the inconveniences of disbanding an army within cannon shot of the enemy, and forming a new one in its stead. An instance never before known. Had the enemy been fully acquainted with our situation, I cannot pretend to say what might have been the consequence. A large body of troops will probably be wanted for a considerable time. It will be infinitely safer, and not more expensive in the end, for the Continent to give a large bounty to any number of troops in addition to what may be ordered on the present establishment, that will engage during the war, than to inlist them from year to year without a bounty. And should the present regiments be inclined to engage for the same term, let them receive the same encouragement. There is not the least prospect of our being able to disband and form a new army again, without the enemy's availing himself of the advantage.

I have taken the liberty to show your last letter to General Lee, whose knowledge of Europe, and American genius and learning, enable him to give you the advice you want. He has written you fully on the subject; it would be mere arrogance in me to say any thing upon the subject, after he has taken up the pen.

I this day manned the lines upon this hill, and feel a degree of pleasure that I have not felt for several days. Our situation has been critical. We have no part of the militia here, and the night after the old troops went away, I could not have mustered seven hundred men, notwithstanding the returns of the new inlisted troops amounted to nineteen hundred and upwards. I am now strong enough to defend myself against all the force in Boston. God bless you and preserve you. Adieu, &c.

NEW-HAMPSHIRE CONGRESS TO CAPTAIN TITUS SALTER.

January 4, 1776.

You are hereby authorized and empowered to inlist a company, to consist of ninety good able-bodied and effective men, including officers, to serve as matrosses at Fort-Washington, for the term of one year, from the 1st of anuary, unless dismissed sooner by order of Congress, or General Assembly of this Colony, accepting none but what are well accoutred with good guns, Sic. And you are hereby informed that you may assure said men they shall be paid the same wages that men in the like service are paid on the Continental Army. You will likewise have liberty to nominate two persons to serve as subalterns under you, who, if approved of by the General Assembly, will be commissioned, and make return of your inlistments as soon as may be, that the company may be properly mustered, and commissions made out accordingly.

By order of Congress.

To Captain Titus Salter.

EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM LORD GEORGE GERMAIN TO MAJOR GENERAL HOWE, DATED WHITEHALL, JANUARY 5, 1776.

I was preparing to write to you by a ship of war under orders for Boston, when Major General Burgoyne arrived here on the 27th of December, with your despatches, by the Boyne, which have been laid before the King.

The reasons you assign for not removing from Boston, in consequence of Lord Dartmouth's letters of the 5th of September, fully justifies your resolution on that head; and from the best judgment I am able to form of things as they now appear, I am inclined to think, that even if you could have procured a sufficient quantity of shipping to have effected an evacuation of the place in the manner you suggest, it would have been for many reasons an unadviseable measure.

Your ideas for the plan of operation for the army under your command in the ensuing campaign, are, in general, approved by the King; but I shall write more fully to you upon that subject in a separate letter, confining myself, at present, to the consideration of those parts of your letters which suggest the means of augmenting your force to what is necessary for that plan, and to an explanation of the arrangements we are making for that purpose, and for supplying, as far as is practicable, the several articles of which you have made requisition.

By your calculation, the number of men wanting to complete the several battalions stated in your paper of distribution, so that each battalion shall have five hundred men for the field, amounts to six thousand one hundred men; but as the plan of augmentation, by incorporating one hundred men into each battalion from the foreign troops in British pay, is liable to many objections from the nature and custom of their service—and I cannot yet say, whether it will be practicable to get any assistance from the militia in the manner you propose—you must depend for the augmentation you wish upon the number of levies that will be raised by recruiting, (which I am sorry to say, goes on slowly,) and upon such additional battalions as we shall be able to send you. You are, therefore, to add to the Forty-Second Regiment, which will be one thousand men complete, two other battalions of one thousand each, which will be raised upon a plan proposed by General Frazer, and approved by the King, and which it is hoped will be ready to embark for Boston, with the Forty-Second Regiment, early in the month of April.

You will also be furnished with an additional battalion from the armament going out upon an expedition to the Southern Colonies, which now consists, as you will see by the enclosed copy of my letter of instructions to Major General Clinton, of seven regiments; and, therefore, admitting that it should become necessary to leave two regiments to the Southward, (and I trust it will not be necessary to leave more,) there will be one battalion collected from that service more than you have included in your calculation.

The addition of General Frazer's corps, and of one battalion from the Southern expedition, and supposing the recruits to amount to two thousand men, will make an augmentation to your force of about four thousand four hundred men; and I speak with some degree of confidence, when I say, that I trust we shall be able to send you a separate corps of foreign troops, not less than ten thousand men, for although our negotiation with Russia has failed, we are now in treaty with other States for different corps, amounting in the whole to upwards of seventeen thousand men, and I think those treaties are brought so near to an issue, that they cannot fail.

The additional quantity of tonnage of shipping, which you state to be wanting for the entire evacuation of Boston, is very large; but it will in great measure, if not altogether, be supplied by the storeships already gone out, and by a much greater number that are now preparing to be sent, all which will be at your disposal after they arrive, and have landed their cargoes; but should these not be enough, means will be found to supply the deficiency.

Your demand for wagons and horses, involves a greater difficulty; for, I am sorry to say, I think it is impossible to be complied with in the extent in which it is stated; and, therefore, I could wish to be satisfied in my own mind, that it is not necessary, and that, supposing the worst to happen, the nature of the operations will be such, that a great part of the service for which wagons and horses are demanded, may be performed by water-carriage.

With this hope, I have pressed forward the supply of flat-bottomed boats, of which thirty-two are already sent out, and also ten yawls, and as many cutters; and forty more boats are now in hand, and will be ready to go out by the first ships. Some horses, however, for the use of the artillery, and for the carriage of tents, must be procured, and I shall consult General Harvey and General Burgoyne, as to the numbers that will be wanted for that purpose.

Upon inquiring at the office of Ordnance, I find that the demand made in August last, for intrenching tools, and of those articles that were wanting in the Engineer's Department, had been supplied; directions, however, will be given for a second supply of the same sort, and for double the quantity of those articles of that supply which were on board the Nancy brig.

With regard to the supply of provisions, forage, and other stores, stated in the returns you have transmitted to me, the care of that business belongs to the Treasury Department, and I have no doubt that the utmost activity will be used in every step that is necessary to be taken.

It is impossible to turn one's thoughts to Canada, without regretting the unfortunate situation of the King's affairs