The Pennsylvania evening post — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-04-02 00:00:00, page 2

the relief of the vessel, when Captain Forrester seized the op
portunity, and leaping into the canoe, cut the. painter with a
jack-leg knife, on which she swung off with the tide ; then
turning to thd seaman, swore he would cut his throat if he of
fered to obftrud him in his escape. This menace quieted the
fellow till Captain Forrester had paddled about an hundred
yards, when finding his escape practicable, he pulled with all
his might, and both got fafely ashore, amidst a cloud of cur
fes and imprecations from the midshipman and sailors. The
Captain and his comrade, whom he has taken, have gone to
Accomack, to look after the vessel, and to dispose of the cargo
to the best advantage.
Captain Forrester informs, that the Kingfisher is gone round
to Boston, to bring a number of Ships of war up Delaware
river, to prevent the Philadelphians from making any farther
preparations for the defence of their city ; it being determined
upon, it seems, that the grand attack Shall be made upon
Philadelphia, as soon as the fleet and troops arrive from Eng
land, but ^e hope will prove equally abortive with the rest of
the cursed ministerial Schemes to enslave America.
.Mr. Watkins, of Halifax county, desires that the publick
may be informed that he went on board Lord Dunmore's Ship
totranfa& some of his own private business, when his Lord-
Ship made use of every artifice to prevail on him to raise a
party in his favour, or at lea# to endeavour to prevent any
people from his part of the country from coming down as sol
diers. He promised him any commission or office in his
county, and assured him that he would have the courthouse
moved to his own plantation. After ufmg every wheedling
art, his Lordship attempted to disgust him with a scandalous
and falfe representation of the conduct of our officers and
foldiets; and then attempted to move his fears, for he told
him, upon being asked who the commissioners were, that they
were fifteen thousand Ruffians, the Cherokees, Shawanefe,
Delawares, Wyondots, Mingoes, and our Negroes..
Mr. Watkins has deposed to this cffed, and desired that
the substance of his deposition might be published.. To dis
gust our soldiers, he told him that four of them, obliged a
father to Hand and fee his daughter ravished. And, to ena
ble him to do his business more effe&ually, he furnifhed him
with Several of the papers publ died on board his Ship, con
taining ministerial news and Tory eflays, calculated to inti
midate or deceive. His Lordship has made an excellent use
of Mr. Holt's press, which he moved by violence out of Nor
folk on board his Ship, publishing a weekly paper in two
half Sheets, which he calls the Virginia Gazette, and fends to
such tools as he would choose to work with ; and this is done
at the expense of the crown!
Lord Dunmore's behavior to Mr. Watkins foows how
neaeffary it is to put a stop to all communication with him ;
and from the quick intelligence his Lordship has of every, tranf
aftion in this city, it becomes highly so to endeavour to dis
cover who are the Spies amongst us. It'may not be amiss to
warn such persons of their danger, and to remind them how
severe apunifhment must be inflicted on them by the law of
nature and nations. They will not be held up to contempt,
which is the punishment that was adapted to offences before
the war broke out; but death, inflicted by the sentence of a
court-martial, or by the just indignation of an enraged, peo
ple, is the punishment due to their crimes.
NEWPOR T, March 25.'
The miniflerial fleet on this flation, about a fortnight past,
took a double decked brig in Narraganfet-Bay, belonging to
this place ; they took off her upper deck, and fitted her with
eight or ten guns, and last Wednesday and Thursday the
whole fleet,, confining of the ships Rose, Glasgow and Swan,
155
NE W- YO RK, April 1.
Thursday about one thousand rifle men arrived here from
Boftoh; and Saturday last Brigadier-General Heath, with
Stark's, Webb's, Bond's, Patterson's and Groton's regiments,
arrived here from the fame place,, by way of New-London.
Part of Col. Dayton's battalion from Elizabeth-Town, and
several companies from Connecticut came to town last week,
also ; so that we now have here about eight thousand men.
Tuesday last arrived here from Philadelphia, Brigadier-
General Baron De Woedtke, the Hon. Benjamin Franklin,
and several other gentlemen.
By intelligence from Cambridge of the 24th of March,
the whole fleet was lying in Nantafket road.
Copy or a letter from a person of difiinction at Cambridge,
to a gentleman.in this city, dated March 2.1.
I ihall now, my dear Sir, acquaint you with some far
ther particulars than what 1 have before transmitted. The
storm that was sent on Tuesday the fifih instant at night, pre
vented in all probability a deal of bloodshed, and the destruc
tion of Boston. General Howe had|formed a desperate plan ;
Lord Percy was to have attacked on the Wednesday mojning
our fort on Dorchester-hill with about two thousand men. &
feint was to have been made towards Leitchmare's-point, and.
H ° we wa£ to have rul hed on our lines at Roxbury
with bayonets fixed without firing a gun. Had he been re.
?if •"' °°' provincials followed him, a large number of
f^'° c ° s we , re to have been fired upon them, and then
tyiked up. The miniderialifts were to have embarked as
soon as possible, while a bomb ketch that was to be in readi
ness, was to fire carcasses upon the town, with a view of fa
ting it in flames, and thereby I suppose, covering the embar
kation, and diverting our people from the purfirit. Many of
them acknowledged after the storm, that the heavens were
against them. After the disappointment,. Howe was for
S e ™°g °" as ' a " as possible; he would have been on board
on x riday, but the wind chopt about.. The British troops are
completely disgraced. They wentoff in an amazing hurry,
and evidently under a panic., They have left behind'them 'a
lar ge quantity of coals,, near two hundred cord of wood, a
considerable number of pack fiddles, which the subtle Gage
got made before the battle of Lexington, that his troeps might
convey by means of them upon, a single horse, all they might
want to carry with them through the woods where carriages
could not go, and which may be of great service to the Pro
vincials in some of the colonies. . What with these articles,.
w ne a, porter, oats, &c. they have left to the amount of some
thousands sterling, I imagine. All the inhabitants I have con-
V ^''°° with, inform me that they have been mod cruelly treat
ed, but by none more than by the Refugees .and Tories- On
Friday the cryer was sent about to order all the inhabitants
n °'f° " r ° u ' °' their houses till evening ; while they.were thus
confined, the soldiers, sailors and refugees, took the opportunity
of breaking into houses and stores and plundering. As they could
two brigs of eight or ten guns each, three aimed tenders,
and a large transport snow, failed on a cruise, and next da,
in the afternoon returned again, with two prize Hoops, both
from Connecticut, one bound to the Weft-Indies, and the
other to the Eastward, loaded with provisions.
NEW-LONDON, March 22.
A vessel has arrived here from South Carolina, by whom
we iearn, that three or four British ships are at Georgia, who^
had landed three or four hundred men, who joined the Tories,,
and had drove the Sons of Liberty out of town (Savannah)
but that some thousand, of men had marched, from. Charl ef
town, to their affillance.