In Congress the credentials of the delegates were read and the decision was again made to keep the proceedings secret. A letter was read from colonial agents in London reporting the rejection of the colonists’ petition to the king, the failure of the earl of Chatham’s plan for reconciliation, and the embarkation of more British troops for America. Massachusetts delegates laid before Congress numerous documents concerning the recent troubles at Lexington and Concord (JCC description begins Worthington Chauncey Ford et al., eds. Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. 34 vols. Washington, D.C., 1904–37. description ends , 2:13–44).