which were to be dressed by the common negro hangman; and under this rigorous and ignominious confinement and treatment he continued for eight weeks and three days, during which' time, and afterwards, till his departure, he was treated with continual insults and the utmost contempt, being shunned by the men with whom he had been acquainted, who would scarcely deign to speak to him; some, indeed, told him that they should give offence to their superiors if they showed him any countenance; and one considerable merchant, with whom he had often done business, told him that he feared his coming to his house would expose him to censure, and be a disadvantage to him; after which Captain Campbell never went near him. During this time, (on a combination of all the villains concerned,) there was exhibited (on the 9th of March, 1776) against the vessel and cargo a libel, which was designedly made a false one; that upon its being proved false another might immediately take place, upon another act, which was not in force till after the commencement of the first process. In the libel, the seizure of the vessel by the Viper, which was on the 24th November, (when no act by which it could be seized was in force,) was set forth to be on the 6th of January, when the act for seizing American vessels was in force. After the (allegation or) libel above mentioned was issued, (signed by George William Jackson, Register in Admiralty,) Mr. Hicks, (before mentioned,) Captain Campbell's attorney, acquainted him by note that he (Mr. Hicks) was employed to prosecute the claim of Mrs. Alletta Heyliger, for twenty-eight hogsheads of sugar, her property, (part of the sixty-five,) on board the America; that he was clear the vessel could not be condemned, and advises Captain Campbell to put in his claim, and give security as the law directs. It appears by a note of Isaac Harvey, that he had provided security for the vessel, and Captain Campbell was at liberty to take every advantage on that account that the law would afford him. On the 3d of May came on the trial; when, after a full examination and hearing, the judgment sets forth ' the claim of Mrs. Heyliger, that it was allowed, and her property ordered to be restored; but that, no other claim being made, the Court, as their definitive sentence, declared the sloop America, her tackle, apparel, and furniture, and the lading on board, (except Mrs. Heyliger's twenty-eight hogsheads of sugar,) to be condemned as lawful prize, for the use of the captors.' The night before the trial, Mr. Hicks, the lawyer, who appeared to be very intimate with Mr. Christian, the Judge, was a long time in close conversation with him. Mr. Hicks told Captain Campbell that he had said, if a claim for the vessel and remainder of the cargo should be made by Captain Campbell, it would have been allowed in Court, and the whole restored; but if it should be done, preparations were made to exhibit another libel immediately on the new act, which would certainly have produced a condemnation of the vessel and cargo, at fifty or one hundred pounds more expense; so that, by Mr. Hicks's advice, Captain Campbell thought proper to waive his claim, and acquiesce in the judgment. The custom-house officer had thought proper to quit his claim on the seizure he had made of the vessel, which being at that time in custody of the man-of-war, was of no real damage to Captain Campbell, and therefore he could recover no damage on that account; and of the Captain of the man-of-war none could be recovered, because, by the act, no damage shall be recovered of any persons seizing vessels, though it should appear on trial that the seizure had been illegally made, and the vessel should be cleared. Thus every way was Captain Campbell cut off from any redress; and after suffering a long and cruel imprisonment and innumerable insults, was obliged to acquiesce in the loss of vessel and cargo, without the breach of any law, even those oppressive and tyrannical laws of our enemies themselves.

The following Accounts were for charges on the imprisonment of his person:

Captain Robert Campbell

1776. To the Hon. Robert Christian, Esq., Dr.

A Note sent with the Constable's account:

"Mr. WARNER sends his compliments to Captain Campbell, and if he will not pay Mr. Jackson's account, Mr. Warner may issue his warrant to compel him to do it."

N. WOODHTJLL TO GENERAL WASHINGTON.

In Convention of the Representatives of the Slate of New-York,

White-Plains, July 18, 1776.

SIR: I have the honour to enclose your Excellency a copy of a letter this moment received from Colonel Van Cortlandt and Captain Zephaniah Platt, who were sent from this Convention for the purpose of providing for and stationing the Militia that might comedown from the country to guard the river, and assist the other Militia at the forts in the Highlands.

I am, with the greatest respect, your Excellency's most obedient servant,

By order:

NATHANIEL WOODHULL, President.

To His Excellency General Washington, at Head-Quarters, New-York.

P. VAN CORTLANDT AND Z. PLATT TO NEW-YORK CONVENTION.

Peekskill, July 18, 1776.

GENTLEMEN: We proceeded, in consequence of your orders, up the river. When we came to Croton, found the ships anchored in Haverstraw Bay. We posted Colonel Hammond, with one hundred and forty men, on the banks of the river to the best advantage, and proceeded to Peekskill, rallying, as we went along, the people near the river, to keep out proper sentries along the river to watch the motions of the enemy. As soon as we came here, we despatched an express to Dutchess County to call in half of the Militia, and forwarded your letter to Captain Van Zandt, &c; at the same time sent out for half of the Militia of Cortlandt's Manor to march immediately to this place. Wednesday morning went over to Fort Montgomery, to confer with General Clinton, where, to our great joy, we found six hundred of the Militia of Orange and Ulster Counties, and great numbers had been sent back, all in high spirits. We then returned back, in order to go up to Fort Constitution, but, on our return, being informed that a number of troops were within six or eight miles of this from Connecticut, we thought prudent to stay until they came, in order to provide for them and fix their stations. About this period, one of the tenders hove in sight, beating up into Peekskill Bay. She beat up within about two miles of Fort Montgomery, and then bore away and stood down the river, when our people at the fort fired one gun at her. She ran round the point of the Dunderbergh, sent her barge ashore and plundered a poor man's house and garden, stole a hog, and put off. As she went down between Verplanck's Point and the west shore, our men galled them much with their musketry. The tender, in her turn, returned a heavy fire with her cannon, but did no damage that we have heard of. About three o'clock Major Gay, of Sharon, came in with two hundred and sixty men. Soon after, General Ten Broeck, from Dutchess, and General Fellows, from Massachusetts, arrived, with part of their brigades, and many more are on their march. We sent an express last evening to General Clinton, to send for Colonel Clinton to meet us at Fort Montgomery at ten o'clock this morning, to confer with us and Generals Ten Broeck and Fellows, in order to form a general plan of operation. The returns are not properly made out as yet, but conclude there are about six hundred men now here, and expect there will be, by night, twelve hundred.

From, gentlemen, your very bumble servants,

PIERRE VAN CORTLANDT

ZPH. PLATT.

To the Hon. the Representatives for the State of New-York