RESOLUTION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1781. State of Pensilvania, In General Assembly, March 14th, 1781. A Letter from His Excellency the President in Council, respecting the Convention Prisoners ordered into this State, was, read & likewise an Extract of a Letter from the Board of War, accompanying the same. Ordered, That they be referred to Mr. Lowrey, Mr. Moses McClean, & Mr. Smycer, to confer with the supreme executive on the subject matter thereof. Extract from the minutes, SAMUEL STERETT, Clerk.* PRES. REED TO AUDITORS OF BUCKS Co. 1781. Gentlemen, The Persons mentioned in the enclosed List complain that you have refused to settle with them for their Depreciation altho' they have regularly discharged the Service. We have therefore directed them to return to you for settlement which we desire you to make with them unless some extraordinary Reason should intervene which in this Case would have you communicate to us. Col. Proctors Threats & Conduct towards these Men if truly represented to us is very displeasing, & the more as there have been several Complaints of Col. Proctor of the like Kind, & he promised more Care & attention in future. As the settlement is conducted under your Direction we expect you will not suffer others to interfere in the Matter but exercise your own Judgement, protect all those who come for Settlement from any rough Treatment by their officers, & we direct Rations to issue a convenient Time to all such Soldiers as apply for settlement. I am Gent. Indorsed, March 15, 1781. Your Obed. Hbbe. * See Col. Rec., Vol. XII., p. 660. Sir, AUDITORS TO PRES. REED, 1781 Yellow Springs March 15th, 1781 We have met with nothing extraordinary in our business as yet. The troops were at this place and it would have been convenient to have had them removed to Downings town; we therefore agreed to meet them here, leaving public notice that any who attended there might know where we were gone. There is but one officer here viz. Major Hamilton of the 2nd, who has been a prisoner. The time allowed is much too short to execute the business in, we are at it night and day, There is one Sunday in the time for next post which must be taken for business and the time here made so much the longer. The pay-master Gen. must furnish the advances to the regiments before any thing can be done at Lancaster, there are some Officers of the 2nd, Coming up immediately, if those papers and they from the Aud. General are ready should think it a good conveyance. We have the Honor to be with respect, Sir your most obed. Humble Servt. JNO. NICHOLSON, JOHN HANNUM, JNO. BEATON. Directed, His Excellency Joseph Reed, Esqr., President of the State of Pennsyleania. Sir, favour of Capt Pearson. Gov. OF MARYLAND TO PRES. REED, 1781. In Council, Ann', 16 March, 1781. We are informed by his Excellency Governor Jefferson, that the Convention Troops and those taken at the Cowpens, were at Winchester on the 12th Instant, on their March to Lancaster, agreeable to an Order of Congress of the 3a Instant. As we apprehend those Troops are by this time at Knowland's Ferry, the point from whence they are to be under the direction of this State, and must proceed in a few Days; We thought it necessary to communicate these circumstances to your Excellency, that measures may be adopted to supply them with Provision as soon as they arrive in Pennsylvania. We are so circumscribed by the Quantities of Provisions furnished the Detachment under the Marquis, that it will be with difficulty we can subsist them to your borders.-The prisoners from this State ordered to York Town, will also proceed in a few Days, about 800 British; the number from Virginia we cannot ascertain. If the Executive of your State should fix on any other places than those assigned by Congress for their Reception, We request your Excellency to give Us the earliest information thereof, with the We this moment rec'd yours dated Yesterday, (Inclosing à Peti- tion from a number of men desiring a Settlement) by the Contents of which, we learn that your Excellency and the Honorable Council take it for granted that we have absolutely refused them a Settle- ment, which we conceive is not clearly the case, the matter being freely canvass'd by Mr Stevenson and us; at which time it appeared that they had been fairly enlisted during the War, the enlistments being signed by themselves, And Acknowledged by the Civil Magis- trates; and therefore, the reputation both of the Civil & Military Officers being Pledged, we were rather inclined to View them as belonging to the regt, and, by a natural Consequence, in such a Predicament as would amount to nothing less than Desertion; and must beg leave to express our difficulties, and that in this Particular and difficult Case, your Excellency and the Honorable Council would give us positive directions, as we should think it our greatest honour could we do Justice to the Soldier, support the honour of the Civil & Military officer, & meet the approbation of your Excellency. Permit us, Sir, in the mean time, to assure your Excel- PRES. REED TO COMMITTEE OF ASSEMBLY, 1781. Gentlemen: Perusing the Minutes of the 2a Inst., we observe the Report to be so stated as to imply a Non Performance of the Promises made to the discontented Soldiers at Trenton, which we apprehend may not only be prejudicial to us personally, but have a bad Effect on the Soldiers and others, who will conceive that Promises were made to the Troops while under Arms, which have not been since complied with. We apprehended that we had clearly explained to the Committee that the Promises made on that Occasion were fully performed, & rather exceeded, in giving Fifty Shillings Month not mentioned in the Proposals. There was nothing on that Occasion, or at any Time since, engaged to the Officers, as the Report seems to imply. We presume the Promise referred to in the Report, was the Cloathing ment in the 5th Article of the recruiting Instructions. In executing this disagreeable & unthankful Service in the best Manner we could, we only discharged a publick Duty; but we apprehend it should stand fairly stated on our publick Proceedings; and as the Mode of Settlement by peaceable Means, rather than an Attempt of suppressing by Force, has been the Subject of Complaint, it would have given us some Satisfaction if the Committee, after being possessed of all the Documents on that Subject, had express'd their Opinion on this Point to the House. As we presume the Committee did not, in their Report, intend to convey any unfavourable Ideas of the Proposals & the Execution of them, we rely upon their Candour to rectify it upon the Minutes. Directed, To Messrs. Morris, Mifflin, Smith and others, Committee of Assembly. Indorsed,-March 16, 1781. Gentlemen, PRES. REED TO BOARD OF WAR, 1781. We acknowledge the Receipt of your Favour of the 13th* Inst., calling upon us to prepare a Guard of 400 militia & to supply Provisions & all other Necessaries for the Convention Troops, observing that tho' the Hon. Congress had directed you to take measures for guarding & supplying these Troops after they arrive at their proposed Quarters that you have no other Means in your Power to comply with this Direction than by calling on the Board for that Guard & those Supplics. We are sorry, Gentlemen, to inform you that in the present exhausted State of our Treasury we have little Prospect of being able to answer your Expectations. We have computed the Monthly Expence of feeding these Troops & Guards at £8,960 Specie month-the Pay of the Militia & Repair of Barracks will also be very considerable-which added to the neces* See page 7. sary Advances daily making for the Sustenance of the Prisoners already here amounting to 1000-to the recruiting & Support of the Pennsylvania Line daily increasing & wholly within the State, the supply of the Continental Army, the Artificers, Invalids, Mechanicks, & other Dependencies on Congress, will, we are persuaded, be a Burthen insupportable.—And we must acknowledge freely that we think it very unequal that when there are 13 States in Union all the Prisoners should be brought into one. We have allways endeavoured to comply with Requisitions when in our Power, but we do not see the least Probability of answering present Expectations in their full Extent.-Having already observed to our Delegates in Congress the Danger of adding to the Dissaffection of the Inhabitants, especially from the Influence of the German Officers, we need not touch on that Head, tho' of a very delicate & alarming Nature. But in another View the bringing these Troops into the State must affect the general Interest. Should they cross the Susquehanna we are fully persuaded much the greatest Part of them will be in New York in a few months; they will find so many Friends & Opp to convey them thither that unless closely confined no Precautions will be sufficient to prevent this Evil. Our militia in the Country are very badly armed, so that if either thro' Scarcity of Provisions, other Discontent or Impatience of Captivity these Troops should resolve to serve the Enemy & prefer Force to Desertion we apprehend there is Danger of their effecting it. The High Price of Provisions, of Fuel & all other necessaries at Lancaster & York will be an Object also well worthy of Consideration, the Rates of Wood & other necessary articles at Lancaster not differing materially from those of Philad".-This will be our last Representation on the Subject which we have thought it our Duty to make that should any bad Consequences result we may stand fully acquitted, having declared our Opinion that we shall not be able to provide for them with that Plenty or guard them in that Security which the Case requires. Indorsed,-March 16, 1781. Sir, PRES. REED TO GENL. WAYNE, 1781. ཁ་ Mr. Matlack has just now shewn us a Letter from Gen. Irvine to you complaining that seasonable notice not being given of the Law for raising Men by Classes they have hitherto made little or no Progress in Cumberland County. As this Letter & Sentiment may probably be communicated to others we think you will do well to set Gen. Irvine right in this Matter, the Laws in Question with printed Instructions having been sent by Express into every County above two months ago. As this was a particular Duty of the Coun |