George Washington Papers

To George Washington from James Duane, 26 May 1780

From James Duane

Philadelphia 26th May 1780

My dear General.

We have Intelligence from Charles Town which leaves it in our possession as lately as the 3d or 4th Inst. and we may from the Silence of the Enemy at New york extend our Hopes to the 10th or 12th. The best and most direct account is to our Friend Mr Jones from Gen Woodford. He has this moment promised me to communicate it to your Excellency which he will do much better than I can from my Memory;1 otherwise I should attempt it. The Contempt with which Sir Henry Clinton treated the propositions of the Garrison is a sufficient proof of the strong Confidence he entertains of Success: and indeed the gradual Approaches, and the Contiguity, of his Works, which we have not been able to prevent, or even obstruct, free him from the Imputation of Presumption.2 The determin’d Resolution of the Garrison to defend the Town to the last Extremity will do honour to our arms, and woud go far to relieve my Apprehensions, if I did not see the utmost probability of their being pushed from the only defensible Ground in our possession, by the weight of a superior force, operating under an impenetrable Cover, with all the Advantages of deliberate Caution, and military Skill. If, under such discouraging Prospects, we shoud come off Conquerars it will be a further proof of one of the mottos which we have appropriated to our Cause. and often seen verified, nil desperandum!3

North Carolina is in motion, but something is always deficient The want of arms is now the Cry!4

A St Kitts paper which you have probably seen gives an Account of a naval Engagement between the French and English Fleets in the West Indies.5 it is so palpably absurd that nothing can be collected from it: but that there has been a Rencounter:6 more Authentic Information is impatiently expected.

Be pleasd to present my respectful Compliments to Mrs Washington, the Gentlemen of the Committee,7 and of the Family; and to give me leave to assure you, that with All possible Attachment and Regard—I have the Honour to remain Dear Sir your Excellency’s most Affectionate & most Obedient hume Servant

Jas Duane

ALS, DLC:GW.

1Virginia delegate Joseph Jones’s letter to GW on this subject has not been found, but GW acknowledged its receipt on 31 May. Brig. Gen. William Woodford’s letter to Jones has not been identified.

2For the siege at Charleston, S.C., see Duportail to GW, 17 May.

3“Nil desperandum” translates from Latin as “do not despair” (OED description begins James A. H. Murray et al., eds. The Oxford English Dictionary: Being a Corrected Re-Issue with an Introduction, Supplement, and Bibliography of A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. 12 vols. 1933. Reprint. Oxford, England, 1970. description ends ).

4Many of the 4,000 North Carolina militia intended for South Carolina lacked muskets (see Jones to GW, 23 May, and n.8).

5Duane undoubtedly is referring to the St. Christopher’s Gazette, which printed an account of the engagement on 17 April between the fleets of British admiral George Rodney and French rear admiral Guichen. The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser (Philadelphia) for 27 May published material from that St. Kitts newspaper under the heading “BASSETERRE, April 28, 1780.” The report contained extracts of correspondence. According to one letter dated 20 April on board the Sandwich, the French fleet consisted of “‘23 ships of the line, one fifty gun ship, four frigates, and six sloops and luggers.’” The British fleet pursued the French on 15 and 16 April. The engagement began the next day just after 1 P.M., “‘and was continued by the Sandwich till four o’clock.’” Another letter dated 22 April at Antigua described action on 17 April: “’Sir George Bridges Rodney had the good fortune to fall in with the French fleet commanded by the Compte de Guichen, in the Couronne of 80 guns, off Martinique. That they fought desparately for four hours, when the fortune of the day, thanks to God, turned to our side.’” The British reported “’114 killed, and 311 wounded’” in this indecisive engagement. The French suffered approximately 750 casualties. Subsequent indecisive engagements between the fleets took place on 15 and 19 May. For more on the three naval actions and for more specific casualty figures, see Clowes, Royal Navy description begins William Laird Clowes. The Royal Navy: A History From the Earliest Times to the Present. 7 vols. London, 1897-1903. description ends , 3:453–66.

6A rencounter, an alternative form of rencontre, is an “encounter or engagement between two opposing forces” (OED description begins James A. H. Murray et al., eds. The Oxford English Dictionary: Being a Corrected Re-Issue with an Introduction, Supplement, and Bibliography of A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. 12 vols. 1933. Reprint. Oxford, England, 1970. description ends ).

7Duane is referring to the Committee at Headquarters.

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