ed by the Colonels, who expressed their inclination to receive the whole at one time, after the expiration of the service, and on their return home. This being the case, I always imagined that the sum advanced by you would be taken in, when Congress came to form a general account against the Colonies, and be applied to your credit, which I presume they will shortly do, as I have wrote to them, and pointed out the necessity of having all the accounts, respecting this Army, adjusted and liquidated at proper periods. Had I conceived that this application for repayment would have been made to me, I should certainly have included the sum advanced by you in my estimates, and taken care to have had a sufficiency of money to discharge it; but as I did not, I am unprovided, and have not more than will answer the claims I was apprized of antecedent to the last day of December. They are large and numerous, and in a few days will drain our Treasury of every shilling now in it. I am exceedingly sorry that matters should be so circumstanced as to give you the least disappointment or trouble, but I doubt not Congress, upon your application, will refund what you have advanced, or settle in such a way as shall be perfectly agreeable to you.

I shall take care to have the three battalions of Militia paid, which are coming here for the defence of our lines, in the same manner that the rest are, when the time of their engagement expires. They certainly might have come thus far without the advance you have been obliged to give.

Having lately examined into the state of our powder, and finding the deficiency to be much greater than what I had any idea of, and hearing that the Militia from your Colony, and I fear from the others too, are coming without any, or with but very little, I cannot but confess my anxiety and concern to be very great. I, therefore, again repeat the request I made this morning, and beg and entreat your most strenuous and friendly exertions to procure what we are told is imported, or such part as you possibly can, and send it to me with the utmost expedition. I am already much alarmed on account of the scarcity, and the Militia coming in without a proper supply, fills me with apprehensions of the most disagreeable nature. This I would mention in confidence, as it might give great uneasiness if it was generally known. And trusting that nothing in your power will be wanting to relieve us at this alarming and important crisis, I am, &c.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

To Governour Trumbull.

JAMES SULLIVAN TO THE COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Biddeford, February 8, 1776.

SIR: The resolve of Court for reinforcing General Washington's Army with four thousand three hundred and seventy-eight men, was sent me on the 29th ultimo, accompanied by a letter from Colonel Sayer, Chairman of the Committee of the County of York, wherein he gave me notice that he and Major Goodwin had ordered that I should assist in raising and forming those in the towns of Biddeford, Buxton, Arundel, and Pepperelborough. I then thought, as so many were already gone in the service, and as three of these towns were on the sea-shore, the raising them would be impracticable. However, I have accomplished it, and, after giving Colonel Sayer notice, to the intent that Wells might join us, this day called the men together to choose their officers, and march to Head-Quarters; and while waiting for Wells, the people have received advice from Colonel Sayer, that he and Major Goodwin had agreed that the four towns before mentioned should join with York, and make up a company, and that Wells should have one of their own—have four officers and ninety men instead of thirty-five, while five towns in the County should be but equal to Wells in privileges in this matter. Our people living remote from, and being unacquainted with York, and humbly conceiving, notwithstanding the wise determination of the Committee for that County, that four towns might presume to hope for privileges equal to the town of Wells, filled up the company, excepting a few, who will be inlisted to-morrow, and have chosen for their Captain, John Elder, who has been at the head of the Militia in Buxton seven years, Amos Towns, of Arundel, and Samuel Scammon, of Pepperelborough, for their Lieutenants, and Jeremy Cale, of Biddeford, for their Ensign, and they to-morrow lead off a company of brave men, with good fire-arms. These officers are men of repute and estate, and go in reliance of being commissionated by the honourable Board.

Your humble servant,

JAMES SULLIVAN.

To Perez Morton, Esq., Deputy-Secretary.—To be communicated to the honourable Board.

NEW-HAMPSHIRE COMMITTEE OF SAFETY TO PRESIDENT HANCOCK.:

[Read March 4, 1776.]

Exeter, February 8, 1775.

SIR: Before the reception of your letters of the 12th and 20th of January, an account of the unfortunate affair at Quebeck came to hand, with a requisition from his Excellency General Washington, for this Colony to raise g regiment, for that service, which was immediately attended to, the Field-Officers appointed, and orders for inlisting the men given out. As so great a proportion of the men in the eastern, and the middle part of the Colony, were engaged at the grand Army, and to guard our sea-coast, it: was judged best to endeavour the raising this on the western frontiers, and every thing that was thought expedient had been done to forward the purpose.

We hear some companies have marched, and expect the whole battalion, consisting of the number desired, will follow them in a few days. Before our design of raising this regiment was known in the western parts, upwards of one hundred men from this Colony had inlisted under officers appointed by Colonel Warner, of the Green-Mountain Boys, and marched, and are, we suppose, before this time at Quebeck.

By order of the Committee.

I have the honour to be, sir, your most humble servant,

MESHECH WEARE, Chairman.

To the Honourable John Hancock, Esq.

Colony of NEW-HAMPSHIRE to the Honourable. Congress of the UNITED COLONIES of NORTH AMERICA.

The Council and Assembly of said Colony o/New-Hampshire, humbly shew:

That, by reason of the vicinity of the port of Boston, (the general rendezvous of our enemies) to this Colony, and their men-of-war often hovering around our harbour, have been, ever since the destruction of Falmouth, kept in continual alarms, which hath occasioned a, prodigious expense in erecting fortifications, and keeping a large body of men in pay to guard our sea-coast and Metropolis, (some part of the time upwards of fourteen hundred;) being sensible our enemies have a particular view in getting possession of our harbour, as it is very commodious for their shipping, and, if once in their possession, will prove of the greatest consequence to them in annoying the Eastern country; and this Colony ever dependant on the more Southern ones for a considerable part of their bread, and in shipping off lumber to raise money to pay there for, are now very much distressed: Wherefore, as you have been pleased to order several battalions to defend our sister Colonies, we humbly pray you would direct so many men to be raised for our defence as you, in your wisdom, shall see fit. And we shall ever pray, &c.

By order of the Council and Assembly:

MESHECH WEARE, President of the Council.

Exeter, February 8, 1776.

SAILING OF THE FIRST AMERICAN FLEET.

Newborn, North-Carolina, February 9, 1776.

By a gentleman from Philadelphia, we have received the pleasing account of the actual sailing from that place of the first American fleet that ever swelled their sails on the Western Ocean, in defence of the rights and liberties of the people of these Colonies, now suffering under the persecuting rod of the British Ministry, and their more than brutish tyrants in America. This fleet consists of five sail, fitted out from Philadelphia, which are to be joined at the Capes of Virginia by two ships more from Mary