sary to withdraw the arms & other Military Stores records &c. from this place. Every Effort was accordingly exerted to convey them to the Foundry five miles & to the laboratory six miles above this place till about sunset of that day when we learnt that the enemy had come to an anchor at Westover that morning. We then knew that this & not Petersburg was their object & began to carry across the river everything remaining here, & to remove what had been transported to the Foundry & Laboratory to Westham the nearest crossing seven miles above this place, which operation was continued till they had approached very near. They marched from Westover at 2 o'Clock in the afternoon of the 4th, & entered Richmond at I o'Clock in the afternoon of the 5th. A regiment of infantry & about 30 horse continued on without halting to the Foundry. They burnt that, the boring mill, the magazine and two other houses, & proceeded to Westham, but nothing being in their power there they retired to Richmond. The next morning they burnt some buildings of public & private property, with what stores remained in them, destroyed a great quantity of private Stores & about 12 o'Clock retired towards Westover where they encamped within the neck the next day. The loss sustained is not yet accurately known. As far as I have been able to discover it consisted at this place in about 300 muskets, some soldiers clothing to a small amount some quartermasters Stores of which 120 sides of leather is the principal article, part of the artificers tools & 3 waggons. Besides

which 5 brass 4 P.ers which we had sunk in the river were discovered to them raised & carried off. At the Foundry we lost the greater part of the papers belonging to the Auditors office, & of the books & papers of the Council office, about 5 or 6 tons as we conjecture of powder was thrown into the canal of which there will be a considerable saving by remanufacturing it. The roof of the foundry was burnt but the Stacks of Chimney's & furnaces not at all injured. The boring mill was consumed. Within less than 48 hours from the time of their landing & 19 from our knowing their destination they had penetrated 33 miles, done the whole injury & retired. Their numbers from the best intelligence I have had are about 1500 infantry & as to their cavalry accounts vary from 50 to 120, the whole commanded by the parricide Arnold. Our Militia dispersed over a large tract of Country can be called in but slowly. On the day the enemy advanced to this place 200 only were embodied. They were of this town & its neighbourhood and were too few to do anything. At this time they are assembled in pretty considerable numbers on the South side of James river but are not all yet brought to a point. On the north side are two or three small bodies, amounting in the whole to about 900 men. The enemy were at 4 o'Clock yesterday evening still remaining in their encampment at Westover & Berkeley neck. In the meanwhile Baron Steuben a zealous friend has descended from the dignity of his proper command to direct our smallest movements. His vigilance has in

a great measure supplied the want of force in preventing the enemy from crossing the river, which might have been very fatal. He has been assiduously employed in preparing equipments for the Militia as they should assemble pointing them to a proper object & other offices of a good commander. Should they loiter a little longer & he be able to have a sufficient force I shall flatter myself that they will not escape with total impunity. To what place they will point their next exertions we cannot even conjecture. The whole Country on the tide waters & some distance from them is equally open to similar insult. I have the honor to be with every sentiment of respect, your Excellency's most obedient, and most humble servant.

TO COLONEL JOHN NICHOLAS.

V. S. A.

January 10.-1781.

SIR, I am not fond of encouraging an intercourse with the enemy for the recovery of property; however I shall not forbid it while conducted on principles which are fair and general. If the British Commander chuses to discriminate between the several species of property taken from the People; if he chuses to say he will restore all of one kind, and retain all of another, I am contented that individuals shall avail themselves of this discrimination; but no distinctions of persons must be admitted. The moment it is proposed that the same species of property shall be restored to one which is refused to another, let every application to him for restitution

be prohibited. The principles by which his discrimination would be governed are but too obvious, and they are the reverse of what we should approve.

TO BRIGADIER-GENERAL THOMAS NELSON.

V. S. A.

RICHMOND. Jany 12-1781.

The Enemy left a number of Horses at Westover which they had taken during the late incursion. Colo Nicholas very properly ordered a party to take charge of them and bring them to the Quarter Master where they might be kept for the owners to come and claim them; but I am well informed that in the meantime several men of Capt Hockaday's command of Charles City have plundered & carried them off. These men being under your command I beg you to take the most coercive measures for compelling a restitution and letting them know that the most rigorous and exemplary punishment will be inflicted on every man who shall be known to have one of them and not to deliver him up. Such as are recovered be so good as to have brought up. The mischief done us by our citizens plundering one another has far exceeded what the enemy did.

TO MAJOR-GENERAL BARON STEUBEN.

V. S. A.

RICHMOND. Jany 13-1781.

Sir, I received your favor of the 11th by Mr. Smith I cannot say at what point of time the ex

penses attending an invasion become Continental. I

suppose Congress have some fixed rule on that subject, which, whatever it be when applied to all the States, will be equal.

From the time at which they called for specie quotas of Provisions from the several States, they seem to have considered their purchasing Commissaries as useless, and therefore desired us, whenever we should have appointed a person to furnish the specifics, we would discontinue their purchasing Commissaries. We appointed Mr. Brown to procure the specifics, which he is either to deliver to certain store keepers appointed by the Continental Quarter Masters or to the Continental issuing Commissaries. I think therefore Mr. Brown may continue to act with you with propriety and I hope he will with effect. We did not discontinue Continental Deputy Commissary of purchases here (Maj Forsyth) but his acceptance of a similar office in another quarter seems to have determined his former commission. I have heard nothing from the enemy since their reaching Sandy Point, this leaves me very anxious for our shipyard the Chickahominy.

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I have lately received some dispatches which render it necessary for Col° Clarke to proceed immediately to the western Country. I have written to him on this subject, and hope he will obtain your permission to return. I did not expect at the time he went to you that his stay would have been rendered so short.

If this incursion of the Enemy should much longer postpone the execution of the late Law for raising