Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1827-06-02

marks on the colonial policy Of the English
Government then prevailing.
PART H.
Letters and other Papers relating to the fine
rican Revolution.
Here is opened wide field, but the papers
are so admirably classified, according to Wash
ngton's directions, that little difficulty will be
fell in exploring ii. II the letters, whether
private or public, the orders, instructions, ad-
dresses, and other documents, which may find
place under this division, will be printed in
strict chronological order. In some respects
classification by subjects and campa gns, would
be preferable, but, taking The whole together,
this would create confusion and iransposilion
of dates, that would overbalance any advantage
that might be derived from such an arrange
ment. BY keeping IN The order Of time, the
thread Of history will be preserved entire, al
though sometimes obscured by extraneous mat
ier Letters 20 the President, Members, and
Committees of Congress, to the Governors of
States, officers Of the army and private indl-
ylduals. will be inserted collectively IN the cx-
&C order OF their dates. Subjects, particular
trains ofevonis, distinct military operations, the
doIngs Of ibe States, in relation TO the army,
proceedings oi Committees of Congress, while
visiting the army, defence of Notifications and
military posts, correspondence of the Command
er IA Chef Anh he French officers, accounts OF
deiachments and Of the separate lines Of the
army; all these and similar subjects, which
eA,end through considerable space of time
may be easil, examined by he aid Of an index,
which will be added at the end of the work.
To make o choice of the best materials, from
so volumInous a mass as forty y-iour volumes Of
manuscripts, is the main difficulty to be encoun
tered IN preparing this part. The two volumes
OF Washlngton's S Official letiaIs, wh ch have been
printed, embI ace those only to the President Of
Congress, for aboui three years and half of
the al. Some of the others to the same oili-
Ger we're also printed in the newspapers. Yet,
all these together, constitute very small part
of The revolutionary letters, and hardly any Of
t"e remainder were ever made public. In Sc
lecllng papers under this large division, shall
be guided by one rule only, that of choosing
such as shall seem most worthy OF lasting pre-
serva'ioL in the shape ofhstorcal annals. These
will no. always be the letters 10 persons high
est IN Office; on the contrary, may of the prl-
vate letters are more valuable than the public
ones, because the writer ute his thoughts
more fully and with less reserve. There is, for
Instance,a "a le ter from WashIngio to his brother,
soon after the battle of Germantown, which
gives more satisfactory account of that affair,
for a reader of the present day, than his public
communication 10 Congress. The same may
be said of a similar letter, concerning the cap
ture of For Washington. HIS private letters
TO he officers Of the army, particularly 10
Greene and Lafayette, and indeed to most OF
the Ma or Generals, often ;hrow lIghl upon his
Official dispatches, by expressing his opinions
and purposes with more freedom and conf
dence. No distinction will be made. therefore,
between official and private iet,e-s during the
II
clalm The preference.
The notes to this division will be frequent,
growing out Of fruitful stock OF materials
Four abundant sources of these exist among
Washing; on's papers; first, the books Of orders,
IN which the daily proceedings of the army
through the whole war are entered; secondly,
The results Of Councils Of War. and the opin-
ions Of the general officers in yriling on i'm
portan: topics submitted to them by the Com
mander in Chief; thirdly, the letters received
by the Commander in Chief from the officers of
the army, which are all preserved; four,hy, re-
turns of the army weekly and monthly, reports
Of the inspectors, the quarter masters, and
other officers for experimenting the various de-
parments Of the army, and minutes respecting
the arrangements OF the different lines. Use
will also be made Of large and valuable COL
lection of materials, which have Obtained by
a personal inspection Of the revolutionary pa
p6rs in the public Offices ofthe old States. As
these are manuscripts, and have never been
printed, it may be presumed, that they will not
be consulted without profit. The private pa
pers Of several Of the Major Generals OF the ar
my, and members Of the old Congress, have
likewise been examined, and the results will be
rendered subservent 10 the same purpose.--
The papers of the old Congress itself have all
H. L. III in, bo of, ,,ft ha
retary Of State. They are Of the highest i'm
portance in connexion with this subject, and
will be carefully consulted. To guard against
the danger of redundaltce, where the theme is
so fertile and matter so full, | shall endeav-
our to continc the notes strictly to facts
and plain deductions, illustrative Of the text,
keeping clear Of conjcctures, speculatons,
and theories, which may be safely left to
.the Imagination of the reader. few incl
dents, which produced considerable excitement
when they took place, and in which the char
acter Of Washington was concerned, will per-
haps be examined anew, such as the cases of
Andre and of Asgill, the affair Of Conway aud
Gates, and that Of General Charles Lee The
original papers, relating to these subjects, some
OF which we're never published, are on file
The policy Of Washington, IN few OF his mill
tary movements, may also receive some further
investigation. But these are only hints, and to
what extent they will be verified, it may not
be wise now to predict.
PART III.
Private Correspondence on Public Affairs.
You are already informed, that, after the
Revolution, Washington took ducp interest IN
public concerns, although living and acting in
retirement. His letters bctray the secret work.
ings of his mind, and the painful emotions with
which he contemplated tho prospects of the
country under the Old Confederation. To his
friends in Europe and America, he wrote much