The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1779-10-26 00:00:00, page 2

To Dr. ISAAC FOS TER, Deputy and Purveyor for
the Four New-England States, and for the part of
Blew York State on that fide of Hudson's River, at
leaf up to Yougbkeqfie, &c. in answer to his rep!y to
SpeXator, of August 19, 1779-
ONE cannot but admire the dexterous manner in which
you attempt to get rid of the, Danbury Memorial,
by Filing those charges frivolous which you appear to be
unable To answer, or by calling a slate of fads an ill na
tured attacK upon your character. But what is most en
tertainiug, is the pieafant method you take to display your
consequence, and to recommend yourfelf in a vain glori
ous way by falfe and borrowed lights. You are wonder
fully known, it seems, where you are, and prettily draw
off the attention of the reader from the charges against
you, bv courting the good opinion of the United States
for the early decided part you took at the beginning of
this glorious contest, and for the facrifices you tell us you
have made in the common cause. You are so obliging as
to inform us likewise tnat you were at the head of the Me
dical Department at the commencement of the war, but
were twice crushed, firft to make way for Dr Church, and
then for Dr.Morgan,but you take no notice that you were
ever crushed to make way for Dr. Snippen. Permit me to
examine a little into these pretensions. It may be of use to
the public that I make them acquainted with the charac
ter of an officer, in a place of so important a trust, whole
co iduX is bee ^me the objeX of public disquisition.
At the commencement of the war, Dr. Softer was a
PraXitioner at Charlertown, New-England The phce
where he accidentally lived, being near the feat of action,
was doubtless the precise circumflance from which he can e
to be appointed by the Committee of Safety, amongst o
ther Surgeons, to take charge of the wounded after the
battle of " Lexington. Tins colonial appointment, a,fum
ing a proper dignity, he fliles being at the head of the
Medical Department at the commencement of the war.
Soon after, however, Congress ordered a General Hospi
tal to be eflabldhed for the army o' the United States, and
without payin, the lead regard to his fhmfey pretensions,
or the early decided part he is pleased to call his nomina
tion to m offi e that g ve him bread, when he was at a
toss where, else to seek it, looked cut for a man of reputa
tion and abilities do dired and fupermtend the department.
Dr. Church was appointed, and glad was Dr. Foster to
serve as a Surgeon under him. The place soon became
vacant by Dr, Church's defection and removal from it, and
Dr. Foster being firft named on the lift of Surgeons, the
charge fell to him of course Am 1% ? Till further or
ders" This is all the appointment he ever obtained from
hi's Excellency ; tho' from his pretty knack of teliing it,
one would suppose him really constituted head of the de
partment. But to guard him from any miflake, when on
the last Director General's being removed, General Wafh
inion ordered Dr. Foster to take charge o the Hoipitals
on° the East-side of Hudson's River, where he then hap
pened to be Rationed, "till anew appointment Jb:uld take
place." His Excellency added, " I give y,u these orders
on supposition that you are elueft Surgeon, but if not, you
are to communicate them to t, e perfou who is."
To return No Sooner was Dr. Church displaced, than
a general opinion prevailed, that Dr. Morgan would be
ciiof'en to Succeed him. " His country (not he) was then
“ congratulated on the propriety of the appointment. The
“ cb/wrxhe then made, in leaving his practice, and a fe
'' piration from dear and valuable connexions were then
“ looked upon as no inconsiderable Sacrifices to serve his
“ country, and th r .t cause in which the best Spirits in A
" merits were engaged." To paSs over the grateful re
turns that have been made him for thole options and fa
ertfaes, as well by his country as by D<. Foster, who was
one of the fill to pay his court to him in the moll abjeX
Drains of adulation and submissive petitions by letter. He
then represented himfelf with all humility as a poor ami
diflreffel man, " ba^ng no other ahan, atr' implored
that " the fame generous feßtimeat would influence ' im
' not to accept the appointment, Should he be named to it,
" that induced him ( as Dr. Foster expressed it ; not to
“ contend with Dr. Church." At tee lame time he set
forth his claims to, and petitioned Congress to grant him
th^t appointment ; but e obtained not a single vote even
of toe gentlemen to whom he addressed the memorial, and
avho t,e ^ him so wel/, they declaring they did net look
on him as qualified for the place. Dr. Morgan, however,
being appointed, gave him a warrant to rate as his eldest
Surgeon, waich was the only solid title h^ ever 1 ad to fu
ture promotion, for whicn, in return, he betray d the con
fidence reposed in bun, and, in league with Dr. Shipped,
Junior propagated the most falfe auc incendiary reports,
to injure him in the opinion of his country, and to pre
vent is bringing that perlon to justice. Was it to be ex
p&d from a man of that cast, to fignany certificate that
would .live I irhfelf such a flap in the fact, to vindicatethe
injured noour of his bemefaXor and fupermr; for it seems
he values himfelf on being Sinful r in refufing to do so As
well might it be expeXed from his colleague, who took so
much pains by wicked arts to undermine and supplant the
head of the department, to Share it betwixt them. Yet he
is the very raan on whom Dr. Shippen's censure must have
fallen, had it been juflly founded, that betwixt ,x and
seven hundred men, properly belonging to the Euflern De
partment, foffeced jor want of care, on the Weft fide of
Hudfon't River-, for Dr. Foster was entrufled witn that
Charge, and amply Supplied with every requite for the
purpose. T is the lime man too whom Dr. Shippen wheed
led to betray his trufi, at the price of writing to a member
of Con,refs in his favour, recommending him as the fit
teft peifon in all New-England to nave the charge of the
Bast r 1 De± artment. when ne Should get the Director-Ge
neral displaced and mount into his room. DoXor Foster,
however, is not always backward to Sign certificates, pro
vided it be to screen the guilty, as will shortly appear by
an ample certificate to white- waih his present patron from
the crimes for which he is to be tried, tho' he knows not
what the charges are against him, by teftifying his un
biameabbnefo in all thing, that so it may be large enough
to cover all his fins But this is not to be wondered at in
one that is an accomplice in bis guilt. Nor is it difficult!
to be perceived that Dr Foster having been so busily em
ployed ®f late in propagating the most bare-faced calum
nies at Danbury and Boston, was te prevent Dr. S ippen's
trial from taking place, as the inquiry may perhaps ex
tend to himfelf. But why does he attempt, in faying he
was not so complaisant in signing certificates, to cast oblique
reflexions on tnofe who did the general officers and those
hi the Hospital, as well as other officers in the army, on
CdARI.ESTOWN, (South Carolina) September 22.
(^ fNCE cur last, we,have had 110 direX advices from
U either of the armies einployed upon the Southern ex
pedition. All wecertainly know, is, r I hat Count D'Ef
taing did laid as many troops as he thought neceffry
at Beulah, nearly opposite to the Orphan House, 12 miles,
from Savannah, in the night between the iith and 12th
inf. and without the leaf! opposition; and that a com
muni ation had ben opened between him and General
Lincoln ; that General Lincoln had been joined by Ge
neral Macintofn ; and that the Head Quarters of our ar
my, a week ago, were at Cherokee hill 9 miles from
Savannah : That General Count Pulaski was advanced
with the cavalry, and had not only taken an advanced
Picket o' the enemy, but also furprized one cf their cap
tains nd three privates at Ebenetzer. That Col. Mait
land had abandoned Port Royal Island, with the whole
force he had there, on the i a ;h inst. after breaking off
the trunnions from the cannon, acd having buried upwards
of 200 men, leaving behind also 300 negroes, for want of
means of traafportation : That his embarkation was made
rather haflily, on beard the Vigilante, the Gallies, and
some other small craft, with an intent to push through
Skull-Creek, and join General Prevoft at Savannah : But,
it is doubted, whether he has been able to effeX that
junXion :it is rather believed, that his vessels are block
ed up in Skull-Creek, and his troops confined to Hilton-
which that charaXer, that he has attempted to traduce,
was vindicated in the most honorable manner? Is he not
aware, that he hereby attempts to censure, tho' in an ia
direX manner, the firft characters in the army and the U
nited States, whose reputation and known veracity must
effectually ruin his credit, whenever they come in compe
tition ?
That Dr. Foster was destitute of the advantages of a li
beral education, or not rich, was not a crime. But to af
feCt, in the contracted circle of those who knew him, to have
been a person of figure and fortune, is the efteX of extreme
vanity. When poverty and folly, fays the Moralist, have
at the fame time taken possession of a man, they cannot
fail of making him an objeX of pity if not of contempt ;
buc when an empty and conceited pride happens to be
joined with them, they render the creature in whom they
meet at the fame time despicable and ridiculous : There
fore to affeX looking bigger, and to be pleased with (eem
ing what a man really is not, is filly enough, and may
justly render him ridiculous in the eyes of his equals.
To avoid trespassing too far on the indulgence of the
public, in exposing this fort of parade and oflentation, I
proceed to offer a few remarks on that part of DoXor Fet
ter's reply to the Danbury Memorial, that looks like an
essay to make a defence.
Dr. Foster is accused before Congress, by the SeleXmen
and authority of Danbury, of a conduX unbecoming an
officer and a gentleman, fptcified in sundry particulars.
How does he get rid of the charge ? No otherwise than by
vilifying and treating the authority of Danbury with con
tempt. He alfb fays, when he wasinfcrmed of that Me
morial being lent to Congress, that he wrote to his friends
in it, to intreat that not ing should be done in the matter,
till he appeared to answer for himfelf. He then took an
opportunity of flopping down to Philadelphia alone, with
out giving any notice to his accusers what his intentions
were, or calling on them to produce their evidence against
him, t®ld his story to his friends, left a very weak de
fence in writing, which it is probable was never laid be
fore Congress, returned in state with a pair of horses and
a new phaeton, purchased with part of the 150,000 dollars,
entrufied to him by Congress for other purposes, to add
to former phaetons and pairs of horses, bought with public
money, and supported at a Continental expence, to in
crease his parade and magnificence. He then wonders the
Medical Committee of Congress did not, on his bare ap
pearance, dismiss what he calls an unfopported Memorial,
as if Committees of Congress did public business in that
manner, or as if the good people of Danbury had nothing
to do, but to give their attendance at Philadelphia before
they were called upon. But fill an hearing is granted, sure
ly the names of thirty respectable jreebolders are of some
weight. And what fort of a vindication is it that DoXor
Foster left in writing ? He begs the Committee to examine
persons at Philadelphia, who know nothing of his con
duX relative to the faXs in question, and expels to be
acquitted on their negative evidence. What a comprehen
sive genius for business and wonderful solidity of under
handing are here displayed 1 Yet let me ask, Why does
not the gentleman desire that a Court-martial may be ap
pointed to set at Danbury, for the trial of his conduA,
where he may oppose the single negative evidence of a man
with whom he lives, and who is his confidential agent,to a
hod of positive evidences ? There he may meet his accu
fe?s face so face, and his guilt be evinced, or his innocence
be proved beyond the reach of calumny. Let him dothis.
Then may he boast of his facrifices in the glorious cause,
or then will his iniquity fiare him in the face. For then
his extravagant entertainments at the cost of the United
States; his orders for tae supply of Hospital stores to men
uncenneXed with the Hospital Department; his manner
of obtaining vouchers to conceal the matter, and his af
fummg the powers of a military Governor, and securing
free citizens under arms, on trifling pretences to Ihow his
consequence, fcr which he has been already prosecuted and
conviaed in a due course of law, and his spreading falfe
and incendiary reports to influence or to interfere in the
trial of his principal, probably to shelter himfelf, will then
be Rated. It he can hand the trial, and is acquitted with
lrm r, the SpeXator will rejoice t© proclaim his innocence.
In the mean time his propagating those calumnies for mali
ciou purposes, will be like (quirting dirty water against
the wind, which will be blown back into his own face,
and make him the ridicule cf every pacing fpeXator.
A. to the facrifices Dr. Foster has made, what are they f
Wry he has facrificed duty and conference, honor and
gratitefe, to become a deputy and dependant of his pre
feut principal, and joined in the facriS e of his superior of
fi er, and the service of his country, to gratify his ambi
tion.
Laffly, he is pleased to declare he should efleem the ap
probation of the Danbury Membrialifts next to his great
est curse. Fear it not, good Dr.Fofter, still treat 111 the
line chalked out for you by your principal, and both you
and he may rest secure tnat the approbation of those wor
t^y persons mJ of all other upright men, is a curse you
need never to be afraid of incurring,
A. S P°E C TATO R.
B O S T O N, Oacber it.
Yesterday arrived here, a prize armed brig of 14 can
non and upwards of 70 men, lately commanded by a Lieut,
of Sir George Collier's, captured by the Pickering of Sa
lem ; and also a transport ship with about 300 Hessians,
taken by Capt. Taylor in a private ship of war of this
port.
Should the Count D'Eflaing only succeed in wresting
Georgia out of the hands of the enemy, the advantage to
the States of America wou'd be highly important. Such a
part of the British force, and such large stores as they have
, in that quarter, captured or ruined, must be a great blow
indeed. The possession of Georgia, and the prefpeX of
further conquers from that advantage, it is well known,
greatly supported the hopes of the Britiffi Ministry in pro
traXing the war, and encouraged them to refnfe the pro
posals of Spain. Upon the rcfcue of that State, those
hopes must all fall, and the credit to their funds built up
on it. But this is not the only, nor indeed the chief ad
vantage we may expeX from the Count's arrival on these
ccafts. Should these States properly exert them selves up
on so signal and precious an opportunity, the power of
Britain on these shores may soon be totally annihilated,
and an h ppy and glorious termination be put to the A'
merican war. The profpeX we now haveof such an event
must animate every bosom, and awaken every noble ex
ertion.
PROVIDENC E, October 14..
Early last Monday morning a large fleet appeared off
the harbour of Newport, consisting of 32 fllips, 8 brigs,
5 schooners, and 11 Hoops, 56 in the whole. 'Tis said
3 or 4 of them were armed vessels, and the test empty
tranfperts. They went into the harbour about two o'clock
the fame day.
NORWIC H, October lz .
Yeflerday Capt. King, of this town, in a privateer
brig of twelve guns, arrived at New-London, from a short
cruize ; during which he took a transport fh : p of 300 tons
burthen, bound frora New York to Quebec, having on
board 179 Hessians. Capt. King tsok'out of the ship a-,
bout seventy men, including the officers ; after which she
was overtaken by the Greyhound, and re-captured in fight
of Capt. King.
The New-London post informs, that a final! vessel had
arrived there direX from Barnagat, with certain intelli
gence that a privateer had brought in there one of the e
nemy's transports, with 205 Hessians.—-The transport was
bound to Hallifax, but meeting with bad winds and con
siderable damage in the late weather, was returning to
New- York.
We have the pleasure to inform our readers, that the
patriotic States of Connecticut and New-Hampshire, have
entered in the most spirited manner, into the glorious plan
for the reduXiop of the prices of the necessaries of life,
and giving a stability to our currency, notwithflanding
the affertioms of feme Gentry to the contrary.
Last Friday Evening an express arrived in town, from
our illuflricus Commander in Chief, to the Hon. the Ge
neral Assembly of this State, by which we can further assure
our readers of His Excellency Count D'Eflaing's fafe arri
val off Georgia, and that his approach to the North
ward may be hourly looked for.
Head Island ; the troops he embarked are laid to amount
to between 6 and 700, 200 of themfi k and wounded ;
some fay 600 effectives and about 400 invalids.
In the mean time, the expedition W'efl<ward under Ge
neral Williamson against thar part of the Cherokee na
tion of Indians, th-t remained attached to toe interest of
our enemy, has succeeded beyond our moit sanguine ex
pectations. The General has burnt 7of their towns, des
troyed all their prov : fions, and obtained toe r submission,
without any bloodshed. Alexander Cameron, Esq;
(who succeeds Mr. Stuart, as rhe Britilh King's fuperin
tendant of Indian affairs) with great difficulty escaped
falling into the Generals hands, notwithstanding the
great refpeX the whole nation bear to that gentlemen.
The enemy, before they quitted their post at Ebenetzer,
burnt their magazine there, The fm&l-pox, we are told,
rages most violently among the Creek- Indians at prefect,
so that they will hardly be aide to do any thing for their
Britifli brothers this campaign.
Just as this paper was going to press, letters were received
from the camp of the Charleftown militia dated at Zu
bly's ferry, last Friday. The following is an ExtraX of
one of them :
" We reached here yesterday, are to cross Savannah
river this day at noon, and suppose fnall join General
Lincoln's array to-morrow. The news from the other fide,
is chiefly as follows, and you have it as I, to wit, That
Count d' Eftaing had landed two detachments, one at
Brewton's plantation, with 36 pieces of brass cannon, the
other at Girardeau's point: That the aflive and enter
prizing General Count Fulafki, with the cavalry, had so
thoroughly cleared the way, and broke upall the enemy's
advanced posts, as to afford Major General Lincoln the
opportunity of an interview witn the French General, at
the Orphan house, on the 16th, when and where the plan
of operations was fettled: 'lhat feme of the French men
of war had got into the harbour, and possessed themselves
of all the British shipping below Brewton's, amongst them
the Fowey man of war, which, tho' grounded, had all
been got off and into the fleet: Tnat the fortifications at
Savannah were but trifling, confiding only ^f 9 redoubts
(no lines) and abbatis: That the force to defend these,
consisted of about 1000 regulars, ^nd 1200 militia, refugees
and protection gentry : That Sir James Wright, Gover
nor, &c. was in Savannah: That Col. Maitland had not
been able to etfeX a junction with Genera, Prevoft, and it
was supposed had been repulsed in an-attempt to get thro'
Scull creek, yeflerday morning, when we heard a heavy
cannonade: That the enemy's soldiery, in general were
much diffatisfied; and tho 'it was pretended, that Savan
nah would be defended even the officers gave their opi
nions publicly, that it must. capitulate : And that General
Prevoft had applied to the Count d'Eflaing, fora fafe con
duX and permission to remove his lady, plate and effeXs, to
Florida : to which the gallant French General politely re
plied, " That it was impossible he could have any objec
tion to what concerned the Lady; but the plate, "he had
been informed, was obtained in such a way, from the Al
lies of his King, that he was confident the General could
not mean to disgrace himfelf with keeping possession of
it. "