The Pennsylvania gazette — Philadelphia, Pa., 1776-07-10 00:00:00, page 2

T WILLIAAMSBURG, June2d.
By a gentleman from Bermuda, who left that.ifland the
tsth inftdnt, we learn that advices had been received from
Moartinico jult before he failed, that great preparations
were makingthere for some ihfposf'ant expedition, which *
1o one doubted was against the Britith Weft-Indies ; and
the gentleman fays, he shall not be at all surprised to hear
that the chief part of the, islands are in the poffeflion of
Franee in a very few weeks. Ttat the men of property
in the ilaads have been for foq‘ﬁitmc {hjpping off their
¢aluable effes to England, and ordering insurances to b¢
made on their éftates ; and that the price of provisions bas
risen to an emormous height, corn felling at eighteen fhil=
{_i{x_ig_s per bushel, pork at four half joes the barrel, butter
{Lm‘c' mm*ﬁ%mmvmmmr
afked.’ § % » t X
Extrall of ‘a Jater fram 'Col. Headricks, o Brigadiers
‘General Lewis, dated Hampton, Fune 26, 1776.
.t 1 fend you four men under guard, who were taken
' on Monday on board a brig from Barbados, bound for
Dunmore. Early on Monday momir;}g, we had -
formation that a brig ‘was aground off Willoughby’s
point, - Major Leitch immediately made all possible haste,
with twelve men, on board a finall pilot boat which was
Wn the bafon, lvaded With tobacco 'gor the Weﬁ’-‘!gidi;;\,
in order ta examine what she was. On coming on board,
be ﬁmndm Eusqﬁom A'Barbhasus,' bound ntér Norfolk,
with the supercargo on board; loaded with 31r pun
‘cheous of rum; ang a few barrels of limes. On examina
tiony, the, Major found fheshad got aground about 12
o’clock the preceding nighty that she was iver&faﬁ, and
consequently that he had né other way to proceed than
to leave his people on board; and come to Hampton for
assistance to tighten her. A sloop bournd up James river
was pitched on for this purpose, being the only veflel
in our harbour. Unluckily, however, both wind and,
tide seemed so confpiré against the measure, by putting
it out of our power to get her down hefore a tender of
ten carriage guns appeared in fight of the brig; on which
" Lieut. Herbert (of Capt. Lilly’s armed veflel) thought
prudent to fend the pilot boat off, in order to know
whether the vessel in fight was an enemy or friend;
which was soon discovered tg be the former. In the mean
time Mr. Herbert threw overboard five hogsheads of ruma,
and luckily got the people off, in a boat from the
other shore (eéxcept one, who happened to be down in
the holc}f) thL pilot boat refufing to come on board to take
them off. "Fhey got all fafe athore; although the tender
kept up a constant fire iipon them; two of the brig’s
crew being on board the pilot boat, and other two before
‘brotight on shore by Major Leitch. The brig belongs to
a Mr. Walth of Birbados, and the whole of the people
‘on ‘board seemed much chagrined at the appearance of
our boat, and no doubt as much clated on our being
obliged to guit her.—A convincing proof of the friend-
Jhip the Welt-Indians have for us.” i
Talt Monday a ship of war, with a transport or two;
arrived at Gwyn’s fland, where'it is thought they have
landed between 2 and joo troops, from the number of
tents which have been erected.
ANNAPOLIS, Fuy a )
The Convention of this colony have resolved; that d
new Convention be eleéted for the express purpose of
forming a new government, by the authority of the pe{qplz
only, and enacting and ordering 1l things for the preser
vation, fafety and general weal of this colony ; and bave
direéted four Representatives to be chosen for the upper,
middie and lower diftriét of Frederick county, two for
the city of Annapolis, two for Baltimore-Town, and four
for each of the other counties of this colony ; and have
appointed Thursday the firft da&f August next for the
eigdtions in theé conntied, and Mounday the ﬁ%h‘day of
August for the eledtions in Baltimore-Town and the city
of Annapolis.—All freemen (except those published as
enemies) above 21 years of age, ‘being freeholders of not
less than 5o acres of sand, or having visible property in
the colony to the value of gol. sterling at the least, and
no oihers, are to be admitted to vote for members for the
counties and Baltimore-Town: All freemen above 21
years of age, owning a whole lot of land in the city of
Annapolis, or having a visible estate of 201. sterling at the
least, within this province, or havi%g served five years to
any trade within the city and being a housekeeper, and
na others, ‘are to be admitted to vote for members for the
city of Annapolis: Provided such person shall have resid
ed ‘in the county, diftri@®, city or town, where he shall
offer to vote, one whole year next preceding the election.
The ¢le@ionsare to be made viva voce,and held for all the
counties (except Frederick, Charles and Czcil) at places
of holding the county courts: The eleétions for the di
firicts of Frederick county are to be held at the places
appointed by the Convention in July last: The ele&ion
for Charles cout&y at the house of Bennet Hanson Cle
~ments : ‘The election for Ceecil county at the Head of Elk
river.—Any person qualified to vote (except the regular
* officers and soldiers) may be eleéted, if above a 1 years of
age, and shall have resided in the colony one whole year
preceding the ¢iection.—No person is to come armed to
the. eledtion, nor any muster to be made on the day of
eledtion, nor can any battalion or company of militia, or
any ten men thereof, give in their votes immediately suc
ceeding each other, if any other voter, who ofters to
vote, objects thereto. Judges of the election are appoint
ed for each county,, the city of Annapolis and Baltimore-
Town : The land on the south and weft sides of the lines
lately rua between this colony and Pennsylvania are de
clared to be taken and accepted as within the jurisdiction
of Maryland, and as part of the counties thereof adjoin
ing thereto, and the inhabitants are equally to share in
all the burthens, privileges, and benclits with others
the pecple of this colony. -
The iatended Convention is to meet at the city of
Annapolis, on Monday, the rz2th day of August next,
and is not to continue beyond the firft day ofug)ccembcr
noxt.: 8
In CONVENTION, Funeas, 1776.
Refolwed unanimously, ‘That this province will furnifh
3405 of its militia to form a flying camp, and to act with
the militia of Pennsylvania and the Delaware govern
ment, i the middle departmeunt, that is to fay, from this
provinece to New-York inclusive, according to the re
quest of the Congress in their resolution of the 3d day of
this intant June. a
« . That for that purpose four battalions be instantly raised,
each of them to consist of nine companies, and ecach
company to consist of ninety men, to wit, one Captain,
two Lieutenants, one Ensign, four Serjeants, four Cor
porals, one Drummer, oue Fifer, and fcventx-ﬁx Pri
.'vates ; each of the fiid battalions to be commanded by
one Coloriel, one Lieutenant-Colonel, and one Major,
and that to each battalicn there be allowed a Quarter-
Master, an Adjutant, a Surgeow, and two Assistants ; and
that over and above the said battaiioas, there be allo in
stantly raised oae other company, to confit of one Cap
tain, three Lieutenants, four Scricants, four Cerporals,
ote Drummer, one Fifer, and ninety-fix Privates; and
that the whole of .the said militia so to be raised, be com -
manded by a Brigadier-General, who shall have the 4} =
puintmc&it of a Brigade-Major. -
| PROVIDENCE, gunezg.'
Captain Dauniel Bucklin; in the Montgomery privateer,
from this place, has re-taken, and sent into Dartmouth,
the brig Betsey, formerly of this port ; she had been taken
by the Argo frigate, and condemned-at Antigua, from
which place she was bound to Ireland, with 135 punche
ons and 18 tierces of rum. J
Yesterday Captain Samuel Chace arrived here from the
Weit-Indies, having on board 1o pieces of cannon, a
Euantity of fail duck, some powder, falt-petre, brim
one, Kc. o
N E W-YO R K, Julys.
‘The flest from Halifax, we informed. our readers in
our last, was arrived at Sandy-Hook, te the amount ofl
113 fail: *Tis difficult, from their situation, to ascertain
their number, but we suppose it does not exceed 130 fail;
Monday it came u& into Yakes’s-Bay below the Narrows;
Tuesday several ships came to at the Watering-Place;
Wednesday more followed ; and by Thursday noon the
whole fleet was at anchor in a line from Kill Van Kull to
Simonfon’s Ferry on the east fide of Staten-Island. " The
Asia brought up the rear of the fleet, and in the Narrows
was fired at from a small battery on Long-Island, which
compliment was returned by about 4o twenty-four
pounders, one of which lodged in the wall of the honfe
of Mr: Bennet, Buit did no hurt to the family; and three
shot had near done much mifchief to the house and fa
mily of Mr. Dennife Denvife, one of them narrowly
mifling the kitchen, wherein was a number of the family;
a second struck the barn, and the third destroyed much
of the fence of the garden opposite the front door of the
mansion-house. ol :
Pa¥t of the army is mow encamped on Staten-Island,
and we have not the least reason to doubt will endeavour
to secure the fiorth fide thereof by entrenchments, whilst
the shipping prote¢ts the other parts of it.
~ As soon as the troops landed, they paraded the North
Shore, and on Wednesday morning made their appear
ance near Elizabeth-Town Point; but the country being
Joon alarmed, they retreated, took up the floor of the
draw-bridge in the Salt Meadows, and immediately
threw np some works. ey kR : i
Their near approach to Elizabeth-Town Point -great
ly alarmed the inhabitants of Essex county, and particu
larly the people of Elizabeth-Town and Newark, but
they are now in a condition to receive them whenever
they may think proper to approach.
Two young men from Elizabeth-Town crossed the
river in a canoe last Thursday, and fired upon the re
gulars; but 2 number of them rushing out of the woods,
they were obliged to retreat and cross the river again.
A sloop of 12 fix pounders, belonging to the fleet from
Halifax, laying in the Kills, near Mr. Decker’s ferry,
was almost torn to pieces last Wednesday morning, by a
party under the command of General Herd, from the
opposite shore, with two 18 pounders. The crew soon
abandoned the sloop, and we suppose she is rendered en
tirely unfit for any further service.
. We hear two men of war now lay near Ambgy, in or
der it is supposed to stop all navigation that way.
One of our cruizers lately took on the south fide of
Long-Island, a large Bermudian built sloop, laden with
entrenching tools, &c. from Halifax, bound for this place:
There were ot board a number of Boston refugees,
among whom was Robert Auehmfiuty, Esq; late Judge of
‘the Admiralty at Boston, and bipther to the Rev. Dr.
The "House of Reprefcntaﬁg the Massachusetts-
Auchmuty of this city. i . N :
Bay have laid an embargo upon all forts of provision
from that colony, until the firft day of November next,
unless the fame be laden on board any ship or veflel with
intent to supply the fleets and armies of the United Colo
nies, or the inhabitants of some other part or parts of
that Colony. '
Major Lamb, Captain Oswald (late Aid-de-Camp to
General Arnold) and Captain Burr, we hear are on board
the fleet in our port. These intrepid men were taken pri
soners at Quebec, when that molt worthy asserter of our
noble rights and privileges (Gen. MONTGOMERY)
fell a vi¢tim to ministerial vengeance. "
The number of Highlanders lately taken prifomers in
the different.veflels from Scotland amounts to about 750.
Since our last arrived the firft divivifion of Conneéticut
forces, commanded by the Hon. Brigadier Generals Wa
terbury and Wadsworth.
His Excellency Molyneaux Shuldham, Esq; now in our
harbour, is appointed Admiral of the blue; and the Ma
jor Generals Carlcton and Howe, to be Generals in
America only. »
Yefteday {even seamen belonging to the Killingfworth
transport, of 700 tops, was brought to town from Long-
Island, having deserted the ship the night before: They
fay the number of soldiers with the flect is about 8500,
who are all encamped’; and that many of the seamen in
tended to desert the fleet when an epportunity presented.
Last Wednesday night the Captain of a transport, with
four of his men, were taken at the narrows, and brought
to town: They were looking for a bogt that had gone
adrift, and going too near the {fhore were taken by the
riflemen.
PHILADEZEPHTA, July 1o
Extraét of a letter from St. Eufiatia, dated Fune 13, 1776.
¢« In a Bristol paperof May 4th, it is said the forcign
troops were ordered to fail with the fieet, and that Lord
"Howe took leave of, and set out from ceurt on the second
of May, to take the command. It is fill uncertain
about the Commissioners, but on the z3th of April it
was said commissions were making out to appoint five.
Lord and Gen. Howe, and Mr. Cornwallis, were three
of them, the other two uncertain; but some said they
were to be Governor Pownall and one Mr. Mills; they
are to receive your submissions, and grant pardons, but
rot till you have laid dowa your arms. About five
bundred veflels are to carry the sword and olive branch,
with. a great number of flat-bottomed boats, nine thou
sand waggons, twenty-seven hundred horses, and from
thirty to fifty thousand men; the number appears still
uncertain, but no doubt their numbers are great, by all
which it is to be supposed great ceremony is to be used
on this most solemn occasion. Burgoyne is to command
at Quebec, Howe at York, and Clinton to the south
ward ; Lord Howe to command the whole. The Qﬁcen
has brought another Princess to the nation. The Dut
chefs of Jingfton has had her trial, and was found
guilty, but plead the benefit of clergy and got oft; she
1s since flown over to France, to avoid a writ of ne exeat
regno.”
A letter from New-York of the Bth instant, mentions
seven deserters arriving there from the fleet, who inform
ed that the ships were badly manned, except the Admi
ral, and that the men on board were very sickly,
Fxtra? of a letter from Williamsburg, dated F:ls 4.
“ Qur Convention is not yet broﬁe up ; they have
appointed PaTri€k HeNryY, Governor, and.chofen a
couricil of e¢ight ?}mbers,{which is to be the executive
power; the legislative consists of two branches, one con
fiting of a House of Burgesses or Delegates, the other
confilts of 24 members called Senators, to be chosen by
the Frecho'ders as soon as the Colony is laid out in dii
tricts; the House of Burgesses to be cle@ed as customary.
Governor not to contintie more than three years, and
nnually elected.” ;
On Monday last at twelve o’ clock the DecLarATION
of INDEPENDENCE was proclaimed at the State-
House in this city, in the presence of many thouwiand
{ Ipcctators, who teftified their approbation by repeated
I acclamations. .
| Tbe fame day, at the eletion for the ProvinciAn
ConvENTION, the following gentlemen were ele@ed
members, viz. : G s
For the City of Pbhiladelphia. ~ Benjamin Franklin,
Owen Biddle, George Clymer, Frederick Kuhl, Timo
thy Matlack, David Rittenhoufe, James Cannon, George
Schloffer. AR
For. the County. Frederick Antis,i;lenry Hill, Robert
Loller, John Bull; ‘Jofeph Blewer, Thomas Potts,” Ed
ward Bartholomew, ‘Wiiliam Coats. ~y 7 A
For Bucks county. ~ Joseph Hart, John Wilkinfoa, Io)hg
Keller; Samuel Smith, William Van Horn, Abrazham
Middlefwarts, Joseph Kirdbride, and John Griam. .
Clement Biddle, Efg; is appointed Deputy Quarter
Master General to the flying tamp in New-Jersey, with
the rank of Colonel. - g
« Bxtra& of a letter from the Camp at Sorrel, June x 3.
¢ On the Bth inst. a detachment of 1600 men, under
the command of Gene¢ral Thomson, left the mouth of
Nicholette, in order to surprise the enemy at Three Ri
vers. The design was to have attacked the town before
day, but some unforefeen accidents retarded him, so that
it was quite light before he got near the town. ~Aw ad
vanced boat discovered the party on their march, gave
the alarm, and was fired upon by the rifiemen, who
drove her off into the fiream. This happened a little be=
fore funrife} and as all profpe& of succeeding by surprise
was then over, the General determined to make the at- .
tack, ordered the drums to beat, to put the best face upon
the matter and intimidate the enemy. In this mauner the
march continued till they came within the reach of the
vessels, some of which were anchored aléng the shore for
about a mile, or a mile and a half above the town, ‘when
a brisk cannomade began from them, but without effe&,
‘or occaficning the least disorder among the troops, who
bore it with as good a countenance as the best veterans in
the world could have done. Colonel Maxweli, who led
the firft division, feeing, however, that in proceeding by
the road he would be exposed to a very galling fire from
all the veflels, 19 in number, turned a little to the Icft, in
order to cross what appeared to be a point of woods, and
by which it seemed as if we could gain' thé heighth of the
town, where the firing from the veflels would be ineffec~
tial. This point turned out to be a very thick swamp of
great extent, and which took up three hours or more
to get through; every fep to the knee, and very often a
great deal higher, This was very unfavourable to us, for
it was impossible for men to march through it without
being broken, and a good deal of confufion. And as the
enemy were ready for us at the farther fide, there was
neither time nor ground to form them properly. The
consequence was, as you may judge, that we had the
wortt of it. ;
g s Bk Ge?cral“.j original plan was to have attacked bes
ore day at r separate placesty %ucb the op- .
polite enc?s o‘t?yt}ie ?nairi fre'&t, ag%w atta?z:'bytgi
cross flreet; each division confiting of 300 men. A re
serve of 250 was to remain ready for the support of any
of the others. I am almost persuaded, that had we ars
rived in time to have put this in execution it would have
succeeded, notwithstanding the great superiority of the
enemy in point of numbers; but the morning ‘and the
swamp, as I told you before, broke in upon this plan. No
new one was formed, nor indeed had the General it in
his power to form one, for one of the divisions was sepa
rated frem the rest in passing the swamp, nordid the
General know where they were till the firing began from
them. All he could then do was to order them to be sup
ported. This was done for some time with eflec, the
enemy having broke and given way for some distance ;
but being supported, in their turn they drove our pecple
back, who bore, in a foldicr-like manner, a very heavy
fire from the mufquetry and two pieces of ficld artillery,
sometimes loaded with grape and sometimes with round
thot. We were, however, after repeated attacks, obliged
to give way, the enemy scarcely pursuing us.
¢ Our loss is inconsiderable as to numbers. But, alas,
ot so as to men, General Thomson being among the pri
soners. Though we had the worst of it, I hope we have
made some impreflion on the minds of our enemies. They
_allow we behaved well; and it will not tell amife that
1200 Americans attacked, under every disadvantage,
4000 British troops, obliged them at firft to give way, and,
when beat back, made a retreat of 45 miles with the loss
of about 150 men.”
In PROVINCIAL CONGRESS, NEW-JER
SEY, BURLINGTON, Fuly 4, 1776, :
Refolv>d, That in order to prevent a failure of justice,
all Judges, Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs, Coroners, and
other inferior officers of the late government within this
Colony, proceed in the execution of their several offices
under the authority of the People, until the intended le
gislature of the several officers of the new government
be fiettled and perfected, having refpe@ to the present
constitution of New-Jersey, as by the Congress of late
ordained, and the orders of the Continental and Pro
vincial Congrefles; and that all a&ions, suits and pro
ceflfes be continued, altering only the fiile and grm
thereof, according to the terms by the said constitution
preferibed in the further prosecution thereof.
Extra& from the Minutes, }
Wwum. PATERSON, Secretary.
At a meeting of the officers and privates of fifty-three bat
talions of the Associators of the colony of Pennsylvania,
at Lancafler, on the 4th. day of Fuly, 1776, on notice to
choose two Brigadier Generals 5o command the battalions
and forces in the said Colony.
Colonel GEORGE ROSS was unanimoully chosen
President. - . ]
Lieut. Col. DANIEL CLYMER was unanimously
chosen Secretary. ° i
T HE Protest of the Board of Officers of the five bat
talions of the city and liberties of Philadclphia to
the Afembly was read.
The Cirqular Letter signed by the Chairman, Colonel
Roberdeau, was read. '
The Circwlar Letter from the Committee of Privates
of the city and liberties of Philadelphia, signed by the
Chairman, Mr. Samuel Simpson, was read.