engaged were constantly relieved by fresh hands. This is entirely untrue. Bunker Hill, or rather Breed's hill, whereon the action was, is a peninsular joined to the main land by a neck of land almost level with the water, a few paces wide, & between one & two hundred toises long. On one side of this neck lay a vessel of war, & on the other several gun boats. The body of our army was on the main land; & only a detachment had been sent into the peninsular. When the enemy determined to make the attack, they sent the vessel of war & gun boats to take the position before mentioned to cut off all reinforcements, which they effectually did. Not so much as a company could venture into the relief of the men engaged, who therefore fought thro' the whole action & at length were obliged to retire across the neck thro' the cross fire of the vessels before mentioned. Single persons passed along the neck during the engagement, particularly General Putnam.

On the fall of Montgomery & his aids at Quebec, there were present Colo. Campbell & Major Dubois. Campbell, tho' having the rank of Colo. was only of the staff; Dubois was of the line. The usage of all nations therefore authorized the latter to take the command. But it was a case for which Congress had not yet provided. Campbell availed himself of this, & believing, on the sight of blood, that all was lost, ordered a retreat.

The speech to the Indians, in Andrews page 357 is a little altered & abridged. You will find the genuine one in the Journal of Congress of July 1775.

I do not distinctly enough recollect the anecdote of the Old man's company related by Andrews, to affirm it in all it's parts. I think I recollect in general that there was such a company.

The questions relative to General Thomas I could only have answered indistinctly from my own memory: but fortunately there came to Paris a few days ago, & will yet continue there a few days, a Colonel Blackden, an American officer of good understanding & of truth, & who was at the latter part of the affair of Quebec. He was at the surprise of Ticonderoga by Allen, & continued with the army until 1781. I have spoken with him on this subject, and find he possesses treasures of details which will be precious to M. Soulés. Any day that M. Soulés will do me

the honour to come & take a famille soupe with me (after the 16th inst.) if he will give me notice in the morning, I will ask Colo. Blackden to meet him here, & will make them acquainted. He is perfectly disposed to give all the information in his power to M. Soulés, & whatever he gives may be relied on. To him then I shall refer M. Soulés for answers to his military questions, & will wait his orders, recommending despatch, as Colo. Blackden has not long to stay.

The Stamp act was passed in Feb, 1765.

What powers the Parliament might rightly exercise over us, & whether any, had never been declared either by them or us. They had very early taken the gigantic step of passing the navigation act. The colonies remonstrated violently against it, and one of them, Virginia, when she capitulated to the Commonwealth of England, expressly capitulated for a free trade. See the articles in the Notes on Virginia, p. 201. This capitulation however was as little regarded as the original right, restored by it, had been. The navigation act was re-enacted by Charles 2 & was enforced. And we had been so long in the habit of seeing them consider us merely as objects for the extension of their commerce, & of submitting to every duty or regulation imposed with that view, that we had ceased to complain of them. But when they proposed to consider us as objects of taxation, all the states took the alarm. Yet so little had we attended to this subject, that our advocates did not at first know on what ground to take their stand. Mr. Dickenson, a lawyer of more ingenuity than sound judgment, and still more timid than ingenious, not daring to question the authority to regulate commerce so as best to answer their own purpose, to which we had so long submitted, admitted that authority in its utmost extent. He acknoledged in his Farmer's to Manufacture [illegible] that they could levy duties internal or external, paiable in Great Britain or in the States. He only required that these duties should be bonâ fide for the regulation of commerce, & not to raise a solid revenue. He admitted therefore that they might controul our commerce, but not tax us. This mysterious system took for a moment in America as well as in Europe. But sounder heads saw in the first moment that he who could put down the loom, could stop the spinning wheel, and he who could stop the spinning wheel

could tie the hands which turned it. They saw that this flimsey fabric could not be supported. Who were to be judges whether duties were imposed with a view to burthen & suppress a branch of manufacture or to raise a revenue? If either party, exclusively of the other, it was plain where that would end. If both parties, it was plain where that would end also. They saw therefore no sure clue to lead them out of their difficulties but reason & right. They dared to follow them, assured that they alone could lead them to defensible ground. The first elements of reason showed that the members of Parliament could have no power which the people of the several counties had not. That these had naturally a power over their own farms, and collectively over all England. That if they had any power over counties out of England it must be founded on compact or force. No compact could be shown, & neither party chose to bottom their pretensions on force. It was objected that this annihilated the navigation act. True, it does. The navigation act therefore becomes a proper subject of treaty between the two nations. Or if Gr. Britain does not chuse to have it's basis questioned let us go on as we have done. Let no new shackles be imposed, & we will continue to submit to the old. We will consider the restrictions on our commerce now actually existing as compensations yielded by us for the protections & privileges we actually enjoy, only trusting that if Great Britain. on a revisal of these restrictions, is sensible that some of them are useless to her & oppressive to us, she will repeal them. But on this she shall be free. Place us in the condition we were when the king came to the throne, let us rest so, & we will be satisfied. This was the ground on which all the states very soon found themselves rallied, and that there was no other which could be defended.

I will now proceed with remarks on the history.

I do not find that M. Soulés mentioned the affair of the Cedars which happened in April, 1776. This was an affair of no small importance. A committee was appointed by Congress to institute inquiries concerning it, as may be seen by the journal of June 14, 1776. The report of that committee is inserted in the journal of July 10. and I can assure M. Soulés that the facts therein

stated were proved incontestably to the committee by witnesses present at the transactions, & who were on watch. I have the originals of that inquiry in my possession in America. The Capt. Foster therein mentioned was afterwards taken with Burgoyne's army, tho permitted to go at large on his parole, he was not received into any American company, nor did the British officers, his fellow prisoners, chuse to be seen in company with him-so detestable had been the transaction &c.

Vol. i., pa. 324. I have been very well informed, that during all the latter part of the defence, the garrison was obliged to return the cannon balls of the enemy, with which indeed the ground was covered, having none of their own left.

Pa. 325. "Il y eut un Serjent" &c. This particular truly related in Andrews.

Vol. 2. pa. 5. "Ils en vinrent le 10. de Juin à cette resolution que ces Colonies" &c. See the Journ of Congr that it was on that day put off to the 1st of July. This was done at the instance of the members opposed to it. The friends of the resolution objected that if it were not agreed to till the 1st of July they would after that have to frame a Declaration of Independance, & that more time would then be lost. It was therefore agreed between the two that the resolution should be put off till the 1st of July, & that a committee should be immediately appointed to draw a declaration of Independance conformable to the resolution, should it be adopted. A committee was accordingly appointed the next day. On the 1st of July the resolution was proposed, & when ready for a vote, a state required it to be put off till the next day. It was done, and was passed the next day, 2d of July. The declaration of Independance was debated during the 2d, 3d & 4th days of July & on the last of these was passed & signed.

Pa. 6. A "se retirerent ensuite du Congres." I do not remember that the delegates of Maryland retired from Congress, & I think I could not have forgotten such a fact. On the contrary I find by the Journals of Congress that they were present & acting on the 11th, 12th, 17th, 18th & 24th of June.

Pa. 7. A "la plus grande partie." It should rather be the most important parts.

Pa. 7, 6. “Les etats unis ferrient encore aujourdhui partie de l'empire Britannique." M. Soulés may be assured that the submission of the states could not have been effected but by a long course of disasters, & such too as were irreparable in their nature. Their resources were great, & their determination so rooted that they would have tried the last of them. I am as satisfied, as I can be of anything, that the conjecture here stated would not have been verified by the event.

Pa. 14.

unis"?

Pa. 15.

"Mais qu'on pouvoir aussi les interpreter &c. His exact answer was that it was true the &c might include anything, but that might also include nothing.

I.

Pa. 16. "Tant de confiance" &c. Their main confidence was in their own resources. They considered foreign aid as probable & desirable, but not essential. I believe myself, from the whole of what I have seen of our resources & perseverance. That had we never received any foreign aid, we should not have obtained our independance, but that we should have made a peace with Great Britain on any terms we pleased, short of that, which would have been a subjection to the same king, an union of force in war &c. 2. That had France supplied us plentifully with money, suppose about 4 millions of guineas a year, without entering into the war herself at all, we should have established our Independance, but it would have cost more time, & blood, but less money. 3. That France, aiding us as she did, with money & forces, shortened much the time, lessened the expense of blood, but at a greater expense of money to her than would have otherwise been requisite.

Pa. 18. "L'extremité septentrional &c. I think the word "çotè " would be better adapted than "extremité" to the form of the island.

Pa. 21.

66

3000 hommes," inquire of Colo. Blackden. Perhaps the proposition of Congress to the Hessians may be worth mentioning. See their Journals, 1776, Aug. 14.

I will make a general observation here on the events of Long Island, New York &c. at this time. The maxim laid down by Congress to their generals was that not a foot of territory was to

VOL. IV. 20