GENERAL WASHINGTON TO COLONEL McDOUGALL.

New-York, May 7, 1776.

SIR: I received your favour upon the subject of rations; and, agreeably to your request, have enclosed a list of rations allowed the officers of the regiments before Boston. Those in service the 1st of July have been allowed from that time; others appointed to office since, from the dates of their commissions.

Having never given any direction about the officers alluded to, or any others, except those that were immediately under my command, I would observe that I do not mean to do it in this instance, as they were acting in a distinct and different district.

I am, sir, yours, &c.,

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

To Colonel A. McDougall, First New-York.

WHITEHEAD HICKS TO JOHN McKESSON.

Tuesday, 2 o’clock, May 7, 1776.

SIR: I wrote you last week relative to an order of the Congress about the persons who had moved out of town, which, as I was exempted from military duty, I conceived did not apply to me, and desired you would get that explained; but I have not received any answer from you. As I am now in town, and shall go out this evening, should be glad to hear from you.

I am, sir, your humble servant,

WHITEHEAD HICKS.

To John McKesson. Esq.

ALEXANDER MONCRIEFF TO NEW-YORK CONGRESS.

New-York, May 7, 1776.

Honourable Gentlemen of the Provincial Congress, or Committee of Safety:

This I am to acquaint you, that I am under the necessity of resigning the office of being your Jail-keeper, which this honourable Board conferred upon me the 24th April, 1776. While I do return my sincere thanks to the honourable Board for the preferment, be pleased to give me an audience before this honourable Convention, and I will give my candid reason for my desire of resigning.

I am, with sincerity, your most obedient servant,

ALEXANDER MONCRIEFF.

JOHN McKESSON TO ABSENT MEMBERS.

New-York, May 7, 1776, 2 o’clock.

GENTLEMEN: The Congress has now waited two days for the attendance of the Members of your County to make a House and proceed to business. All the other Counties present complain of you.

When the gentlemen from Westchester were here on Saturday, they engaged that a representation of their County should attend on Monday. There are publick clamors from all quarters for want of money, and a Congress. I have it in command from the gentlemen present to request the attendance of a quorum from your County; and that if any of you on whom this express should call cannot set off immediately, and travel to the City-Hall without a stop or rest, that, in that case, you send to some gentleman who will attend.

Some gentlemen say that Westchester ought to pay the express, and the whole expense of the Members attending here while they are absent.

I have the honour to be, most respectfully, gentlemen, your humble servant,

JOHN MCKESSON.

To Lewis Graham, Joseph Drake, Stephen Ward, Robert Graham, and Joseph Paulding, Esquires, and the other Deputies of Westchester County, or any three of them.

JOSEPH BLANCHARD TO NEW-YORK COMMITTEE OF SAFETY.

New-York, May 7, 1776.

Gentlemen of the Committee of Safety, now convened in the City of NEW-YORK:

As I am under an accusation of carrying on a communication with some of the seamen on board the ships lying pear Sandy-Hook, I hope you will indulge me in laying the matter before you, which I will do according to the best of my remembrance.

Captain Darby’s evidence, which you have minuted, is very just as to what I said about there being a communication from persons in this city to the ships. If he said anything about my sending books on board, that is wrong, for I neither bought nor sent any, nor anything else except a small memorandum blank-book, quarter of a hundred of goose quills, and one small bottle Turlington’s balsam; which I sent Colonel Fanning, by Mr. Nixon. The books were bought of one Green, by the Colonel’s negro, as I learned to-day from Mrs. Hatch I never saw them, but heard her say they were sent. While Mr. Nixon went on board the Dutchess, I often wrote to Colonel Fanning; my letters were always delivered to him open; nor did I ever send one to him sealed since he Went on board. The last letter I received from him is dated the 20th April I think, and enclosed an order I had sent to receive some money for me from one Pell, who I thought was on board the Asia. I gave an order to this Pell to receive of Mr. Banyar, and bring to me, fifteen pounds, expecting him back immediately with the money; but instead of bringing me the money, he went on board the Asia, as I learned afterward by the man that carried him. By the last letter I received from the Colonel, I had some small hopes of getting the money, which was the occasion of my sending him the last letter, enclosing the order as before, and the map he wrote for; which letter contained nothing but a desire to him to use his utmost to get that money, and to send up a return of a warrant of survey, executed by Mr. Bancker and myself. I did not think there was any harm in this small piece of negotiation, as not one word was written about anything but about the money, the return of survey, that his deed was ready for him, and that I hoped he had received the quills, &c.

Not one word of news, or anything about politicks, was ever hinted either from him to me, or me to him, in any letter that passed between us. As to the Governour, I never wrote him one word, nor ever received any kind of message from him of any kind whatsoever. Captain Gibbs says I could tell what I was arrested for, though he never mentioned anything of the occasion to me. When he was examining over my papers, he saw a letter directed to the Governour, which he spoke something about, and viewed it with more attention than he had other papers; and my calling to mind the discourse I had with Captain Darby, and that I had sent letters on board, concluded it must be that. That I had carried on a correspondence on board is not denied; but then it will not follow that it was criminal, unless it was so in sending the last letter after the Committee had resolved to the contrary. He also mentions that he found in my room General Sullivan’s marching orders. That is true; and at first I did not recollect much about it, but after a little while I remembered that I picked it up in Lieutenant Fisher’shouse, which was much frequented by the Jersey officers. What led me to look on it particularly, was my seeing General Sullivan’s name to it; and as I knew him when he was a young man, I looked to it to see the handwriting. I have not the least remembrance of putting it into my pocket, nor do I remember anything about it afterwards, till I saw it on the table where Mr. Gibbs found it; but this I can positively declare, that I never did, nor thought of making any kind of use of it in any respect, except it was just to look it over out of curiosity; nor do I conceive what use could be made of it, that could not have been as well effected without it; for these orders were as publick as anything in town; nor was the least secrecy observed about them. The business wrote about to Lord Stirling, I effected by letter to Colonel Fanning, so Major Rogers said there was no occasion of delivering it. I knew the contents, and went several times to my Lord’s on purpose to deliver him the letter, but could not see him. As to my using the officers ill that informed against me, (if I did,) it was occasioned by my being confined in such a manner; had any of them come to me for information about conveyance, I would have freely given them all the information I was possessed of, which, in short, I had done before, which I thought they would not have disputed, on the least reflection on the openness which appeared in me in our former conversation on that head. My ill-treatment of them is much exaggerated; neither were they altogether silent in their retorts.

As to every tittle of what I have written above, I can be qualified to the truth, and will if desired. When any man’s trial depends on his own confession, the whole