cution will probably take a month, counting till the general rendezvous of the levies in this country. Hence I fear that should Congress call them Northwardly they will not be ready to co-operate with the main army till late in August.

TO GENERAL EDWARD STEVENS.

J. MSS.

RICHMOND, July 19, 1780.

SIR, I think it proper to inclose you a Paragraph from a late Act of Assembly putting the Militia with you under martial law; it is the only part of the Act which relates at all to the Militia, for which reason I do not send the whole Act, the Clearks being very busy. This Act having been made after the Militia went on duty may perhaps be thought by them to be in the nature of an ex post facto law; but as it is in your power to restrain its penalties from all Acts previous to its promulgation by you and even, if you please, from all subsequent ones except desertion, and such others as you shall find necessary, they may perhaps think it less hard.

TO JAMES MADISON.'

RICHMOND, July 26, 1780.

DEAR SIR,-With my letter to the President I enclose a copy of the bill for calling in the paper money now in circulation, being the only copy I have

1 From a copy courteously furnished by Hon. Elliot Danforth, of Albany.

been able to get. In my letter to the Delegates, I ask the favor of them to furnish me with authentic advice when the resolutions of Congress shall have been adopted by five other States. In a private letter I may venture to urge great dispatch and to assign the reasons.

The bill on every vote prevailed, but by small majorities; and on one occasion it escaped by two voices only. Its friends are very apprehensive that those who disapprove of it, will be active in the recess of Assembly to produce a general repugnance to it, and to prevail on the Assembly in October to repeal it. They therefore think it of the utmost consequence to get it into a course of execution before the Assembly meets. I have stated in my public letter to you what we shall consider as authentic advice, lest a failure in that article should increase the delay. If you cannot otherwise get copies of the bill, it would be worth while to be at some extraordinary expense to do it.

Some doubt has arisen here to which quarter our 3000 draughts are to go, as Congress directed 5000 militia to be raised and sent to the Southward, including what were ordered there and these 3000 (which I think will be 3500) draughts are raised in lieu of so many militia.

The matter seems clear enough when we consider that a fourth or fifth of the enemy's force are in S. Carolina. It could not be expected that N. Carolina which contains but a tenth of the American militia, should be left to support the Southern War alone,

more especially when the regular force to the Northward and the expected aids are taken into the scale. I doubt more whether the balance of the 1,900,000 Doll. are meant by Congress to be sent Northwardly, because in a resolution subsequent to the requisition of the sum before mentioned, they seem to appropriate all the monies from Maryland Southward to the Southern military chest. We shall be getting ready the balance in which great disappointments have arisen from an inability to sell our tobacco, and in the meantime wish I could be advised whether it is to go Northward or Southward. The aids of money from the State through the rest of the present year will be small, our taxes being effectually anticipated by certificates issued for want of money and for which the sheriffs are glad to exchange their collections rather than bring them to the Treasury. Congress desired N. Carolina & Virginia to recruit, remount, & equip Washington's & White's horse. The whole has been done by us except as to 200 saddles which the Q. M. expects to get from the Northward. This draws from us about six or seven hundred thousand pounds, the half of which I suppose is so much more than was expected from us. We took on us the whole, because we supposed N. Carolina would be considerably burthened with calls for occasional horse, in the present low state of our Cavalry, and that the disabled horses would be principally to be exchanged there for fresh.

Our troops are in the utmost distress for clothing as are also our Officers. What we are to do with

VOL. 11.-21

the 3000 draughts when they are raised I cannot foresee.

Our new Institution at the College has had a success which has gained it universal applause. Wythe's school is numerous, they hold weekly Courts & Assemblies in the Capitol. The professors join in it, and the young men dispute with elegance, method & learning. This single school by throwing from time to time new hands well principled, & well informed into the legislature, will be of infinite value.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
(SAMUEL HUNTINGTON.)

C. C.

RICHMOND, July 27. 1780.

SIR,-According to the desire of Congress expressed in their resolutions of the 17th ult. I shall endeavor to inform them what has been done by this state in consequence of the several resolutions there referred to.

1779.

Mar. 9.

Recommendation to the States to compleat their respective quotas of 80. battalions.

1780.

Feb. 9.

United States to furnish their respective deficiencies of 35,211 men on or before the 1st of Apr.

May 20.

The United States to forward their quotas of troops to join the Continental army.

The assembly at their session in May 1779 (being the first after the recommendation of Mar. 9.) desirous not only of furnishing their quota of troops

then wanting, but to provide permanent means for keeping up the same by voluntary enlistments, passed an act for appointing a recruiting officer to be resident in every county, whose occupation it should be constantly to endeavor to enlist within his county souldiers to serve during the war. That the officer might be industrious he was allowed a premium of 150. paper dollars, then worth 12 hard dollars for every man he enlisted that the people within the county might encourage the recruiting service, they were to have credit in any future draughts for all the men their recruiting officer should raise and the souldier was to receive a bounty of 750 paper dollars, then equal to 62 hard dollars, the advantage of laying out his pay in the public store, at the hard money prices, and the other usual donations of clothes and lands. These encouragements however did not fully answer our expectations. The assembly therefore at their next session in Oct. 1779 took supplementory measures for raising their quota by endeavoring to re-enlist, for the war, their souldiers whose times of service would expire within the ensuing year. This essay also failed to produce their quota of men, even as settled in the resolutions of Feb. 9. 1780. The Executive therefore immediately ordered nearly the whole of their troops which had been reserved for the particular defence of the state to join the Continental army to the Southward. That some idea may be formed of the proportion of their quota which this addition affected, I beg leave to refer to the inclosed state No. 1. made out from the returns therein re