GENERAL, SCHUYLER TO PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

[Read 15th April, 1776, and referred to Mr. Wythe, Mr. Harrison, Mr. S. Adams.]

Albany, April 2, 1776.

SIR: After an absence of five days, I yesterday returned from the northward. Nine of the cannon are arrived at Fort George, the remaining five will reach it on this day or to-morrow.

The weather is now become much more moderate, so that I hope the troops, who are daily filing off from hence, will meet with little, if any, detention at Lake-George.

General Thomas arrived here on Thursday, and will move in a very few days. As the season is so far advanced that it might be possible for the enemy to reinforce Quebeck before he could reach it, unless he goes by water, we have both concluded that it will be most prudent to take, as many batteaus as may be necessary to convey the troops, baggage, artillery, and stores, down the Sorrel and St. Lawrence: besides the despatch which this will give, it will relieve the men from the almost insuperable fatigue of a march of two hundred miles, in roads that will be extremely deep, and also save the heavy expense of the land transportation; nor can he do without a number of batteaus in the St. Lawrence, to bring provisions from Chambly. For all this service, about seventy batteaus may suffice, and we shall then have about an equal number left in the lakes—a number much too small, under the situation that our affairs will, in all probability, soon be in in Canada; for I can hardly doubt but that the enemy will send a very formidable body of troops into Canada, and the greater in proportion as they can have little or no hopes of aid from the Canadians; nor, indeed, do I expect that we shall have much from them. At all events, it would be imprudent to depend upon it; and, therefore, I most heartily wish to see a respectable body of troops immediately sent into Canada, in addition to those which Congress have destined to that service, which are so very incomplete that General Thomas will not have above five thousand men, exclusive of Canadians; and one thousand at least of these will be occupied in garrisoning Montreal, St. John’s, &c., and in bringing on the provisions to the Army from Chambly. Five regiments would not be too many; for in that country our entire dependance must be on the soldiery; whereas, in these Colonies our armies can be almost instantaneously augmented out of the Militia, who will readily run to arms here; but I am confident that, should General Thomas call on me in an hour of distress for assistance, I should not be able to procure three hundred Militia to go into Canada. Permit me to suggest that, should Congress be convinced of the necessity of complying with my wish, some of the troops lately arrived at New-York from Boston might be sent by water. The four regiments raising in this Colony, if the terms of their inlistment were out of the question, would nevertheless be improper, as I do not suppose they will be completed in less than three weeks, if so soon, and. after all will be most miserably armed. In this view of things, I have ordered thirty more batteaus to be constructed.

Enclose you, sir, a copy of a letter from Mr. Deane. I agree that a meeting with the Caughnawagas may be attended with happy effects; but as we shall in all probability have a conference with the Six Nations as soon as they have concluded their meeting at Onondaga, I shall, for the present, defer saying anything on the subject to him.

I also enclose copies of sundry affidavits that have been sent me from Tryon County. Though I am well aware that the Mohawks are, in general, unfriendly to us, yet I cannot imagine that there is any just cause of fear from the Indians in general. I am the more induced to this conclusion from the silence of Mr. Deane and Mr. Kirkland. I shall, however, keep a watchful eye, that we may not experience the disgrace and calamity of a surprise. As soon as I received General Washington’s letters, advising me of the precipitate retreat of the Ministerial Army from Boston, I sent a message to the Six Nations, of which you have a copy enclosed. The indefatigable industry of the Tories, who pervert every account, made it necessary that I should invite a few of them, that they might have ocular demonstration of what I asserted respecting our armies. I have great hopes that this account, which they will receive whilst in conference at Onondaga, will have a good effect on their deliberations.

As I have heard nothing more of the pork General Lee ordered to be sent here, I have requested General Thompson to send me five hundred barrels, as what will suffice until I can have the determination of Congress respecting the pork I wrote for some time since.

I am, sir, with the most unfeigned esteem and respect, your most obedient humble servant,

PHILIP SCHUYLER.

To the Honourable John Hancock.

Oneida, March 10, 1776.

SIR: Since I had the honour to address my last to you, which informed that Mr. Butler, in his late interview with the Six Nations, had spoken to them of nothing but peace, I have been fully persuaded that the information which the people of this place received respecting that interview, was not to be depended on; and that the Oneidas, on account of their well-known attachment to the Colonists, are not at present very likely to be rightly informed. There is now a large party of Onondagas and Quigogas in this town, who came down on pretence of condoling the death of the Cagg. After the ceremonies of condolence were finished, the Quigoga Sachem, in a long and very spirited speech, reproved the Oneidas for their late conduct in several instances; particularly their paying less attention to the ancient Councilfire at Onondaga than that lately rekindled at Albany; adding, that the people who conversed with them at the latter Council-fire, were very deceitful, and if ever they should overcome the King’s Troops, would directly turn their force against the Indians. He observed that the white people were not to be depended on, but that their Indian allies to the westward, with whose disposition he was well acquainted, were ready for their assistance. His manner of expression seemed to raise a jealousy in the minds of our friends here, that some plan was formed to the westward, into the secret of which they had not been admitted. He likewise reproved them for their design of sending for Mr. Butler, in which he accused them of an inclination to intermeddle in the present quarrel; to which the Oneidas replied, that they had suspended that matter till they should see whether it met with the approbation of the whole confederacy, which would determine their conduct in the affair. They thanked their brethren for their care not to let them violate the firm agreement lately made with their brethem of the thirteen United Colonies, to maintain the strictest neutrality in the present dispute; and assured them that, though they had interested themselves in behalf of some of their old friends and neighbours who had involved themselves in trouble on account of the part they had acted against the liberties of the country, yet for the future that they would not do it again, in any, even the least instance, but would maintain the most punctilious neutrality. Observing further, that they thought it very likely that Sir John, on account of the deceitful part he had acted since his late engagements at Johnstown, would soon be removed; and should such a thing happen they hoped that none of the Six Nations would, take the least notice of it, but let the white people conduct their own affairs as they pleased. But what offended the Quigogas most was, the conduct of the Oneidas in delivering up the hatchet, in which affair they accused them of acting without the concurrence of the rest of the confederacy, and contrary to a firm agreement, which they said had been made, to deliver it up to the party who gave it. They at the same time informed the Oneidas that they were then on their way to Albany, to recover the hatchet, with a view to deliver it up to Mr. Butler, and desired them to depute a number of their warriors to accompany them on the same errand. The Oneidas, in reply, not only explained, and justified their conduct in that affair, refused to send a deputation of their people with them, but also requested them to prevent those suspicions and jealousies which such a step would unavoidably create in the minds of their brethren, the Colonists, by immediately returning home. The disputes between the parties ran very high; at length, however, after much altercation and debate, the Quigogas agreed to return back, which they did with evident symptoms of disaffection and disgust.

The Oneidas look upon Niagara as the place from whence proceeds the cause of this sudden and unexpected change in the minds of their brethren; and some, in private