The Connecticut courant and Hartford weekly intelligencer — Hartford, Conn., 1777-10-07 00:00:00, page 2

PHILADELPHIA, Sep ember 2%
COPY of a leher from G^rrJ Burgoyne, to
Major-General G A EES.
SIR, September 6, 177%
I Received your letter of the second mftaoL
and in confluence of your chmpluncd
with my proposal, of fending a surgeon to
visit the wounded officers in your hands, and
some ferv^nts to carry money, and necefiaries
to their masters, and remain with them, I
have now to desire the favour of you to d;f
patch the officer you design, with a drum
and a flag of truce, so that he may arrive at
Stillwater about noon, on the ninth, and he
fha.ll be met there by the persons he is to
conduct, accompanied al(b by a drum and
flag of truce. I tiurt, Sir, that it is under
-11: rod between us that the surgeon shad have
fafe cordud to my outposts, when his v fit
shall be made, and he (hall request it; and
that you may be assured on my part, that
your officer shall meet with fecarity and ci
vility.
I have hesitated, ST, upon answering the
other paragraphs of your letter. I dfdain
tojuft fy rnyfelf against the rhapsodies of fic
tion and calumny, which from the fi ll of
this contest, it has been an unvaried Ame
rican policy to propagate, but which no lon
ger imp fe upon the world. I am induced
to deviate from ths general rule, in the p?e
fentindance, left my silence Ihoukl be con
strued an acknowledgment of the truth of
yeur allegations, and a presence be thence
taken for exercising future barbarities by the
American troops.
By this motive, and upon t^is only, I
condefeend to inform you, that 1 would not
be coofcrous of the ads you presume toim
pute to me for the whole continent of Ame
rica, though the wealth of worlds were in its
bowels, and a paradise upon its furface.
It has happened that ad my tranfadions
with the Indian nations, last year and this,
have been open, clearly heard, diftindly
understood, accurately minuted, by very nu
merous, and, in many parts, very unpre
judiced audiences. So immed a ely oppofie
to truth is your aflertion, that I have paid
a price for scalps, that one of the fi ft regu
lations, eftablilhed by me at the great coun
cil in May, and repeated, and enforced, and
invariably adhered to since, was, that the
Indians should receive compensation for pri
soners, because it would prevent cruelty, and
that not only such compensation should be
withheld, but a ftrft account demanded for
Icalps. These pledges of conquest, for such
you will know they will ever esteem them,
were fulemnly and peremptorily prohibited
to be taken from the wounded, and even
the dying, and the persons of aged men,
women children, and prisoners, were pro
nounced sacred, even in assaults.
In regard to Miss M'Crea, her fall want
ed not the tragic display you have laboured
to give it, to make it as sincerely abhorred
and lamented by me as it can be by the ten
derest of her friends. The fid was no pre
meditated barbarity. On the contarary, two
chiefs, who had brought her offforthe pur
pefe of security, not of violence, to her per
fbn, difputcd which fhuid be her guard ; and
in a fit of savage paflion in one from whole
hands the was Hatched, the unhappy woman
became the vidim.^ Upon the firft intelli
gence of this event, 1 obliged the Indians
to deliver the murderer into my hands; and
though to have punilhed him by cur laws or
principles ofjuftice, wo&ld have been per
haps unprecedented, he certainly should
have fuffeted an ignominious death, had I
not been convinced my circumflaxes and
obfervatiori,beyond the poffibdity bfado&bt,
that a pardon under tne terms whic^ I pre
fer bed, and they accepted, would be more
efficacious than an execution to prevent si
milar m&hiefs.
The above instance excepted, ycur intel-
fy^^ : / Ac ^elfet & thelndians is
You item to threaten me w'th European
puofcations, which effectme as little as any
other tin cats you ecuid make; but in regard
to Amer can publications,' whether ycur
'^^ge againtt me, whch I acquit you of.
bel eying, wa\ pened f'em a Grzere, or for
a Gazette, I defi c, ard demandtf you as a
man ol 'honour, that should it appear in print
at ad, this ardwer may fodov it. J am, Sir,
jour moil humble ferine.
J. BURGOYNE, L. G.
Major General Ga es.
Extracts from a letter of General Gats, to
the Prefidentof Congels, dated campof
the Northern army, S illwaier, 30 h Sept.
Sir.---Inclukd I h^ve the honor to pielent
your Excellency, with Leut. Gen. Bur
goyne's answer to the letter, I iranfmned to
Congrefe by the last exp efs. Ah the reply
I thought necessary to make to so exirava
gant a performance, is abb in the packet.
Having pfepaied every thing in conceit with
Gen. Lincoln, for the match of the army,
I left Van Soheak's island on Mxday, and
arrived here yesterday forenoon. The ene
my gave us no manner of interruption.
Head Quarters of the army of the United
States, September 8. 1777.
S*r---Y ur Excelien y may be Satisfied
that I will fend an officer to S illwater to
morrow, at the time you mention, to receive
the surgeon, servants, and such comforts as
your Excellency shall think proper co fend
to the prisoners in my hands. I am, fir,
your most obedient humble fervaur.
HORATIO GATES, M. G.
Lieut. Gen. Burgoyne.
Published by order of Congress,
CHARLES THOMSON, fecky.
KINGSTON, Septemer. 29.
By a gentleman from Albany we have ad
vices from our northern army,as late asThurf
day or Friday last --by w.h;ch we learn, that
both cur army and the enemy, remain on the
fame ground they have occup ed for some
time. That the body of troops under com
mand of General Lincoln, had joined Gen.
Gates, whose army now consists cfbetween
twelve and fourteen thoufaad men, well
supplied with every thing and in high spirits.
That a detachment from our army, having
appeared before and alarmed Fort George,
the commandant there, (not knowing that
the beats or any of the polls on Lake George
were in our peffeffion) immediately, as was
expeded, feet off all the boats, with ftors
and soldiers from the fort to the north-end
of the Lake, where all the men and every
article fell into the hands of Col. Bown,
who now has entire poffHli n of Lake
George with every vessel on it, and all rhe
cannon and stores left on the five Mrie Island
by Gen. Burgoyne That last week Col.
Brown feot off to Bennington upwards of
400 prisoners, all of whom were Bnufh
loldiers—That Col Brown has not yet at
tempted either Ticonderoga nor Indepen
dence That neither General Burgoyne nor
Colonel Skeen, were wounded as we heard.
But that i here was a notorious d Agreement
between them. That by an intercepted let
ter from Gen. Burgoyne, it appears that in
the action of the 19 h, he had 300 men
kiled, and 740 wounded, all British.
That his remaining where he is appears to
be necefficy, not choice, as his whole army
is thought, to confix cf little more thans
5000, that his retreat by the Lake is en
tirely cut off, and no other way paR cable
with cannon or baggage, and it is thought
he will this week be attacked by General
Gates.
FIS H-K I L L, October 2.
ExlraA of a letter from Albany, September
^b, 1777,
“ The enemy have remained very quiet
since the late action, which may be taken as
engagement. Thorn the information ct de
serters, prisoners, dec. it appears that they
loft that flay 744 men of their choicest
troops. 1 herdlemen and Indians daily take
some prisoners ; the day before ydterday
they brought in fifteen.
It is a pleasure to fee with what alacrity
and Ipirit the militia turn out ; the roads ar<
lined every day."
8031 O N, September 29.
Extract of a letter from a Cufom-Houje Office;
^ B/xham in England, to bis Son In New
York, taken in a Prize lately arrived, date (
J^e 15, i 7„.
, I was glad to hear of your health am
sale arrival at New York, and am very glac
to hear that the English army have inadt
such great conquers in the Fart River, bui
should be better fatisfied if a speedy icconci
hation between England and America, took
place, and put an end to the rebellion, that
ti ade may ilourifh here as it did before it be
gun. I wish it may not make a Rebeihor
in England before there is an e. d put tq it
I here is a great many American privateers
in the English channel, and on th^ coart ot
Ireland ; they take a great many of our Coas
ters and Merchant veflels that go up and
down the C oart, & lend them all to France.
I suppose it will at last end in a French war.
and believe it will be loon. Th' press keeps
on as when you went away, although the
grand fleet of observation at Spithead are
j u lly mann'd ; I suppose it is to man other
ships that are daily putting in commission.
^very thing in trade goes on very dull in
England ; never was lech times as is now ;
the very fifhermen here at Brixham are starv
ing lor want of employment; however, smug
gling keeps on here pretty well yet ; but if
there comes a French war, I suppose there
will be an end to that too. Thank God, I
have made a tolerable good hand of it since
you went away, I made a middling good sei
zure Yesterday in Tingmouth Bay, of a
Sloop and Cargo."
Extras of a Letter from Nantz August 9th,
" The face of the English papers seem tc
appear favourable to America. 'The people
in England are very uneasy, and seem to
doubt of Howe's being able to subdue the
REBELS this campaign. The capture crt
the Fox Frigate by the captains Mantey and
Me Neil, seems to have vexed the Ministry,
and made more noise than any one thing that
has yet been committed on the seas. By the
last accounts received in England from ad
miral Montague, he was blocked up by 30
or 40 frigates and privateers, and it was
thought the admiral would be obliged to for
render himfelf prisoner to the Americans.
Last week arrived at a fafe port, the fol
lowing prizes, viz. Snow, laden with 400
puncheons rum, taken by Capt. Staple,
brig, laden with file, taken by Capt. —
two brigs, laden with rum, fogar, cotton,
and provisions, taken by Capt.Mc Gay.---
ship, 1 den with lugar, cotton, and coffie,
mounting iqguns, taken by the sloop Satif
fabtion,
PORTSMOUTH, Sept, 27.
We learn that Briga. General STARK, is
arrived from the northern army in a poor
Bate of health ; the brave General endea
voured by every means in his power to per
luade his brigade to tarry three weeks longer,
that he and they might have the pleasure of
convincing Mr. Burgoyne that all the gen
eral officers were not poltroons. J hat on
Friday last a party from the enemy after go
ing round a lake in the westerly part of Sa
ratoga, fell in the rear of gen. Gates's army,
who not only beat them off with great lots,
but actually took 250 men prifonre;, with
three brass field pieces The lofson cur fide
we do not learn. These f^ts may be depen
ded upon