To George Washington from General William Howe, 19 March 1778
From General William Howe
Philadelphia 19th March 1778
⟨Sir,
In Consequence of an Order from Mr Thos Bradford (One of your Commissaries) to Mr Emanuel Eyre of Trenton to Ship 50 Barrels of Pork⟩ for the Use of the Prisoners in Philadelphia, and two Tons of Hay for their Cattle, Mr Eyre on the 6th Instant wrote to Mr Ferguson requesting him to apply to me for a Passport for the Shallop Polly, Isaiah Robinson Master, manned with 3 Hands, to proceed hither with the abovementioned Articles. I accordingly authorized Mr Ferguson to transmit a Passport to Mr Eyre for the purpose desired—On the 14th the Shallop coming down was brought to by one of His Majesty’s Ships; and upon Examination it was found that Mr Isaiah Robinson, who had been represented as Master of the Shallop, was in Fact the Captain of the Andrew Doria Frigate, and that Nathaniel Galt Captain of the Argus armed Gun Boat, was one of the Hands with which she was manned.1
As Captains Robinson & Galt appeared in assumed Characters I ordered them agreeably to the established Rules of War to be confined. I am with due Respect, Sir, Your most obedient Servant
W. Howe
LS, DLC:GW; two copies, P.R.O., 30/55, Carleton Papers no. 1028, ff. 145, 164. The beginning of the LS is missing, and the bracketed text is supplied from the P.R.O. copy on f. 145.
1. For the case of Isaiah Robinson and Nathaniel Galt, see Francis Hopkinson to GW, 16 Mar., and note 1. The Andrew Doria, a Continental brig, had been under Robinson’s command, but it was among the ships burned in November 1777 following the British capture of the Delaware River forts.