The Pennsylvania evening post — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-05-07 00:00:00, page 3

WATERTOWN, April 29.
1 Saturday last precepts were issued for summoning a new As
sembly to convene at the meeting-house in Watertown, on
Wednesday the 29th of May next.
The following Anecdote is absolutely fad.
A few days before the battle of Lexington, four or five
regular officers passing through this town, and meeting with
one of its honest inhabitants; being a yeoman, asked him.
Whether there were any cannon in town, and where they were?
The honest yeoman replied, .Yes, they were up dirty Green
lane, where John Cookfon lives,, near where uncle Bezaleel
loft hisiron bar. The officers said, " G- -d d n you"
and left him.
NEWPORT, April 29. ,
Last Wednesday a ship, supposed the Scarborough or Cerbe
rus, and a black brig, were handing off and on a little without
the entrance of this harbor great part of the day ; they were
close in with the Light-Houle ; two American brigs and three
sloops, the fame day, were chafed by the above black brig,
but got clear, and went in on the east fide of this island.
Last Thursday night, the Continental ships the Alfred and
Columbus, and the brig arrived in our bay, and
anchored near Hope ; a Nation occupied by British pirates a
considerable part of the winter.
Captain Ebenezer Barker arrived at Bedford lad Thursday,
in twenty-three days from the Weft-Indies. He informs that last
Wednesday, a little to the southward of Montague, he was
chafed by two large ships; but night coming on, he made his
escape ; that the islands were ingreat want of provisions, and
were planting moil of their cane land with potatoes, &c. and
that the transports, which were blown off the coast last winter,
were to fail for Bohon about the time he failed.
NE W-H AVE N, May 1.
Extract of a letter from Brigadier General ARNOLD, dated
Holland-House, March 26 and 28, 1776.
“ You doubtless expert news from me, but I can write you •
very little. I expe&ed before this to have had a reinforcement
of three or four thousand men, but have not received one
thousand. Wehave been some time busy in collecting ma
terials for batteries ; one of four guns on Point Levi, I exped
will be opened in two Ot three days, which will command the
Shipping and great part of the-town, and one on the Heights
of Abraham of eight guns, one howitzer and two mortars,
which I hope will have the desired efted ; in case they fail
we have ladders, &c. for a dorm—The frigate in the harbor
is bending her fails, I am apprehensive with intention to give #
us the flip as soon as the ice will permit ; ,to prevent which we
hhve one gondalo with a twelve pounder mounted, and are
preparing another of the fame ftrengfh, which 1 am in hopes
will command the river. . We labor under almoll as, many
difficulties as the Ifraelkes did of old, ..obliged to make brick
without draw —However, we hope matters will take a more
favorable turn —The season remains very severe here, We
have near five feet snow on the ground, and in most places
iufficiently hard to bear a man and horse, though under the
snow the froft is entirely out of the ground. .We have four
hundred sick arid wounded in the hospitals. Capt. Schiilen
ger, of Long-Inland, and My. Seabhn, of — ,died here a
few days since ; the latter wasuhe firft volunteer who arrived
here after our repulse, with accompany. J am so far recovered
of my wound, that two days since 1 rode fourteen miles on
herfe back, and walkedfive more reconnoitering, which fa- .
tigued me so much 1 have hardly been able to walk since."
March 28, 1776.
" Three days since 1 had advice that a party of fix,y.men
231
NEW-YOR K, May Z.
Extract of a letter from an officer in the Continental army,
dated Trois Rivieres, March 24, 1776.
“ My business at this post is to furnifh horses, carriages,
&c. for the passing army, and fee them supplied with provi
sions, which business takes up almofl.~my whole time. I have
it also in my orders to call in the old commissions given to the
officers of militia, in the> seventeen parishes in the diftrid of'
Three Rivers, by the late Governor Carleton, and to have new
officers elected. Some of them seem shy of receiving the post,
being afraid either that the ministerial troops will drive us out
of theprovince, or that we, after carrying our point with Great-
Britain, will leave them to fall a facrifice ; but in general,.they
seem to be fond of holding commissions under the Congress ;in
some parities there have been three or four candidates for the
Captaincy, and I receive information, that bribery and cor
ruption is already beginning to creep into their elections ; at
some the disputes run so high, that lam obliged to interfere ;
at one I was under the neceflity of going twenty-seven miles
to superintend the pole, and was obliged to give them a new
election, with which they were fatisfied. 1 have sent 'up
about thirty names to the General, in order to get commit
lions under the Right Honorable th. Continental Congrefs,-
which have been new elected, and exped soon to fend mole.
I have been extremely sorry that our forces do not come for
ward fafter ; of late some have come up, but upon the whole,
l must fay I think this department has been neglected. I
have troubled you with an account of all the freth forces
which have past this post, exclusive of those who were- at
Montreal, who have been nearer the feene of-aaion. Officers
are included in the account.
Jan. 31. Captain Seaban, from the Bay Government, the
firk hero that came to our assistance, twenty-five; Captain
Smith, with nineteen. Feb. 9. Lieut. Munson and Pettibone,
with part of two companies, twenty-five. 21. Lieut. Wal
ker, seventeen; Capt. Wetherby, thirty-three, . 22. Lieut.
Meacham, twelve. 24. Capt. Hinman, twenty-three; Capt.
Pierce, twenty-five ; Uziah Wright, a gentleman volunteer,
eight. 26. Lieut. Sunderland,.-thirty-two ; .Serjeant- Clark,
twenty. March 1. Lieut! Loomis, fifty-eight ; -Lieut, Tal
bot,' with -the firft Pennsylvania company,> sixty ; Lieut.
Deane, fromthe Bay Government, -forty. 4. Serjeant St.
John; fifteen ; Serjeant Gideon Brenfon,Teven. 5. Capt.
Gooderidge, -thirty-five ; Lieut. -Trilby, thirty-one; Lieut.
Walbridge,^ forty-trine. 6.< Capt. Gideon Doud, forty-eight;
Capt. Wright, sixty-three. 10. Lieut,.Hughes, from Fhtla-^
delphia, sixty ; Lieut. Grant, from New-England, thirty ;
Major Safford, of Colonel Warner's regiment, sixty; Capt.
Grofveuor, forty-two. 12. Capt. Jenkins, from PhiHueL
from Quebec were landed at St. Piere's, ten leagues down the
river, and that they had seized a convoy of provisions com
ing to the camp with two Commissaries. I immediately sent
Major Dubouys with eighty men, in pursuit of them, who
came up with a party of fifty odd, attacked and killed two,
wounded two others, took thirty-eight prisoners, most of them
French, who are just arrived here. Major Dubouys wrote
that he had intelligence of two hundred and fifty men being:
in arms below. Col. Nicholson has joined him with seventy
men, and are gone in pursuit of the enemy, and will, I
make no doubt, give a good account of them. The inha
bitants are generally in our favor, and many of them have
taken up arms for us, or rather for themselves."
A few days since died suddenly, in Fairfield Mrs.
HANCOCK, relict of the late Hon. Thomas Hancock, of
Bollon.