Dunlap's Pennsylvania packet , The general advertiser — Philadelphia, Pa., 1777-06-24 00:00:00, page 4

PIIlLA1) 1b LP 11 lA: Printed by JOHN DUNLAP, at the Newts Printing-Office in Market-flreet, where
Subferiptions at Fifteen Shillings ft Annum, Advertilcments, &c. are thankfully received for this Paper.
With resp%& to the care of Mr. Lee, now profeffed
to be a principal motive for your refufal to continue
the exchange of prisoners, it is comprehended I must
infill, under ray general and original exception to per
foßS in his circumdancrs. With due refyedt, I am,
Sir, your raoft obedient servant,
W. HOWE.
To General George Wafoingten, &c. &.
SIR, N^v-York, May zr, xftfo
"AT O T .having received an nnfwer to my letter of
1 M the 21st of April, I am to reqweft your final
decision onom the demand, I then made of the prison
ers in you' possession, both officers and faldiers, in ex
ehaug^ for thole I have, returned, and for your deter
rA^ri^n refolding the prisoners now here, that I may
make ray arrangements accordingly.
It is with concern, I receive frequent accounts of the
ill treatment did cxcreled upon Lieut. Col. Campbell,
which I bad reason to flatter rayfelf you would bare
prevented. He has, it is true, been taken oat of a
common duag^oo, where he had been confined with a
degree of rigour that the most attrocious Crimes would
not have ju9ifi:d, bat he is Hill kept in the pilot's
feoufo, exposed to daily intuits from the delude, popa.
lace. This usage being repugnant to every sentiment
of humanity, and highly unworthy of the character yen
profefs, I am compelled to repeat my complaint against
it, and to claim immediate redress to this much injured
ggorcm^n. With due refuted, I am, Sir, your must
obedient^ humble servant, W. HOW E.
General Wfy^ton, &c &c.
SIR, New York, June so 1777.
SO many days having elapled since my letter so you'
of the 22d May was dispatched, without an an
swer, and left, by ary accident, it (h mid not 'have
gotten to your han is, 'I am induced to fend a duplicate,
thereof, and to press my request for yowr fol decision,
up n the demands therein contained. With due re #
refpea, I am, Sir, your most obedi^n servant,
General Washington, %. &6. W. HOW E.
General WASHINGTON to General HOWE#
SIR, MiNle-Br^ok, June ictb;i7„.
X 7" OUR federal letters of the # 2ift of April, 2zd
X of May, and sth inffdnt, have been received..
Having stated my sentiments in an explicit manner,
in my letter of the 9th of April, upon the fubjed of
,o.r demand, and the disagreement between us, I
thought it unnecJLvy to trouble you with a repetition
of them. From the complexion of y.urs of the 21&
of April, we appeared to differ so widely, that I could
entertain no hopes of a compromise being effected, or
that an answer would pod'uce any good end..
But as you have called upon me again for my final
determination upon the matter, I ffiall freely give it,
after making some obfervatioms upon what you have
f f. n to obviate the objections, eg my
r ace with your demand through Lieut.
You admit the principle upon which my objection, t,
account for the whole number of prisoners font out by
y:u, is founded, but deny the application, by delicately
nfinuat^g. in 'he hriikinftance, that the ill treatment
complained of was an “ expedient to cherish popular
delub in," and by averting, io the feeond, that fup
pdi. gtheir fuff^inpsto have been real, they were to be
ascribed to oth r causes than those affigaed by me.
I ihail not undertake to determine on whom the charge
of endeavouring to excite popular delusion falls with
reoft piopriety; but. I cannot forbear intimating, that
however fuccesful ingenious mi'cclourings may be in
fbine i Nances, to pe; pkx the understanding in matters
of fp^u arion, yet it is difficult to perfuad* mankind to
doubt the evidence of their fences, and the reality of
those fads for which they can appeal to them. Unless
this can be done, permit me to assure you, it will always
be believed, whatever may be suggested to the centra
• ” I not he in a raore deplorable fixation
,py Offerers were, who are the fubje&
rl our difference. Did I imagine that you, Sir, had
any serious fcraples on the occasion, I mi^ht produce,
in fup,mt of what I have Hedged, the strongest proofs
that human reftim my can afford.
To prove that the primers did not fuff#r from any
ill treatment or negl a of yours, you fay, <<they were
confined io the m ft airy bedding, and on board the
hrgeft tranfyots in the fl;t;— That they were Applied
with the lame provifi >n3 both in quantity and quality
Rs were allowed to y^ur troops not on service— That
the lick, Inch of th^m as required peculiar care,
w^re received into the British h^pitals, %nd the rest
attended by thei* own Simeons, who were fun,lied
with medicines without rsftrifrions, till it was dfeo
vered that they difpoLd of h r ge quantities by private
file."
Teat airy buildings were cho^n to confine our men
in. is a fact I ihall not dispute. But whether this was
age or not iq the winter season, I leave you
. L > :> lam inclined 10 think it was not—efpeci
a: - r rp was a general comphint, that they were
deli ire F Fwe&th# greater part at the time, and were
only prevented from feeling the inclemency ofthe wea-
ther, in its extremest rigor, by their prdwded fittfation.
This I mutt believe was not very conducive to their
health, and if we may judge by comparison, we must
conclude, they endured similar inconveniences on board
the traofports.
As to the foppli&rof provision, I know not what they
were. My ideas of the matter were drawn from their
united testimony, confirmed by their appearance, which
represented the allowance as infufEcieat in quantity,
bad in quality, and irregularly served. You yourfelf
mention some " accidental circumstances of omission."
I apprehend the, were much more fraqaent than you
were apprized oft It may not be improper to observe
that there is a material difference between persons con
fined and deprived of every means of fubfrftence in aid
cf their allowance; -nd those who are at large, and
h^ve other refoucb, as is the case with your troopsnot
on service, who have the benefit of their pay, and what
they can occafioually gain by their labour. You might
also find, flora inquiry, that we made no diftia&ion in
bur fuppiies between your soldiers, prisoners with as,
arid our own in the field. They were not stinted to a
Icanty pittance, 'but had full as much as the, could use,
and of the best kind.
In relpeß to the attention paid to the sick, I am forty
their acc'onim&htion was injured in any degree by the
mifeondua of the Surgeons. I heartily j^in with you
in reprobatiugthair proceeding, and (hall esteem tea
favour, if you will pwnt out the performs, and fernifi
me with such proofs of their guilt as you may be pH
feffed es:
The morteeffectually to exonerate yeurfelf from the
consequences impued to the neglect or ill treatment of
the prisoners, you a&rt they had every comfort and
assistance from you, that your fitwatien weuld admit ;
and that they wanted nothing but money and clething,
which ought to hava been furnifhed by me,
Had we left you% priGners with us to depend entire
ly upon' the Applies they drew immediate y from you,
their condition won d have been little better than that
cf ours, in yowyhands. Your officers and foldi'ers can
both inform you, that they experienced every mark of
public and private gener^fity that could be fh'ewn them;
frequent instances might be adduced, that on notice of
your men being in want, orders were immediately given
that necessaries Should be procured for them. Every
thing was done on ear part to facilitate any ft?pg you
took fbr the fame e^d. You were permitted to have
an agent am mg us, countenanced by pubijeauthority;
and allowed every latitude he could wdh to enable him
to execute his office. lam lorry to lay the fame con
duct has not been observed towards us, and that there
are instances to Ihow, that far from endeavouring to
remove the difficulties that neceflarily lay in our way to
making such ample fu„lies as we could wilh, obstacles
have beea made, that might very well have been waved.
A late instance of this is to be found in your refufing to
let us have a procuring ag-nt with you, who might pur
chase what was nectflary to (upply the wants of our
men. You must be sensible that for want of a regular
mode being adjusted for mutually conveying supplies,
there was a necessity for an ckercife of generdfity on
both sides. This was done by us, and we fupoofed
would have been done by you, which made us lets
anxious in providing than we should have been, hpd we
fotefeen what has really happened. We ascribed every
deficiency on your part to the indeterminate filiation
of affairs in this tefpeH ; arfd, looking forward to a
more provident arrangement of the matter, we thought
it our duty not to let the prifners with us be destitute
of any thing requisite for their preservation ; and ima
gined that your reasonings and feelings would have beta
the fame. Year faying we were frequently advised of
their d/ftrefs, is of little avail—lt was not done until
it was too late to remedy the ill oonlequences of the
past negka, aad till our prisoners were already reduced
tn a miferabte extremity. I with their faffxiags may
not hrve been enocafed, in the article of cloathing, by
their being deprived of what they had, through the
rapacity of too many of their captors; reports of bhis
kind have not been wanting.
You farther observe, that myowe experience would
fugged, whether our army, in the course of the last
campaign, was not fdbje& to the fame calamitous mor
tality with the prifoaers in your pcftllion. I cannot
but confefs, that there was a great degree of sickness
among us; but I can afire you, that the,morta iiy bore
no kind of refemb'ance to that which was experienced
by the prisoners with you, and that the disorders in the
camp bad nearly ceased before the captivity of a large
proportion of them. The garrison that fell into year
hands, on the 16th of November, was found, I am
convinced, in good health.
In reply to my intimation, that it would have been
happy if she expedient of fending out our men had been
earlier thought of, you are pleased to fay that the event
has proved the caution with which yen ought tn have
adopted the measure. What inference can be drawn
from my refuting to account for prisoners Scarcely alive,
and by no means in an exchangeable condition to war
rant an insinuation that I &ould have done the fame,
had they been released under different circurnftanegs,
let your owa candor determine.
But then y^ v; ;. uthe. ^n' dNT^ §
prifontrs to b TftrcT i-', fe r: s
ed as a perph \ „.
view it as involving any g@t difficulty. There is no
more familiar mode of leafoning than from effects to
causes, even in matters of the most interesting import
ance. In the fubjea before us, the appearance of the
prisoners, and what eventually happened, proved that*
they had been hardly dealt with ; but their joitt asse
verations, aided by the information of others, not im
terafted in the distress more than as they regarded the
rights of humanity, e^ablifhed the fact too firmly for
incredulity itfelf to doubt it.
I Should hardly believe you to be ferieut in your ap
plication of the exception, to which you allude, to the
case of Major General Lee, if you had not perfiftedin
a diferimination refp&Amg him. I did not entertain
the most distant idea, thathe could have been supposed
to come under the description contained in it ; and to
force Inch a conftruaion upon that gentleman's circum
stances, however it may be an evidence of ingenuity,
is but an indifferent specimen of candor. I ftilladherc
to what l have already advanced on this head, and can,
by no means think of departing from it.
I am now to give you my final decifian cm the fubja&
es your demands. In doing this I can little more than
repeat what I have already laid. I am extremely de
sirous of a general exchange on liberal and impartial
principles, and it is with great conaera I find that a
matter so mutually interafting is impeded by unnecessa
ry obstacles. But I cannot confect to its taking place
BB terms so disadvantageous as those you propose, and
which appear to mefo contrary te justice and the spirit
of the agreement.
I think it proper to declare that I wiffi the difference
between us to be adjured on a generous and equitable
plan, and mean not to avail rayfelf *f the releafement
of the prisoners, to extort any thing from you not com
putiblj with the ftriaeß juttice. Let a realonable pro
portion of prisoners, to be accounted for, be fettled,
and General Lee declared exchangeable, when we shall
have an officer of yours of equal rank in our possession;
I af< no mors. These being done, I shall be happy to
proceed to a general exchange. But, in the mean time
lam willing that a partial one should take place for the
prisoners now in your hands as far as those in ours will
extend, except with refped to Lieur. Col. Campbell
and the Heffiao field officers, who will be detained till
you recognize General Lee a prisoner of war, and place
him 01 the footing I claim.
This latter proportion I am induced to make, from
the diftin&ion which your lettei, of the 22d of May,
seems to hold forth, and I think it necessary to add,
that your cot du& towards prisoners will govern mine.
The filiation of Lieut. Col Campbell, as represen
ted to you, is such as I neither wiffied nor approve.
Upon the firft intimation of his complaints, I wrote
upon the fubje&, and hoped there would have been no
faither cause of uneasiness. That gentleman, I am
persuaded, will do me rhe justice to fay, he has recei
ved no ill treatment at my instance. Unnecessary se
verity and every fpeeies ofinfult I despise, and, I trust
none will ever have just reason to censure me in this
refpedt. I have written again on your remonstrance,
and have no doubt such a line of conduct will be adop
ted, as will be confident with the dictates of humanity,
and agreeable to both his and your wishes. I am, Sir,
with due ref,eft, your most obedient servant,
G. WASHINGTON.
His ExcHlq General Si, William H^e.
^&*s>@@s^^@^@@.sssso
Suffix County, Delaware State, Ma,%, 1777.
WHEREAS I the fubferiber palled my
bond to a certain Elisha Edger, i ra November,
'773, for Thirty-Five Pounds, to be psid in December,
1774, which bond I piid to the said Eli&a Edger the
,1 March, i 77+ , and diking him for Qa bond he told me
it was loft; J then rrqu&d a receipt egaiaft Hie bond,
but he has put me off from time to time, since which I
have ußderftood that the said Edger ho offered to fra
oyer my bond to some gentleman wnaeanaiated with the
affair. This is therefore to ferwarn all persona whatfo.
e^r from taking any assignment on the said bond, a, <
will not pay it. | WILLIAM W R A.
FOUR DOLLARS REWARD,
n AN AWAY on the t4tb of May last, from the
fubferiber, living in the Western Diftria, Berks
County, a Negro Man, 24 or £5 years of age, § f<et $
inches high, a thick well let fellow, /peaks Dutch and
English ; had on when he went away, a feort body jacket
without sleeves, and a jacket with sleeves, lined with tow
linen, over it; white fl xen beeches, tow linen &irt
half worn (hoes with brass buckles, and a fmafi half worn
wool hat: He is a great fiddler, and love# drink. Who
ever fecurae said Negro so that hi e matter may have him
a^ain, shall receive the above Reward, and all reasonable
charge# if brought home, paid by
XGEORGE ADAM WEIDNER.
Nezu Providence TovjnJbip, Philadelphia County, May 14.
WHEREAS the fubferiber has given a
bond to Patrick Gordon for Nineteen Pounds,
dated the %?.d of February, 1777. This is to forwarn all
perlons from taking any ^Alignment on said bond, as the
above-mentioned Gordon has not complied with hfe
agreement.X PAUL KUGLAR.