lay at anchor near the Roebuck; that thereupon Captain Hammond ordered the ship to be cleared and made ready for fighting; that the water-casks, which had encumbered the deck and guns, were partly stove, partly carried to the brigantine which had accompanied said frigates up the Delaware, and partly placed in the ship’s hold, and elsewhere; that about one in the afternoon the galleys had begun to fire on the frigates, at first without the reach of their shot, and continued to fire on them near a dozen shot before the frigates returned any; that at length the Liverpool, which had anchored below the Roebuck, coming up, some stern-chase guns were fired from the Roebuck; that then, the Roebuck’s anchor being apeak, both ships got under sail, the Roebuck’s head being to the eastward, and the Liverpool’s to the westward; that the ships, in this position, and dropping up with a light breeze from the north-northeast, brought their broadsides to bear on some of the galleys, and fired oftentimes, and without intermission, for several hours; that about three-quarters of an hour before the firing from the ships ceased, the Roebuck ran aground about half a mile from the Jersey shore, nearly opposite to Burd’s, on the Pennsylvania shore; that the galleys retiring upwards beyond the reach of shot, the fight ended; that the commander of the Liverpool, at the time the Roebuck took the ground, was ordered to come astern of the Roebuck, and cover her; that the Liverpool was at the time of this accident to the westward, and nearer the Pennsylvania shore; that the Liverpool was placed near the Roebuck accordingly, to protect her when she might heel; that the Roebuck ran aground about the time of full tide, and lay aground till about half an hour after three, before day of the following morning; that during the rise of the tide great endeavours were used by Captain Hammond to heave his ship afloat; that at low water the Roebuck lay over so much that the lower deck ports were necessarily shut on the reclined side to keep out the water, and that her cannon were rendered useless by her situation; that the Roebuck, at the time aforesaid, by means of a rope fastened to the Liverpool, was hauled afloat, and the other cables and ropes which had been used for that end were abandoned and let slip; that whilst the ship lay aground, as aforesaid, the Captain, his officers, and crew, were all constantly upon watch, and that no one retired to sleep during the night, and that boats were all the night employed to watch the motions of the galleys and guard the Roebuck; that the officers of the Roebuck had expected that there would be an attempt in the night to burn the Roebuck, but afterwards concluded that it was not done for want of ammunition; that during the fight of the Roebuck and Liverpool with the galleys, only one ball fired from the galleys, as far as this deponent knows, struck the hull of the Roebuck, but some small damage was done to the sails and rigging, great part of the shot of the galleys aimed at the Roebuck not reaching her; that after the Roebuck was hauled off the ground and brought to anchor, the Captain employed his crew at filling water very diligently, two pumps being used for that purpose; that about high water in the afternoon of the day following the day of said fight, the fight was renewed, by the galleys coming down the river, the ships immediately on the approach of the galleys being got under sail; that the wind being pretty fresh at southwest, the ships turned downwards, working to windward, and firing upon the galleys till the ships had proceeded three miles below the town of Newcastle, when, it being near ten in the evening, the galleys ceased to fire, and retired from the ships; that in the second fight the galleys drew nearer to the ships than in the first, though seldom nearer than three-quarters of a mile, or thereabouts; that on the second day’s action one shot of eighteen-pound was lodged in the Roebuck’s side, about three streaks above the water’s edge, and another like it on the opposite side, nearly as low; that one eighteen-pound shot entered an upper port, ruined the carriage, dismounted a nine-pound cannon, killed one man, and wounded two others; that five others were wounded, two of them considerably, by a cartridge taking fire; that another eighteen-pound shot also entered the stern, and lodged on board the ship, and that two other shot also struck the ship, seven in all, as far as this deponent knows; that the rigging, sails, and spars of the Roebuck were often struck, damaged, and cut, particularly one mizzen-shroud, one of the foretopmast shrouds, and two of the back-stays were cut off, the main-stay cut as far as a strand and a half, and much running rigging broken, the mizzen-yard twice wounded, so that the lower end was obliged to be cut off, the main-yard wounded so that it could not be depended upon, the sails pierced several times, not easy to be numbered; the long-boat had been damaged in the first fight; that the ships lay at anchor about three miles below Newcastle all the following night, filling and stowing water, and that the crew continued in the morning to fill and stow water, and began to repair the rigging; that after about two hours’ ebb tide the Roebuck’s anchor was weighed, and the ships stood down and anchored, at low water, just above Reedy-Island, where the seamen were employed in refitting the ship for three days; that this deponent never heard anything said on board the Roebuck which intimated any design of destroying houses on the shore; that after the stay of three days aforesaid, the frigates returned to Cape-Henlopen, without any unnecessary delay; that this deponent doth not know, and doth not believe, that any persons privately came on board the Roebuck from the shore about said cape during his residence in said ship, but has heard on board that such an incident passed previous to his going aboard her; that the day following the return of the Roebuck to said cape Captain Hammond put to sea, with the Liverpool in company; that the frigate being about seven leagues from the land, the Liverpool was sent to the northeastward, but the destination not known, Captain Hammond in the Roebuck, on the contrary, steering southward till the next day in the morning, when the ship was brought to, the tenders summoned in, particularly a schooner in which Captain Knox had been taken, and which was used as a tender, and had joined the Roebuck the day before from Virginia. This schooner and the rest, three in all, were sent for Chincoteague to procure stock, and the ship proceeded to Hampton-Roads, in the Chesapeake; that the same day he arrived there the Captain went to Norfolk, and the day after the ship Dunmore, the Fowey, and a great number of prize and other vessels came out of Elizabeth River, and the tenders arrived from Chincoteague with eight lean bullocks and no other stock; that the ships of war and vessels aforesaid afterwards lay in Hampton-Road for a week, and then stood up the bay to Gwin’s Island, and anchored in Milford-Haven, at the entrance of Pianketank River; that he was on the Island, and understood that about five hundred hogs, sheep, and cattle were found on it by Lord Dunmore, but no good water; that most of the wells there yielded very bad water; that about five hundred or five hundred and fifty men, soldiers, white and black, were landed on said Island by Lord Dunmore, as this deponent heard; that many of these, particularly negroes, died, and many negroes came in and joined him; that the Roebuck was in some measure cleaned, and that Captain Hammond continued at his last-mentioned place till the 6th of June instant, when, about ten of the clock in the evening, this deponent, with John Drury and Alexander Davis, swam to the shore of the main land, about two miles, and escaped; that about six days before this deponent left the Roebuck, a gentleman of the name of Smith, Secretary of Governour Eden, arrived at Gwin’s Island, from Annapolis, as this deponent understands; and that on the 5th instant a gentleman in black, from Somerset County, as he heard, came down and went to Lord Dunmore.

JOHN EMMES.

PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS TO NEW-YORK CONVENTION.

Philadelphia, June 21, 1776.

GENTLEMEN: I am directed by Congress to forward to you the enclosed resolves, by which you will perceive it is their desire that another regiment should be raised in your Colony on the Continental establishment.

The many ill consequences resulting from a short inlistment of troops have induced the Congress to leave the term of their service indefinite. By this means, there will be no danger of losing their services at a time when their discipline and experience have qualified them to be of the greatest use to their country.

With respect to the Field Officers, as soon as I have the honour to receive your recommendations, I will lay them before Congress, and immediately upon their determination transmit you the commissions filled up accordingly.

Major Dubois, by his behaviour in Canada, has justly merited the notice of his country, I am, therefore, to request