wise and salutary for us all. I shall be glad to hear from you as often as you may be disposed to think of things here. You may be at liberty, I expect, to communicate some things, consistently with your honor, and the duties you will owe to a protecting nation. Such a communication among individuals, may be mutually beneficial to the contending parties. On this or any future occasion, if I affirm to you any facts, your knowledge of me will enable you to decide on their credibility; if I hazard opinions on the dispositions of men or other speculative points, you can only know they are my opinions. My best wishes for your felicity, attend you, wherever you go, and believe me to be assuredly, Your friend and

servant.

TO FRANCIS EPPES.1

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 10th, 1775.

Patty [Mrs. Jefferson] on being nothing new in the

DEAR SIR,-I wrote to my arrival here, and there political way, I enclosed her letter under a blank cover to you. Since that we have received from England news of much importance which coming through many channels we believe may be confidently relied on. Both the ministerial and provincial accounts of the battle of Bunker's Hill had got to England. The ministry were determined to push the war with vigor, a measure in which they were fixed by the defeat of the Spaniards by the Moors. Ninety brass cannon

1 From Randall's Life of Jefferson, III., 569.

were embarked from the tower, and may be hourly expected either at N. York or Boston. Two thousand troops were to sail from Ireland about the 25th Sept.; these we have reason to believe are destined for N. York. Commodore Shuldam was to sail about the same time with a great number of frigates and small vessels of war, to be distributed among the middle colonies. He comes at the express and earnest intercessions of Ld. Dunmore, and the plan is to lay waste all the plantations on our river sides. Of this we give immediate notice to our Committee of Safety by an express whom we dispatched last Friday, that if any defence could be provided on the rivers by fortifications or small vessels it might be done immediately. In the spring, 10,000 men more are to come over. They are to be procured by taking away two-thirds of the garrison at Gibraltar (who are to be replaced by some Hessians) by 2,000 Highlanders and 5,000 Roman Catholics, whom they propose to raise in Ireland. Instead of Roman Catholics, however, some of our accounts say foreigners are to be sent. Their plan is this. They are to take possession of New York and Albany, keeping up a communication between them by means of their vessels. Between Albany and St. John's, they propose also to keep open the communication, and again between St. John's and Quebec, and Boston. By this means they expect Gage, Tryon, and Carleton may distress us on every side, acting in concert with one another. By means of Hudson's River, they expect to cut off all correspondence be

tween the northern and southern rivers.

Gage was

appointed Governor-General of all America; but Sir Jeffrey Amherst consented afterwards to come over, so that Gage is to be recalled; but it is believed Amherst will not come till the spring; in the meantime Howe will have the command. The coöperation of the Canadians is taken for granted in all the ministerial schemes. We hope, therefore, they will be dislocated by the events in that quarter. For an account of these I must refer you to Patty. My warmest affections attend Mrs. Eppes. Adieu.

DEAR SIR,-Since my last, we have nothing new from England or from the camps at either Cambridge or St. John's. Our eyes are turned to the latter place with no little anxiety, the weather having been uncommonly bad for troops in that quarter, exposed to the inclemencies of the sky without any protection. Carleton is retired to Quebec, and though it does not appear he has any intimation of Arnold's expedition, yet we hear he has embodied 1,100 men to be on his guard. A small vessel was the other day cast away on the Jersey shore (she was one of the transports which had some time ago brought over troops to Boston) on board of which were a captain, with his subordinate officers and marines.

1 From Randall's Life of Jefferson, III., 569.

amounting to 23 in all, and also a Duncan Campbell who was going to recruit men at New York for General Gage, he having some time before undertaken the same business in the same place, and actually carried off 60 men. The marines and their officers were all taken immediately, except their captain and the recruiting gentleman; these pushed off in a little boat, and coasted it to Long Island, where they got on board a sloop which was to have sailed in an hour, when the party sent after them came upon them. They were brought to this city this morning, the marines having been here some time. Our good old speaker died the night before last. For the particulars of that melancholy event I must refer you to Patty. My affections attend Mrs. Eppes. Adieu.

TO JOHN PAGE.1

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 31, 1775.

DEAR PAGE,-We have nothing new from England or the camp before Boston. By a private letter this day to a gentleman of Congress from General Montgomery we learn that our forces before St. John's are 4,000 in number besides 500 Canadians, the latter of whom have repelled with great intrepidity three different attacks from the fort. We apprehend it will not hold out much longer as Monsr. St. Luc de la Corne and several other principal inhabitants of Montreal who have been our great enemies have offered to make terms. This St. Luc is a great

1 From the Historical Magazine, XIV., 244.

Seigneur amongst the Canadians and almost absolute with the Indians, he has been our most bitter enemy, he is acknowledged to be the greatest of all scoundrels, to be assured of this I need only to mention to you that he is the ruffian who when during the late war Fort William Henry was surrendered to the French & Indians on condition of saving the lives of the garrison had every soul murdered in cold blood. The check which the Canadians received at first is now wearing off. They were made to believe we had an army of 15,000 men going there, but when they saw Montgomery with but 2,700 they were thunderstruck at the situation they had brought themselves into. However when they saw even this small armament march boldly to invest St. John's & put a good face on the matter they revived, & the recruits since have contributed to inspirit them more.

I have set apart nearly one day in every week since I came here to write letters. Notwithstanding this I never had received the scrip of a pen from any mortal breathing. I should have excepted two lines from Mr. Pendleton to desire me to buy him 24 lb of wire from which I concluded he was alive. I speak not this for you from whom I would not wish to receive a letter till I know you can write one without injury to your health, but in future as I must be satisfied with information from my colleagues that my county still exists, so I am determined to be satisfied also with their epistolary communications of what passes within our knowledge. Adieu, Dear Page. Delenda est Norfolk. 1

1

1 The British had just burned Norfolk in Virginia.