to Boston. I shall send you, with this, the account of stores, &c. on board the Doria, and have ordered Captain Jones and Captain Hacker to transmit you theirs as soon as possible.

I am, sir, your humble servant,

NICHOLAS BIDDLE.

To Esek Hopkins, Esq., Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy, in Philadelphia.

THADDEUS BURR TO GOVERNOUR TRUMBULL.

Fairfield, June 28, 1776.

HONOURED SIR: By desire of the Authority and Selectmen I write you this, to request that your Honour and Council of Safety would give us an order for some powder for the use of the battery, and to supply our town stock. They are of opinion that four hundred weight will do for the use of the battery at present, and would be very glad of three hundred weight for the town. We have taken great pains to supply the stock since it has been drained for pub-lick use, but it is out of our power, except about seventy weight, for which we gave a dollar a pound. We would willingly purchase for the town, or receive it in any other way that your Honour and Council may think proper. We are very solicitous to be supplied with some as soon as may be, as we are very destitute.

I am, with due respect and esteem, in behalf of the Authorities and Selectmen, your Honour’s most humble servant,

THADDEUS BURR.

To the Hon. Jonathan Trumbull.

P. S. Since my return from the Assembly, I have received a letter from Mr. Broome, who informs me that he has purchased a permit to transport stores to any of the French West-Indies. I therefore, agreeable to the conversation I had with your Honour when at Hartford, now beg you would grant us a permit to import from New-York one hundred barrels of flour, and to export it to some of the Dutch or French West-Indies in the brig Liberty, owned by Burr & Abel, Broome & Company, and Samuel Bradley, Esquire; also forty thousand red and black oak staves, and twenty thousand hoops, the staves to be exported agreeable to the rules of Congress; and forward it to me per first post. I also request of your Honour a permit for Captain Stephen Thorp, of this town, master and owner of the sloop Sally, burdened about fifty tons, to transport from this place to Taunton or Providence, five hundred bushels of Indian corn, five hundred bushels of rye, fifty barrels of wheat-flour, and fifty barrels of rye-flour, as I am informed the people up Taunton River, and round about that place, are in great want of provisions, and from the situation there is but little danger of falling into the hands of the enemy; and as we have a great deal of corn, rye and wheat on hand, I cannot think it will be any disadvantage to permit it to go to our distressed brethren. Should your Honour think proper to grant the permit, shall take it as a favour if you would send it per post.

Your Honour’s compliance will greatly oblige yours, ut ante,

THADDEUS BURR.

SAMUEL SMEDLET TO GOVERNOUR TRUMBULL.

Brig Defence, Boston-Harbour, June 28, 1776.

HONOURED SIR: After my respects to your Honour and family, I think it my duty, as a friend to my country, to acquaint your Honour of our battle with the Scotch ship and brig. My neglecting this until now, was by expecting something of truth of the matter would have been mentioned in the publick prints by some gentleman of this place, to acquaint this continent of the calm and brave conduct of our worthy Captain Harding. We sailed from Plymouth on Sunday, the 10th instant, in the morning. After we got out of the harbour, we heard a brisk and continual cannonading towards Boston; but it being very foggy, could not discover what it was; but expecting the fog soon to clear off, we made the best of our way towards the firing, and at two P. M. the weather cleared off. Soon after, we discovered from the mast-head one large ship, a brig, and four schooners, the latter making the best of their way from the two. We immediately took them to be what we since found they are. The wind being small, we did not come up with the schooners until sunset, when, by signals, we let thorn know we were a friend. One of the Captains came on board of us immediately, and told us the two vessels we saw to windward were two Scotch transports, with at least three hundred men on board, and that the four eight-gun schooners had been attacking them ever since eight o’clock in the morning, and found them too warm for them. Captain Harding inquired of him how many men they had all lost. He answered not one. He told them they had not been near enough. Well, says the Captain, do you try. Captain Harding answered him that he had already determined that, and we made the best of our way towards them, and at eleven at night found them at anchor a small distance above where the Light-House formerly stood. We likewise ran close to them and anchored. Hailed them from whence they came. They answered from England. Captain Harding ordered them immediately to strike. They, like brave soldiers, refused, and immediately a very heavy fire began, and at the end of near two hours we made them surrender, without the loss of one man on our side; while, according to the best accounts, we killed twenty, besides many wounded. The schooners all this while were at anchor, some one mile off, and some half a mile; but none so near as to draw one shot from either ship or brig, whilst our brig was within twelve or fifteen rods of the enemy, and received all the fire. I believe our being so near was a great advantage to us, they being so very high that almost all their cannon shot went over us.

I conclude by begging your Honour’s pardon for troubling you with this long, though very true epistle. From your Honour’s humble servant,

SAMUEL SMEDLEY.

To the Hon. Jonathan Trumbull.

N. B. There is now in the bay eight transports, with two frigates, supposed to be part of the same fleet from Scotland. My reason for mentioning so particularly about the above schooners is, because they want to share equally with us in the prizes; when it is the voice of almost all the people here that they, according to right, should have but small part, if anything, which I suppose will be soon judged. Our wounded are all likely to recover soon.

GENERAL LEE TO GENERAL GATES.

Charlestown, June 29, 1776.

MY DEAR GATES: I have just read that the General and your Excellency are arrived at Philadelphia. My love and respects to the General, that I shall send an express to him in a few days, with a minute account of our situation and of the double repulse the tyrant mercenaries have met with. Their squadron has been roughly handled—the Commodore and the Roebuck dismasted of their mizzens; one frigate lost its bowsprit, and another (the Acteon) blown up. Rush will give you a compendious detail of it. Our troops, though raw, behaved most nobly; the fire was extremely hot and incessant. Their troops attempted to land twice, and were twice repulsed by the South- Carolina Rangers. Our loss in the fort was ten killed, thirty-two wounded, seven of whom lost their limbs, but they encouraged their comrades, after the loss of their limbs, to stand to the cause of liberty. My two young aids-de-camp, Byrd and A. Morris, stand fire most nobly. Young old Jenifer and little Nourse strutted like crows in a gutter. The fire was, I assure you, very hot. I am much pleased with the troops, men and officers, and really believe them braver than the enemy. But I would not be understood that this affair was decisive; it was, most probably, only the prelude to a more serious one; the event of which the Great God of Battles only knows—I mean the only great and universal God; not the partial God of the Jews.

Enclosed is a return (I dare not say the most perfect) of our strength: apropos, I cannot send it just now, for the Adjutant-General (who is in love) has forgotten a whole regiment; you shall have it in a few days. We have about five thousand men. If I had a thousand lighthorse, I could protect these Colonies completely. Urge the General to urge it—I am tired of writing on the subject.

Yours, my dear Gates,

C.LEE