his country. Not only all persons will be prohibited having any dealing or intercourse with him, but neither his person nor estate will receive protection from this Committee.

Published by order of the Committee:

LEWIS OGDEN, Chairman.
ISAAC HEDDEN, Secretary pro tem.

ESSEX COUNTY (NEW-JERSEY) COMMITTEE TO LORD STIRLING.

Newark Committee-Chamber, March 15, 1776.

MY LORD: With Captain Josiah Pierson, the bearer, comes the first company of the Militia of this County that is ready to march. We have divided the three hundred men agreed to be sent to your assistance into four companies. The other three companies, we expect, will march to-morrow, so as to be in New-York to-morrow evening. We have agreed to send only one Field-Officer with this detachment, who is Lieutenant-Colonel Ward. We hope you will not only be pleased with the appearance, but also with the conduct of this detachment.

Agreeably to the request of the New-York Provincial Congress, to send a Quartermaster, we have appointed Mr. Samuel Hayes to that post. He has been an Adjutant for some time past of the battalion in this town.

By order:

WILLIAM BURNET,

Chairman of the County Committee.

To Lord Stirling.

MY LORD: Since writing the above letter, and just as we were despatching it, we received a copy of a letter sent to your Lordship by the Chairman of the Elizabethtown Committee, and also a letter from their Clerk, from which we are afraid no men will come from Elizabeihtown, which was to send one hundred and fifty—the half of the number proposed. However, we shall endeavour to prevail with them to furnish their quota, and hope we shall succeed.

LORD STIRLING TO COLONEL DAYTON.

New-York, March 15, 1776.

SIR: I wrote to you some days since to get your regiment in order for marching as soon as possible. You are now hereby required to march the regiment to this place by companies, as soon as you can arm and accoutre them, making the companies complete with arms and accoutrements, one out of the other, and then immediately to despatch them.

STIRLING.

To Colonel Dayton, commanding the Third Regiment of New-Jersey Troops in the Continental service at Elizabethtown.

LORD STIRLING TO GENERAL WASHINGTON.

New-York, March 15, 1776.

MY DEAR GENERAL: On Wednesday last I received Mr. Moylan’s letter of the 9th, and immediately sent forward to Philadelphia the express who brought it. I communicated the intelligence to the Provincial Convention then sitting. We have ever since been taking every measure in our power to secure this place and Long-Island, in such a manner as will prevent the enemy from making any lodgment in either of them. The Convention has very cheerfully and spiritedly come into every measure I proposed to them, as you will see by the enclosed paper, which will best inform you of the steps we have taken. Three hundred and seventy half-barrels of powder arrived here yesterday from Philadelphia for your camp; but the casks are in such a shattered condition, that one half of it would be lost before it could proceed one hundred miles farther. I have therefore ordered the whole of it to be started into good strong tight casks, which will be done by Monday next, by which time I hope to have directions from Congress either to send it forward, or detain it in this place. You will, by the same enclosed paper, see the state of that article in this place.

March 17.—I have this evening received despatches from the Congress, by which I find they have resolved that eight thousand men be ordered for the defence of this Colony. But as I know the incomplete state most of the regiments ordered for this service are now in, I am sure that not one half of them will be here and fit for service these four or five weeks. I have, therefore, been obliged to call in some Militia (perhaps two thousand may come) to act in the mean time as fatigue in carrying on the works. I mention this circumstance, that, in case the Ministerial Troops do actually leave Boston, it may not be supposed that the troops voted are or can be here in any probable time to oppose them. We have in the whole, here at present, but about two thousand men, exclusive of the Militia of the city, which may amount to about as many more. The latter have very cheerfully turned out on fatigue for the last three days, and we are all hands employed in fortifying such posts as were thought most proper by General Lee and myself, after several times viewing the whole ground on Long-Island, as well as on this.

I am, your most obedient humble servant,

STIRLING.

To His Excellency General Washington.

FREDERICKSBURGH (WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW-YORK,) COMMITTEE.

Fredericksburgh Committee, March 15, 1776.

Whereas Isaac Bates hath been represented to this Committee as being unfriendly to our country; we have had him under examination, and find him guilty of said charge. We therefore refer him to the honourable County Committee for further examination.

Fredericksburgh, March 15, 1776.

Isaac Bates, upon being taken up as a deserter, by an advertisement from Elijah Oakley, Lieutenant under Captain Comfort Ludinton, of Colonel Jacobus Swartwout’s Regiment of Minute-men, pleads and says, that said Lieutenant Oakley did release him.

In support of which plea he produced the evidences, whose depositions are as follows:

I, Abraham Birdsal, of lawful age, being sworn before the Chairman of the Committee, do testify and say: that on the 5th of this instant, March, being at the house of Cornelius Fuller, I heard Elijah Oakley say he would give any man two shillings who would set his name to such a paper. Whereupon Isaac Bates said he would set his name to it; and the said Oakley said he would give him four shillings if he would; and finally said, as he could not make change, he would give him a six-shilling bill, lawful money; and, as Bates took the pen, Oakley says, If you do write your name there, you shall go; and Bates says, I mean to go; and wrote on the bottom of the paper, as I supposed, his name; but I understood by others (for I cannot read writing) that he wrote, “Elijah Oakley may kiss my———Isaac Bates;” at which Oakley was mad, and swore he should go. Whereupon Bates says, “Why, you are not mad, are you? I was only in a joke.” “Joke, or no joke,” said Oakley, “you shall go.” But afterwards I saw Bates give Oakley the bill again, and saw Oakley tear off a piece, which I suppose was what Bates had written; and I understood by Oakley that he had discharged him. Whereupon I said to Bates, “Since Oakley is so fair with you, you ought to treat him;” and he immediately called for a grog, and did treat him.

I, John Chase, of lawful age, being sworn before the Chairman of the Committee, do testify to the whole of the foregoing deposition; and further, that when Oakley took the bill, he said he would see if it was the same bill which he gave Bates, and went to the light and said, “Yes, it is the same bill which I gave you.” “Now,” said I to Mr. Oakley, “you and Isaac are clear, are you not?” “Yes,” said Mr. Oakley, “we are clear; it was only a joke.”

We do suspect the above-mentioned Elijah Oakley of being unfriendly to the country, from his conduct in inlisting Isaac Bates, who was known to be a professed Tory, and taking him out of our hands when we were about to deal with him, and then discharged him; but, at the same time, positively affirmed to us that he would make him go; and finally did advertise him, when he never kept out of his way.

By order of the Committee of Fredericksburgh.

DAVID SMITH, Chairman.

March 16, 1776,