I have, with great pain perceived your situation; and the more so as being situated between two fires, a division of sentiment has arisen both in Congress and here, as to which the resources of this Country should be sent. The removal of Genl. Clinton to the Northward must of course have great influence on the determination of this question; & I have no doubt but considerable aids may be drawn hence for your army unless a larger one should be embodied in the South than the force of the Enemy there seems to call for. I have the honour to be with every sen timent of respect and esteem Your Excellency's Most obdt. hble. servt.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
(SAMUEL HUNTINGTON.)

C. C.

RICHMOND, July 2, 1780.

SIR, I have received & shall duly comply with the recommendations of Congress for corresponding with their Committee at Headquarters. It having been necessary to lay their & your requisitions before the General Assembly, it has not been within my power to give any effectual answer till within these few days; & now only on the article of provisions. I beg leave to refer you to my letter to them of this date, a copy of which I enclose. The frigates now in our bay will probably retire. Were it possible for you to find means of clearing our bay of the privateers which have for some weeks infested it, we should be ready by the last of this month to send on

our supplies. I think that Genl. Clinton having carried so considerable a part of the Southern army to the Northward, will leave it in our power, exercising the discretion you have been pleased to leave to us, to send a considerable portion of the grain we shall have to the Northern army, unless a larger force should be embodied in the South than the present strength of the enemy seems to call for. I should conceive that to embody there more than double the number of the enemy would be a waste of exertion both as to men & provisions.

As it is expected our assembly will rise in the course of the present week, I shall then have it in my power to give an answer on the several subjects stated in a late letter from you, by informing you what is, and what is not done, and what also may be expected from the Executive in consequence of any powers the Legislature may vest them with.

TO THE COMMITTEE OF CONGRESS AT HEADQUARTERS. c. c. RICHMOND, July 2, 1780. Gentlemen,—I have received three several letters which you did me the honor of writing on the subject of supplies of men & provisions to the grand army. The compliance with these requisitions not lying within the extent of my powers, I immediately laid them before the General assembly then & still sitting. A bill is now passed by them enabling me to call into public use whatever provisions may be spared by our citizens; and this is put into a train

of execution. I hope it will enable me to furnish the quantity of salted meat called for by Congress, & I think within a short time. Congress have left us to determine whether we can spare any grain to the Northward. It will not be in my power to say whether we can or not until I shall receive a return from those commissioned with the execution of the act, which shall not be till the last of this month. I can assure you of the strongest disposition to contribute everything within our power to aid the Northern operations, but it is necessary to apprise you of one circumstance. Transportation by land has been little practised in this country. We have therefore few waggons, & a great part of these have been lately drawn to the Southward. Transportation by water has been cut off for some time by the privateers which have been constantly cruising in our bay. These have been from six to eleven in number, the largest carrying twenty guns. To them are added at present eight frigates; tho I can scarcely believe these mean to continue. In this situation nothing can venture out of our rivers-The Quartermaster has salted provisions for your army actually laden on board vessels, and a considerable supply of corn ready to send. But we see no prospect of getting it up the bay. The same causes will obstruct our supplies to the Southern army except from those parts of our country bordering on Carolina.

The assembly have before them a bill for supplying by draught 5,000 regulars to serve eighteen months. This I have no doubt will pass. It's exe

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 till late in August.

main army

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,