I have the unhappiness to inform your Excellency that desertion has lattely been very frequent from this Garrison—since the 26t of last March we have had 3 Serjts 2 Corpls & 20 Privates desert from this Battn besides 1 bumdr 1 Gunr & 1 Matrs from the Arttillery before the date above mentioned several soldiers had been tryed by a General Court Martial at this Garrison, for de[se]rtion, but never recieved the Punishment due their Crimes, the Sentences of these different Court Martials were carefully sent to Commanding General of this Department but no returns have been ever recievd some time in June last Colonel Varick informd me a Recruit who had just joined our Battn was susspected of being a Confederate with Major Hammill. I orderd his Conduct to be narrowly inspected—he was detected in the fact of Corrupting & enticing the Soldiers to desert upon being apprehended, he confessed that he came upon such desings, & was sent by Lord Aid du Camp to Genl Sir Harry Clinton as a spy to endeavour to enlist what Irish men he could from the American Army2—there was every Appearance of his being a spy. he was immediately tryed by a General Court Martial the sentence was directly sent down for Approbation, but no Answer has been recieved—& the Man Still lays confined in Irons—finding the Spirit of desertion to increase, & the Men in General to be exceeding uneasy—probably arising from their being so long stationed on this Frontier Post—they have been frequently heard in thier private Conversations to say—that they woul’d sooner die, tha[n]3 stay here the ensuing winter, My Officers as well as myself was Convinced that—unless some Example was made, we shoul’d not be able to check this growing Evil—A party of five Men deserted on the 10 of August. they were taken by the Tuscarora Indians, on their way to Canada fifty Miles from this Fort—they were brought in on the 13th—a General Court Martial was convened on the 15th—they were sentenced—to die, the Officers in a body, desired their Immediate Execution, as the only way effectually to stop the increasing spirit of desertion4—whilst these Men were under sentence of death, a party returned from the German flatts, who been on Command to drive Cattle to this Garrison, they had lost Six Men by desertion, who were pursued, but without effect—this together with the above Reasons & being apprehensive of some design of the Enemy, & a Report that they had carefully spread among the Savages of having upwards of seventy Men enlisted in this Garrison, who woul’d rise upon their appearance—Convinced me of the Necessity of a Rigid Example, & resolved me to take the advice of my Officers, by Ordering the prisoners to be Executed, & they were accordingly shott at the Head of the Regiment on the 17th—In doing of which altho, I coul’d not find the Articles of warr gave me the fullest Authority yet as Commanding Officer of a frontier Post, & far distant from the Commander in Chief, & having a seperate Commission from Congress as Commandant of this Post, I concieved, myself fully impowered, in a Case of such great Necessity5 unprecedented to me—I hope Your Excellency will be convinced of the Necessity, & approve of the Justness of the Execution—Inclosed your Excellency has a Copy of the Proceedings of the Court Martial.6