The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1778-01-14 00:00:00, page 2

BURLINGTON, December „.
"To the Printer of the New Jersey GAZE PTE.
S I R,
11 French Gentleman hot late', favoured me with afight
CT of a copedion of historical and political Letters to
bis friends in France. I force obtained bis consent
CT to translate and pubfh a fem of them. If the fol
^ losing tranQation of one of them, <wbicb is of amo
dern date, fhou d prove acceptable to four readers, I
Jha tfend you feme more. The author of them has
been near two years in America, and!is been intro
disced to the firfl charters on the Continent His
'teal name must be a secret - The name by which he
bar cbfen to be known to the pub ic, will be fess in
the conctufon of the cnclofed letter.
from fours, fl. P.
Fife Kill,.in the State of New York, Nov. 20, 1777*
My dear Count,
IN my last letter I informed you that General
Gates was ordered, by the Congress, to return
to take the command of the Northward army. This
appointment was the more honourable, as twelve out
of thirteen of the States concurred in it. The cla
mours of the people, who govern their rulers in this
country, could not be relifted, and private pejudices
were made to yield to the general fafety and honour
of America.
The joy of the Northern army, upon General
Gates's arrival among them, cannot be described.
He had gained their confidence by-his Services among
them the two preceding campaigns. He was, like
themselves, a zealous republican; and his only ob
je&S io taking parr with them in the prefect war,
were liberty and independence. He had endeared
iiimfelf ro'them further, by the ftri^rUs of dilcipline
which he had introduced among them the year before:
For soldiers are always beftlatistied with officers who
kep them fbndi^ to their duty, provided they par
fake with them of all the toils and dangers of the
military life.
The success of General Stark, in defeating a large
bo~y of General Burgoyne's army, at Bennington,
had prepared the way for General Gates's future
success. and proved the feed of all the laurels that he
reaped during the campaign. You will fee the par
ticu ! a;s of th ; s affair in the news papers, which ae
company this letter.
The firft ebjed with General Gates was to put his
army in order. This was done in a few weeks; for
he infufed at once bis own (pirit into every corps,
ameng them. His general orders were short, but
they were implicitly obeyed. He saw every thing
with his own eyes, and hea d every thing with his
own ears. He slept but little, and was ie|d m ab
sent from the morning and evening parade of his
troops. He underftcod every part of the duty of an
officer and folcier as well as of a General, for he had
feived the King of Great Btit on, during the greatest
part of the two last wars with France, under some of
the ablest Genera's that Great- Britain ever feet into
the field. His temper was naturally hafly, which
feme rimes led him to make ofe of paih mate expref
fi^ns in reproving his officers, but be was nowith
Handing,equally beloved and fea r ed by them. I have
been told that he never had a single personal enemy
under his command.
Not ofy the genius and charafler of this illustrious
officer, bur the abilities of several of his gecerri of
ficers, and the spirit o' his troops, all concurred to
afford a fav & ble presage of afucc.fsful cara ai^n.
Lincoln and Arnold were his two Major Generals,
and Giover commanded a brigade in his army. The
fitft served with reputation last year at the head of
a body of M oTachuietts militia :' (Jecius and induf
tru ujoheG in some measure the want of a military
education; he was cool, determined, and enterprising,
Arnold's charter is already known in Euope. He
is (aid to possess what we call, in our Country, the
" r age militaire." His countrymen accuehim of too
much impetnofity. This may be the case in the ca
biret; but I do not think he is too impetuous in the
field. Glover (erved two campaigns under General
Lee, and was a great favourite of that unfortunate
office. He is brave, and has the character of an
excellent disciplinarian.
The fpi it of General Gates's army cannot be too
much commended. It was computed chiefly of the
farmers and farmers sons, of the four Eastern States.
Every man among them felt an enthusiastic attach
ment tc liberty, and tie lowest centinel fought ahke
with his General for all that was dear to him. The
inhabitants of New England are trained up, from
their infancy, to civil, ecclesiastical, and domestic
fubordisation. The transition from these, therefore,
to military Subordination, is short and natural. I
have seen recruits that had been eniifted only for
three weeks, handle their arms, and perform all the
evolutions which are necessary in the kind of war
that is carried on in this country, with as much dex
terity as the King's guards at Versailles. They are
General Burgoyne speaks with great refpe& of the
behaviour of the Americao troops, and all his officers
are aftomfned at the order and discipline of General
Gates's army. The General is a sensible bred man,
ar d has cancelled his former animefity to the Ame
ricans, by concessions that show real dignity of foul.
What eulpgiums can equal the merit of General
Gates? His successes are alnroft without a precedent
in history. His glory is as yet unrivalled in the an
nuls of America. But bis mind has been accustom
ed to feed upon more substantial food than the ac
clamations of the multitude. He has d^ftroyed one
bas the power of Britain in America. He has hum
bled the pride of the haughtiest nation in the world.
He has given the people of America a confidence in
their courage and resources, which can never be
Ihaken by any future misfortune. He has taught the
Americans that Britons are no longer irresistible in
the field. He has (hewed the folly and danger of
standing armies in the time of peace, by conquering
a body of veterans with the miliria of the country.
He has Ihaken the councils, and baffled the negoci
ations of Great Britain, in all the courts of Europe.
France and Spain must now throw off the mask. The
Cougrefs are not insensible of the important services
a hardy race of men, ^ndwhen kept in a&ion, are
not fubjed to tamp diseases. They are io general
sober and moral; druikeinefs is unknown among,
them. And fi^ce the beginning of the war, there
has been but one instance of a New England-man's
deferring to the Burilh army. He was caught and
condemned to die, but was afterwards pardoned,
upon discovering proofs of his being a lunatic.
The public papers will give you a particular ac
count of two battles, fought on the 19th ofSeptem
ber and the 7th of October, between the army under
the command of General Gates, and the royal army
Under the command of General Burgoyne. Thelaft
was a comp eat victory on the fide of the Americans.
Every circumstance attended it that could flatter the
military knowledge and conduct of General Gates.
General Frazer, who added to the glory of the day
by his fall, was esteemed one of the best officers in
the British army. In this action General Arnold
gained immortal honour - his horle received three
wounds with bayonets in forcing the Britiffi lines ;
notwithstanding this, and the wound he received in
his leg, which fractured the bone, he was the firft
that got withinfide of the enemy's breaft^work
But the gory of this victory was loon loft, in an
event that has cast a ihade upon all the victories that
have been gained by both aimles, since the com
mencement of the war. About a week after this bat
tie, General Burgoyne furrendcred lumfelf and the
remains of his whole army, with al their arms,
camp equipage, &a into the hands of General Gates.
Can any tiring be conceived of, more humilia ing to
the pride and power of Great Britain ? An army of
ten thousand men, confining of veterans who had
Glared in all the glory of he late war in Germany
and America, commanded by officers who had served
under Wolfe and Ferdinand, and who had plucked
laurels from the heights of Abraham and Minden,
and headed by a General, rich in royal favour, and
famous for having, by a single mar oeuvre, turned the
fate of the last war between Spain and Portugal, --
were defeated, fu.ronoded, and at last re 'need to
the necessity of submitting to an army c nfiding at
no time of more than twelve thousand men; one half
of whom were militia, and the rest recruits of only
five months landing. The eddaders received a pe
culiar poignancy from the gasconade with which Ge
neral Burgoyne began his march from. Ticonderoga.
I ferit you his proclamation in a former packer. His
letters to General Ga<es, you will perceive, are
written in the fame pompous style. But he had 0 her
ads of preemption and folly to recoiled upon this
occasion: He had promised, when he took leave of
the House of Commons in the year 1775, to “ tern
“ per his punjfhments of the Americans for rebel
“ lion, wiih humanity," He h.d boasted to his
friends, that he “ would dance the ladies, and coax
66 the gentlemen into fubm ffion" He had declared,
upon entering the port of Boston, during the block
ad: of that town, that he would have " elbow-room,"
and as if he was received to thine hereafter, without
a rival, in the hittory of the reduction of America,
he had with great difficulty obtained his present fe
parate command, by making two voyages to Great-
Britan. Notwithstanding these things, he was re
ceived and treated wi.h great politeness by General
Gates, and the officers of his army; not 2 single in
sult was offered to him or his army, by the common
fokhers. This behaviour is charafteriftic of the na
tural magnanimity of these people, it gave me pain
to hear that when General Burgoyne entered the
town of Albany, a mob cried out, “ elbow room !''
bar they were soon silenced by an officer. It is the
only instance I have heard, since my arrival in this
country, of an all of rudeness, even in the lowest of
the people, to a B itifh prisoner.
of their General. They have voted him their thanks
and a gold medal. But no^cward can equal his we^
rit. Ihe gratitude of posterity alone will be able to
do juffice to him.
I fad like to have omitted one circumflance in the
history of the convention between General Btpgny§ e
and General Gates. Burgoyne expected every hour
to be relieved by General Clinton, with a large body
of troops from New York. They hadtaken Fort
Montgomery, and were within a few days march of
Albany, where all Gates's ftotes and provisions v ere
lodged. Fortunately the convention was signed be
fore the news of Cli ton's march reached General
Burgoyne. Had it not been for this body of troops
in General Gates's rear, he would have given Mr.
Bu goyne le's favourable terms of submission. Clin
ton fled back to New York, as soon as he heard of
,the surrender of Burgoyne.
The royal army, as you will fee by the papers, is
now in the vicinity of Boston. The iegiflarure of
Massachusetts Bay have wifely cut off all unnecessary
intercontfe between them ard the inhabitants; fear
ing left the minds of the ignorant fheuid be poisoned
by them. In several of the American States there
have been inftaoces, where people well affcAed to the
liberties of this country, lave had -heir allegiance
to the States Ihakeh, bv the falfhoods that have been
propagated by Bnrifh p Toners quartered among them.
Adieu, my dear Count, and be assured of the per
fed esteem with which I have the honour to be,
Your ineft ass &ionate friend and
Obedient fervanr.
De LISL E.
P S. Embrace your brother for me. I (hall write
to him in a few days, by a vessel that fails from
Boft n.
BO S T O N, January T.
TH E owners of the privateer Civil Usage,
ofNewberry Port, have made a present
to the Honourable JOHN H ANCOCK,
Esq; of an elegant coach, which was lately ta
ken in one oftheir prizes ; as a token of their
refpe& for that gentleman ; who has so nobly
distinguished himfelf in the present contest with
(Leap Britain, as, The Friend of his Country.
Thurfdey last, the brig Favourite, of 14 guns,
Capt, Lamb, belonging to Connecticut, arriv
ed fafe in port, after 24 days passage from Mar
tinique, with 17 four pound brass cannon, and
a great quantity of round shot suitable for the
fame, about athoufand stand of arms, and 14
tons of powder. By this vessel we have an ac
count, that about a fortnight before she failed,
10,000 troops arrived there from France, 5000
of which were destined for Hispaniola.
NEW-HAV £ N, December -4.
Monday the 15th instant, nipe of the enemy's
Fght-horfemen were taken prisoners by one of
our foraging parties near King's-Bridge.
Sunday, the 14th of Sept, last, there was a fc
vere shock of an earthquake felt in many par's
of England.
N EW-LONDON, December 26.
A valuable prize (hip from Scotland, bound
to (he Weft-Indies, taken by the continental
brig Resistance, Capt. Chew, from this port,
is fafe arrived at Boston ; the sterling cost of her
invoice was about £.7000, chiefly in linen.
PROVIDEN CE, December 27.
The most Honorable the Continental Con
gress have recommended to the several Legisla
tures of the United States, to call in five milli
ons of dollars, by quarterly taxes, within the:
year 1778, in the following proportion, viz.
New-Hampshire, 200,000 Dollars.
Massachusetts-Bay 820,000'
Rhode-lfland and Pro-7
vidence Plantations, J 100,000
Connecticut, 600,000
New-York., 200.000
New-Jersey, 270,000
Pennsylvania, 620,003
Delaware, 60,000
Maryland, 520,000
Virginia, 800,000
North-Carolina, 250,000
South-Carolina, 500,000
Georgia, 60,000
5,000,000
LANCASTER, January 11.
Extras cf a letter from a gentleman in Boflon, dated
December 31, 1777.
“ A large brig from France, leaded with dry
goods to a great amount, arrived fafe at Beverly a