any difficulties which will arise, you may be assured, Sir, that I will use every endeavour to comply with their resolve. I beg leave to submit it to the consideration of Congress, if these two Battalions can be formed out of this Army, whether this is a time to weaken our lines, by employing any of the forces appointed to defend them on any other service ? The gentlemen who were here from the Congress know their vast extent; they must know that we shall have occasion for our whole force for that purpose, more so now than at any past time, as we may expect the enemy will take the advantage of the first hard weather, and attempt to make an impression somewhere; that this is their intention, we have many reasons to suspect. We have bad, in the last week, six deserters, and took two straggling prisoners. They all agree that two Companies, with a train of Artillery, and one of the Regiments from Ireland, were arrived at Boston; that fresh ammunition and flints have been served out; that the Grenadiers and Light Infantry had orders to hold themselves in readiness, at a moment’s warning. As there is every appearance that this contest will not be soon decided, and, of course, that there must be an augmentation of the Continental Army, would it not be eligible to raise two Battalions of Marines in New-York and Philadelphia, where there must be numbers of sailors now unemployed? This however is matter of opinion, which I mention with all due deference to the superior judgment of the Congress.

Enclosed you have copies of two letters, one from Colonel Arnold, the other from Colonel Enos. I can form no judgment on the latter’s conduct, until I see him. Notwithstanding the great defection, I do not despair of Col. Arnold’s success; he will have, in all probability, many more difficulties to encounter, than if he had been a fortnight sooner, as it is likely that Governour Carle ton will, with what forces he can collect after the surrender of the rest of Canada, throw himself into Quebeck, and there make his last effort. There is no late account from Captains Broughton and Selman, sent to the River St. Lawrence; the other cruisers have been chiefly confined to harbour, by the badness of the weather. The same reason has caused great delay in building of our barracks, which, with a most mortifying scarcity of fire-wood, discourages the men from enlisting; the last I am much afraid is an insuperable obstacle. I have applied to the honourable House of Representatives of this Province, who were pleased to appoint a Committee to negotiate this business, and, notwithstanding all the pains they have and are taking, they find it impossible to supply our necessities; the want of a sufficient number of teams I understand to be the chief impediment.

I got returns this day from eleven Colonels of the numbers enlisted in their Regiments; the whole amount is nine hundred and sixty-six men. There must be some other stimulus besides love for their Country, to make men fond of the service. It would be a great encouragement, and no additional expense to the Continent, were they to receive pay for the months of October and November, also a month’s pay advance. The present state of the military chest will not admit of this; the sooner it is enabled to do so the better.

The Commissary-General is daily expected in camp; I cannot send you the estimate of the Clerks in his department until he arrives.

I sincerely congratulate you upon the success of your arms, in the surrender of St. John’s, which I hope is a happy presage of the reduction of the rest of Canada.

I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient humble servant,

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

To the Honourable John Hancock, Esq., President of the Continental Congress.

Chaudiere Pond, October 27, 1775.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY; My last, of the 13th instant, from the portage to the Dead River, advising your Excellency of our proceeding, I make no doubt you have received, I then expected to have reached this place by the 24th instant, but the excessive heavy rains and bad weather have much retarded our march. I have this minute arrived here with seventy men, and met a person on his return, whom I sent down some time since, to the French inhabitants. He informs me they appear very friendly, and, by the best information he could get, will very gladly receive us; he says they informed him General Schuyler had had a battle with the regular troops at or near St. John’s, in which the latter lost, in killed and wounded, near five hundred men, (this account appears very imperfect,) and that there were few or none of the King’s troops at Quebeck, and no advice of our coming. Three days since I left the principal part of the detachment about eight leagues below the Great Carrying Place; and as our provisions were short, by reason of losing a number of batteaus at the falls and rapid waters, I ordered all the sick and feeble to return, and wrote Colonels Enos and Greene, to bring on in their divisions no more men than they could furnish with fifteen days’ provisions, and send back the remainder to the Commissary, as the roads prove much worse than I expected, and the season may be possibly severe in a few clays. I am determined to set out immediately with four batteaus and about fifteen men for Sartigan, which I expect to reach in three or four days, in order to procure a supply of provisions, and forward back to the detachment, the whole of which I don’t expect will reach there in less than eight or ten days. If I find the enemy are not apprized of our coming, and there is any prospect of surprising the City, I shall attempt it, as soon as I have a proper number of men up. If I should be disappointed in my prospect that way, I shall wait the arrival of the whole, and endeavour to cut off their communication with Governour Carleton, who I am told is at Montreal. Our march has been attended with an amazing deal of fatigue, which the officers and men have borne with cheerfulness. I have been much deceived in every account of our route, which is longer, and has been attended with a thousand difficulties I never apprehended; but if crowned with success, and conducive to the publick good, I shall think it but trifling. As soon as I can get time, shall send your Excellency a continuation of my journal.

I am, with the greatest respect and esteem, your Excellency’s most obedient humble servant,

BENEDICT ARNOLD

To his Excellency General Washington, at Cambridge.

Brunswick, near Konnebeck, November 9, 1775.

SIR: I am on my return from Colonel Arnold’s detachment. I brought up the rear of the whole; Captains Mc-Cobb’s, Williams’s and Scotts’s Companies were assigned to my division. We proceeded as far as fifty miles up the Dead River, and then were obliged to return, for want of provisions. When we arrived at the Great Carrying Place, by what I could learn from the division forward, that provisions was like to be short, I wrote to Colonel Arnold, and desired him to take an account of the provisions forward. He wrote me word that there were twenty-five days’ provisions for all the divisions ahead, but, to my surprise, before we got over the Great Carrying Place, Major Bigelow, with ninety men, were sent back from Colonel Greene’s division to mine, for provisions. I let them have all I could spare. I continued my march with all expedition, and when about fifty miles up the Dead River, overtook Colonel Greene with his division, entirely out of provisions; and by reason of men being sent back with orders from Colonel Arnold for me to furnish them with provisions to carry them to the inhabitants, my division was reduced to four days’ provisions. Colonel Arnold was gone ahead; the chief of the officers of Colonel Greene’s division and mine were together, when we took the situation of our divisions into consideration; and upon the whole, for several reasons, it was thought best for my whole division to return, and furnish those that proceeded with all our provisions except three days’ to bring us back, which I did without loss of time. A more particular account shall be able to give when I return to Cambridge. Shall lose no time if able to ride. I have for many days been unwell. Expect the whole of my division at this place to-morrow, when shall set out on our march to Cambridge.

I am your most obedient humble servant,

ROGER ENOS.

To his Excellency George Washington, Esq.