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Sir,

GENL. ANTHONY WAYNE TO PRES. REED, 1781.

*

Phil", 13th April, 1781.

Inclosed is an extract from a letter of his Excelly. Genl. Washington to me, by which you'l see his anxiety and wishes for my advance towards the southward with as many of the Penns'a line as possible without one moments delay.-Every Impediment is now removed except money sufficient for the gratuity, bounty, three months pay & the proportion of the Depreciation to the troops of this Line as directed by an Act of Assembly passed during their late session, for which & other purposes bills of Credit to a Considerable amount will be ready for emission by Wednesday, & the Committee of the House appointed for the superintending this business assure me that a sum adequate to the payment of the Detachment, (of which the Inclosed is a return,) will be struck & signed by this day week.

I beg leave to suggest the expediency of paying the Artillery, Second, third, fifth & Sixth Regt first in rotation in order to expedite the advance of the whole to York) town, the Artillery & Second to be paid on Wednesday & Thursday, the third & fifth on Friday & Saturday, &c, & to March Immediately to the General rendezvous at York.

As Certificates are given for the balance of Accts it will take but little time to adjust the proportion of pay, &c, which for the present, & until the treasury is better supplied, need only extend to the Officers & Soldiers ordered from each corps as Return, except an allowance of 120 more privates, i. e., 20 to each Regiment which by this time have Certainly joined in addition to those mentioned in the return.

I may assure your Excelly. & Council in Confidence that if I am enabled to take up my line of March from York town with the whole Detachment by Monday or Tuesday week, we have the fairest prospect in Conjunction with the troops under the Marquis De la Fayette to give a happy turn to affairs by the Interception of Gen1 Phillips, pressing for a junction with Lord Cornwallis.

Interim I have the honor

to be your Excellency's

most Obt & very Hum Sert, ANT'Y WAYNE.

N. B. The return of the Detachment of Artillery will be sent to Council this evening.

Directed,

His Excell'y Jos. Reed, Esqr, Prest of Council.

* See page 66.

PRES. REED TO MAJOR EDWARDS OF PENN'A LINE 1781.

Sir,

The inclosed note has been several times presented to the Council by whose desire I now acquaint you that Commissioners are appointed in the several Counties to pay the Men the bounties &c. directed that Col. Nicola of this city has the same Powers here, & that it s the desire of Council that the mode of recruiting directed by them & approved by the Commander in chief be observed, as the best security against future complaints. That partial issues from the State store are totally prohibited agreeable to a general request of the principal officer of the line some time ago, & that when any general issues are made it is done by an order in Council only. The giving such orders as the inclosed therefore only tends to interrupt the other Business of the Council & give them unnecessary trouble.

I am Sir,

Your obed. Hbble Ser.

J. R.

Indorsed,

April 14th, 1781. To Major Edwards of the P Line.

Sir,

(Copy.)

GEN. WASHINGTON TO CONGRESS, 1781.

Head Quarters New Windsor, April 14th, 1781.

By advices just received from Colonel Brodhead dated at Fort Pitt the 10th, I am informed, there are strong indications from several quarters that hostilities will be committed pretty extensively on the frontiers by the savages at the opening of the campaign-that the troops under his command are very much distressed for want of provisions, that they have been at half allowance of meat ever since the 26th Deer and frequently both before and since without any for several days successively-and that should the Indians be as active and enterprising as is expected the post could not be maintained without magazines of salted provisions.

In pointing out the places of deposit for the supplies of the several States, I directed 2,400 barrels of flour 1,000 barrels of salt meat or salt equivalent to put up that quantity on the spot and 7,000 gallons of spirit to be deposited by the state of Pensylvania at Fort Pitt. If no measures have been taken to carry this requisition into execution I must entreat the attention of Congress to the subject that the state may be urged to immediate compliance and that effectual means

may be adopted to relieve the present distresses and avert the calamities which will be otherwise inevitable.

With the Highest respect &c.

G. WASHINGTON.

Directed,

His Excellency S. Huntington.

Circular,

Sir,

PRES. OF CONGRESS TO PRES. REED, 1781.

Philadelphia, April 15, 1781.

Your Excellency will receive enclosed a resolve of Congress of the 13th Instant,* directing the Commander in Chief to transmit to the Executives of the several States, lists of the names of all the new levies belonging to each State respectively, authenticated in the manner specified in the resolve; and recommending it to the said States to cause Payment to be made to the said new Levies agreeable to such Lists, on Account of the United States.

I have the Honor to be with the highest respect,

Directed,

Your Excellency's most obedient

humble Servant.

SAM. HUNTINGTON, Presid'.

His Excellency, President Reed.

THOMAS NEVILL TO PRES. REED-STATE HOUSE STEEPLE,

1781.

Philadelphia, April 16th, 1781. May it please the Honourable the President and Council.

Since your Hon" requested me to make some calculation for the necessaries wanting, to pull down the woodwork of the steple & lower the walls thereof, but having been laid up with the Pleuresey was not able to waite on your Hon" for that purpose, but being somewhat recovered have thought proper to make the following remarks on that Business, and leave them for your Hon" consideration, viz.

1st. The form of the roof should be concluded on (which I suppose would be nothing more than a pediment pitch roof & 6 of the old urns by way of decoration.)

2d. Most of the Inclosed catalogue of materials should be provided.

* See page 73.

3d. All that heavi Fraim whereon the Bell used to hang should come down without delay which might be done without any materials except a Takle & fall, &c. And would instantly relieve the other parts of the steple of a very unnecessary & great weight.

4th. The principal leake that most effects the State house may be immediately gone about, as the chief thing wanting, for that is shingles & may be done without scaffolding.

I would further remark to your Hon" that the wood-work of the steple may be pulled down without much expence of scaffolding, yet no part of the projections &c. can be repaired; or the Roof put on without a scaffold from the Ground, and if your Hon's approve of it I shall request a Friend of mine who is going to the Jerseys to morrow (and is well versed in those matters) to procure the catalogue of Poles on the most reasonable terms he can. And I flatter myself that if the Poles are good & straite they may be disposed of when done with, for near if not quite the first cost, as there will be very little waste of those articles, and scarce any abuse of them necessary. I waite the direction of the Honourable board.

And subscribe my self your most obedient

Humble servant.

THOS. NEVELL.*

RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, 1781.

By the United States, in Congress Assembled, at Philada., April 16, 1781.

Resolved, That in settling the Accounts of Officers return'd from Captivity, the Auditors consider their Pay to the first of August last, in bills of the old emissions, agreeable to the usual mode of paying the Army; and from the said first day of August till such officers returned from Captivity or rejoin'd their Corps, in Bills of the new Emissions, issued agreeable to the Resolution of the 18th March, 1780.

That subsistance Money be allowed to the said Officers, at the Rate of one sixth of a Dollar per Ration, (in specie) and that the Monies paid to them by the Commissary of Prisoners, pursuant to former Resolutions, be charged as so much advanced.

Resolved, That the States who have not considered their said Officers in Captivity, in settling the Depreciation Accounts of their Lines of the Army receive and adjust their Demands for Depreciation, in the same manner as tho' they had not been in Captivity.

Resolved, That the Demands of Officers retiring from Service, in pursuance of the last reform from the Army, and who were not attached to the Line of any particular State, whether for Pay, Sub* See pages 46, 52.

sistance, Forage or Depreciation, be adjusted by the Auditor of the Army, in some of the Departments or Districts. That the Balances respectively due be Certified in Specie Value, and Duplicates be transmitted to the Board of Treasury. That in settling the Depreciation Accounts the Resolutions of Congress of the 28th June last, be considered as the scale.

Resolved, That all Warrants Issued by the Board of War in favour of Officers returned from Captivity, for Specie, contrary to the Tenor of these Resolutions, be Recalled.

Extract from the Minutes.

GEO. BOND, Dep. Sec❜y.

THOMAS JEFFERSON, GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA, TO PRES. REED, 1781.

In Council, April 17th, 1781.

Sir, I have been honoured with your Excellency's Letter, proposing the actual extension of our mutual Boundary. I presume, therefore, that the Propositions contained in the Resolutions of our Assembly of July 4, 1780, which I had the Honour to communicate to your Excellency, have been approved by your State, and that the Boundaries are to be run on the Principles therein proposed. No mode of determining the Extent of the five degrees of Longitude from Delaware River, in the Latitude of Mason's and Dixon's Line having been pointed out by your Excellency, I shall venture to propose that this be determined by Astronomical Observations, to be made at or near the two extremities of the Line, as being, in our Opinion, the most certain & unexceptionable mode of determining that Point, which being fixed, every Thing else will be easy.

Should this mode be approved by your Excellency, we have appointed the Rev. James Madison; as a Commissioner on our Part to execute the Work in the Western Quarter, and the Rev. Robert Andrews to perform the Office at the Eastern end, in Conjunction with the Gentlemen whom you have been pleased to appoint or any others on your Part. To those before named we shall add an Associate each, that the work may not be retarded or frustrated by the sickness of one. We will send to the Westward the most necessary Instruments, which we suppose to be a good Time Piece, Telescopes and a Quadrant, and hope it will be convenient for you to furnish what may be necessary at the Eastern end.

Our Commissioners will be at their Respective Stations at any Time which your Excellency shall think proper to appoint, allowing it to be a month after I shall have received your Pleasure on that Head.

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