TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

(SAMUEL HUNTINGTON.)

C. C.

RICHMOND Septr. 8. 1780.

Sir,-On receipt of the resolutions of Congress of June 19, for procuring Horses to remount White's and Washington's Cavalry, we laid the same before the Assembly and were authorized by them to engage the State for payment. We thereon sent out powers to the different Counties to purchase 160 Horses which were properly described in addition to 83, the purchase of which we had before authorized.

That some regard might be paid to œconomy we at first restrained the prices to average not more than £2500-and afterwards £3000 exclusive of incidental expences. The purchases have not been so soon made as we expected tho' a considerable number have been made and the Gentlemen employed are still going on. The inclosed Letter from Colo. White complaining of this limitation of price, was not calculated either in its matter or stile to move us to an alteration of our instructions; conscious that our endeavours to reconcile œconomy and the public wants must meet with the approbation of every person who attends at all to the dangers impending over us from circumscribed finances. Your resolution of August 7. which came to hand two or three Days ago and which restrain the allowance for Horses in another instance, tho to be used in a similar way to 100 Dolls hard money equal only to about £2000 at the present exchange have induced a doubt in us whether you

may chuse that any future purchases for White's and Washington's Cavalry should be made at so high a price as we had authorized and has caused me to trouble you with a Letter desiring your advice on that head.—From the tardy progress made in purchasing at £3000 I must suppose that any considerable reduction would put a stop to them altogether. While it shows that our allowance was not extravagant, the numbers purchased also prove that it was not so frugal as to defeat the purpose.

Your instructions shall be implicitly followed, and will I hope be communicated to me.

P.S. I beg leave to add that measures are taken for clothing and furnishing twelve horses to, Major Nelson's two troops, which are what is wanting to equip them for service. It will be impossible to permit Capt. Read's troop to leave the barracks without giving up all fugitives from the Convention troops.

TO GENERAL EDWARD STEVENS.

J. MSS.

RICHMOND Sep. 12. 1780.

SIR,-Your letters of Aug. 27. & 30th. are now before me. The subsequent desertions of your militia have taken away the necessity of answering the question how they shall be armed? On the contrary as there must now be a surplus of arms I am in hopes you will endeavor to reserve them as we have not here a sufficient number by 1500, or 2000 for the men who will march hence, if they march in numbers

equal to our expectations. I have sent expresses into all the counties from which those militia went requiring the County Lieutenants to exert themselves in taking them; & such is the detestation with which they have been received that I have heard from many counties they were going back of themselves. You will of course hold courts martial on them & make them souldiers for eight months. If you will be so good as to inform me from time to time how many you have we may perhaps get the supernumerary officers in the state to take command of them. By the same opportunities I desired notice to be given to the friends of the few remaining with you that they had lost their clothes and blankets & recommended that they should avail themselves of any good opportunity to send to them.

We approve of your accommodating the hospital with medicines and the Maryland troops with spirits. They really deserve the whole, and I wish we had means of transportation for much greater quantities which we have on hand & cannot convey. This article we could furnish plentifully to you & them. What is to be done for waggons I do not know. We have not now one shilling in the treasury to purchase. We have ordered an active quarter master to go to the Westward & endeavor to purchase on credit, or to impress a hundred waggons & teams. But I really see no prospect of sending you additional supplies till the same waggons return from you which we sent on with the last. I informed you in my last letter we had ordered 2000 militia more to rendezvous

at Hillsborough on the 25th of Octob. You will judge yourself whether [in the meantime] you can be more useful [by] remaining where you are with the few militia left & coming in, or by returning home where, besides again accommodating yourself [after your losses] you may also aid us in getting those men into motion, and [in] pointing out such things as are within our power and may be useful to the service. And you will act accordingly.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
(SAMUEL HUNTINGTON.)

C. C.

RICHMOND, Sep. 14. 1780.

SIR,-According to Genl. Gates's request I transmit to your Excellency the inclosed copy of a letter I received from him this morning. That the enemy should meditate taking possession of Portsmouth in the manner they give out does not seem probable, as Sr. Henry Clinton under the present appearances would scarcely consent to spare men from New York; & that they should think of taking possession of it at all seems equally unlikely while it is in the power of our allies to send a superior fleet into Chesapeake bay to which theirs would fall a certain prey. Nevertheless should they in this as in so many other instances, go directly contrary to obvious principles of reason, they would find us in a condition incapable of resistance for want of small arms. Our militia have been long ago disfurnished of their arms for the use of the regulars; and when we shall have armed the 3000 new

levies now rendezvousing, we shall not have a single musket left in our magazine except a few which have been disabled. I must therefore entreat Congress in the most earnest manner to send all the aid in small arms which can be spared. We are also without a tent for the men who are now rendezvousing, nor does tent-stuff exist in this country. For this article therefore we must also throw ourselves on Congress. I have hopes that by this time the navigation of Chesapeake is made safe by a joint effort of this & the state of Maryland so that any necessaries may be transported through that channel & up James river to this place.

Another circumstance should be previously determined on supposition that an invasion of this state should take place. A spirit of disaffection which had never been suspected, has lately discovered itself in the counties of Washington, Montgomery, Henry & Bedford, and had extended so far as that many hundreds had actually enlisted to serve his Britannic Majesty, had taken oaths of allegiance to him, and had concerted the time of insurrection. The last of the counties above named is within 60 or 70 miles of the Barracks in Albemarle and had always been considered as a barrier to any enterprise on them from the Southward. Other counties equally relied on may fail us in the hour of trial. Should an invasion of this state take place and the progress of the enemy or other circumstances render a removal of the Convention troops necessary, to what place should they be removed? I would beg the instructions of