs he had twenty-seven days passage; tarried eight days in England, and when he came away, General Gage’s express, which sailed four days before him, had not arrived. Our friends published the account of the fight; Lord North was thunderstruck with the news, the people uneasy, the merchants distressed for their property in America, the stocks fell, and every thing in a ferment when he came away. The Administration published that they had not received any accounts from Boston; that they did not believe the story; were sure the New-Yorkers would fall off, and thereby the union of the Colonies be broken and the opposition be at an end. What turn matters will take when General Gage’s account arrives, is uncertain. Captain Derby’s Schooner never went into port, but plied on and off while he tarried. He never appeared in publick, kept with our friends, the Lord-Mayor, Doctor Lee, &c. Lord Dartmouth sent for him, but our friends advised him not to put himself in his power. I am, &c.

J. TRUMBULL.

Major-General Schuyler.

GENERAL LEE TO GENERAL SULLIVAN.

Cambridge, July 24, 1775, Two o’clock, P. M.

General Lee begs General Sullivan will get as much work as possible out of the men this day. If they cannot all work on the face of the citadel, let them deepen and widen the ditch of the flank and rear faces, and heighten the parapet all round.

To General Sullivan.

P. S. For God’s sake finish and strengthen the abattis.

EXTRACT OF LETTER FROM THE CAMP AT CAMBRIDGE, DATED JULY 24, 1775.

On Thursday last, the universal fast day, a party of our troops, in whale-boats, landed on Nantasket Point before day, and set fire to the Light-house. At day-light the men-of-war discovered them and fired upon them. I was at Little Cambridge when the guns wakened me. I ascended an eminence at a distance, and saw the flames of the Light-house ascending up to Heaven like grateful incense, and the ships wasting their powder. Our men proceeded from thence to Point Shirley, in order to drive off some young colts which were there. A party of Regulars attacked them, but were repulsed and drove into their boats, without the loss of a man on our side, either killed or wounded; what loss the Regulars have sustained I have not yet heard. The party set fire to all the fishing-houses and hay that were on the place, and brought off four Tory fishermen, who are now prisoners at the General’s, together with one Whiting, a Sheriff of New-Hampshire Government, who has been detected in some illicit practices inimical to this Country. The troops here are increasing daily; a Regiment is arrived from the Province of Connecticut, and the riflemen are expected hourly. The strictest discipline begins to be practised in the camp, and nothing but a due subordination is required to make this Army as complete as any troops in the word. Wednesday evening Colonel Reed of your City delivered a copy of the Declaration and Address from the Congress, to the advanced guards of the enemy, for General Gage; and our sentinels have dispersed several hundred of those papers called “An Address to the Soldiers,” amongst the Regular Troops, which, it is to be hoped, will be of good effect. We are now in perfect tranquillity, being well secured by intrenchments on all sides, and General Lee thinks they will not come out soon against us.

EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM THE CAMP AT CAMBRIDGE, DATED JULY 24, 1775.

Within a day or two we have had five deserters from the advanced posts of the enemy; two of them are sensible, honest-looking fellows, the one that came in this morning particularly so. They have a return of the enemy’s killed and wounded, amounting to one thousand and fifty-two; most of the wounded are in a dangerous way. They have had no fresh provisions since the affair of Noddle’s Island, and are not like to have any without fighting for it. One of the deserters went off last night, with leave, to Philadelphia; he is a Grenadier of the Royal Irish. The deserters say, that yesterday morning General Gage surrendered, in the orders of the day, his command of the Army to General Howe, and now acts only as a civil Governour; that he is lampooned and despised by the whole Army. That Howe is much censured for his mode of attack on our lines last month. That their artillery was wretchedly served, and, what is more strange, that all their spare cartridges which they brought out were twelve-pounders, and they took out only nine-pounders cannon; so that when our people were obliged to quit their lines, the enemy had not one round of artillery cartridges left. That young Richardson was the first person that mounted our parapet; you know him well, he is of the Eighteenth or Royal Irish; he is dangerously wounded. That their number of effective men is four thousand in Boston, and two thousand two hundred on Bunker’s Hill; that they despair of forcing our lines, but talk of getting round us if they can. That eight sail of transports, and one frigate, are gone to Fisher’s Island, and other places in the sound, marauding, with one hundred men. That they hare erected a large bomb battery on Bunker’s Hill, and amongst others, two eighteen-inch French mortars. That our morning gun, yesterday, threw an eighteen-pound shot into their encampment on the top of Bunker’s Hill. That the Grenadiers of the Royal Welch Fusileers amounted to forty at the attack last month, and are now reduced to eight men; that the Fifty-Second Regiment had twenty-two Grenadiers killed out of thirty-nine. That the inhabitants of Boston are ill-used and miserably fed; that they will be soon released, because provisions begin to be scarce. That the Army begin to clamour for their pay; there is no cash, and bills will not sell under fifty per cent. discount. The resolution of the Congress against Government Bills was wise, and has distressed the enemy exceedingly. The Reading Company of Riflemen came in on Tuesday; the rest are hourly expected and much wanted. We have frequently thrown into their lines, on the wings of the wind at night, hand-bills, and propose to send in a few tonight. These bills are blown into their camp, and get into the hands of their soldiers, without the officers being able to prevent it. Major Bruce complained, at an interview the other day, of such usage. We retorted his decoying our sentries from their posts, two rascals having left us a day or two before, by his or some other officer’s means.

We expect they will begin to bombard us in a day or two; they cannot hurt but benefit us. They will, by such means, harden our men, and discourage their own. This we have experienced by their bombarding of Roxbury.