To the Kings most excellent Majesty The Peti Humb Petition of the Freeholders & Freemen of the Colonies of New Hampshire Massachuses Bay Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pensylvania, the Governm t of on Delaware, Maryland Virginia North Carolina South Carolina & the Parish of S t . Johns in the Colony of Georgia, by their Representatives convened in general Congress at the City...
2Address to the People of Ireland, 28 July 1775 (Jay Papers)
To the people of Ireland. From the Delegates appointed by the United Colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the Lower Counties on Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, in General Congress at Philadelphia, the 10th of May, 1775 . Friends and Fellow-subjects! As the...
3From John Jay to Gouverneur Morris, August 1775 (Jay Papers)
I have rec d your Letter of the 28 th Ult. and take the earliest opportunity wh. has offered of answering it. The Principles on which you account for hav g delayed Notices of Tryal on the West Chester Causes merit my Acknowledgm ts You need be under no apprehension of Non Suits in case you sh d . prevail upon yourself to postpone the Tryal which I confess I cant forbear wishing may be the...
4From John Jay to Stephen Rapalje, 15 September 1775 (Jay Papers)
We are inform d . that a considerable Quantity of Drugs & Medicines are in y r . Possession belonging to a Gent. in England or Ireland. The Congress are desirous of purchasing such of them as may be of use to the Army, & I am desired to apply to you for that Purpose—Be so kind therefore as to inform me by the first opportunity whether you will dispose of them. Be assured that y r . Compliance...
5From John Jay to Alexander McDougall, 17 October 1775 (Jay Papers)
I am much obliged to you for your friendly Letter by M r Fine—his Business will soon be determined— The Hint you give is by no Means pleasing—I wish your Apprehensions were without Foundation tho ’tho I have too good an opinion of your Discernment to entertain Hopes of your being mistaken. You will much oblige me by a few Lines now & then—I need ^ not ^ caution you to be careful by what Hands...
6From John Jay to Alexander McDougall, 26 October 1775 (Jay Papers)
I have rec d . your Letter by M r . Clough and you may rely on my paying due Attention to your Recommendation M r . Fine has a Letter from us to your Convention inclosing a Resolve of Congress enabling them to ship on their Account Provisions &c. to the Foreign West Indies for the Purpose of purchasing Ammunition &c. Under this Resolve I apprehend you may avail yourself of M r . Fine’s...
Proposals. That two Battallions of Marines be raised consisting of one Collonell, two Lt. Collonells, two Majors &c. (officers as usual in other Regiments) that they consist of five hundred Privates each Battalion, exclusive of Officers. That particular Care be taken that no Persons be appointed to office or inlisted into Said Battalions but such as have actually Served in the Merchant Service...
8From John Jay to the President of the New York Provincial Congress (Nathaniel Woodhull), 26 November 1775 (Jay Papers)
I have the honour of transmitting to you the enclosed Resolutions of Congress relative to the Island of Bermuda. We have not yet had the Pleasure of hearing that you had made a House, and are not without some Anxiety on that head. In a few days we shall write you collectively, and should be glad frequently to be informed of the State of the Province. The New England Exploit is much talked of,...
9Contract between the Secret Committee and Thomas Mumford for Supplying Gunpowder, 28 November 1775: résumé (Franklin Papers)
Owner anonymous; transcript furnished by courtesy of Dr. Joseph E. Fields, Joliet, Ill. (1957) Less than a month after the creation of the secret committee Silas Deane, one of its members, wrote his friend Thomas Mumford to suggest that he come to Philadelphia to find out what profit could be made under the committee’s aegis. The letter seems to have crossed one from Mumford, who explained...
10The Committee of Secret Correspondence to [Arthur Lee], 30 November 1775 (Franklin Papers)
Copy: University of Virginia Library On November 29, 1775, Samuel Chase brought before Congress a proposal to send ambassadors to France. John Adams seconded the motion, and a vehement debate ensued. A number of alternatives were advanced, and one finally gained approval: to appoint a five-member committee of secret correspondence for the purpose of opening communication with friends of...
11From John Jay to Alexander McDougall, 4 December 1775 (Jay Papers)
The Congress have at Length determined against the Tea holders— a Measure in my opinion neither just or politic. The objections offered to the Prayer of the Petition, were merely ostensible & consequently frivolous. I fancy you may easily discern the things on which this strange Decision turned. There is no Tea southward of this Place but what has paid Duty. &c. &c. I mentioned to the Congress...
12From John Jay to Alexander McDougall, 8 December 1775 (Jay Papers)
Accept my Thanks for your Letter of the 6 th . Ins t . which I rec d . yesterday. It gave me great Satisfaction to find you had at length made a Convention, my apprehensions on that Head occasioned much Anxiety, and am still grieved that the People of our Province have so little Firmness as to be duped by the Artifices of Men whose Views are obvious, & of the Rectitude of whose Intentions...
It has long been the Art of the Enemies of America to sow ^ the Seeds of ^ Dissensions among us and thereby weaken that Union on which our Salvation from Tyranny depends. For this Purpose Jealousies have ^ been ^ endeavoured to be excited, and false Reports, wicked Slanders and insidious Misrepresentations been so industriously formed and propagated Well knowing that while the People reposed...
14The Committee of Secret Correspondence to [Arthur Lee], 12 December 1775 (Franklin Papers)
ALS : Maine Historical Society By this Conveyance we have the Pleasure of transmitting to you sundry printed Papers, that such of them as you think proper may be immediately published in England. We have written on the Subject of American Affairs to Monsieur C. G. F. Dumas, who resides at the Hague. We recommend it to you to correspond with him, and to send through his Hands any Letters to us...
15From John Jay to Alexander McDougall, 13 December 1775 (Jay Papers)
Your Letter of the 8 th . Inst. is now before me. did you know how much Satisfaction a Line from you gives me, you would not think of apologizing for the frequency of your Letters. I am much obliged to you for your Hints respecting the Command of a certain Post. They are useful and will determine my Conduct, tho some folks here may not coincide with me in opinion. I must confess that I think...
16From John Jay to Robert R. Livingston, 19 December 1775 (Jay Papers)
How it came to pass I know not, but so the Fact is, that neither of your Letters to me came to Hand till the Day before Yesterday, when they were delivered to the President by Gen. Schuylers last Express. Mr. Duane just now accidentally told me that your Brother was about to leave this Town, and I am now retired to the Lobby, in a Hurry to say a Word or two to you. I confess I was a little...
17From John Jay to Alexander McDougall, 22 December 1775 (Jay Papers)
Few Things have for some time past given me more Pleasure than the address with which you managed the Gov rs . Letter on the Subject of Lord Norths motion. It occasions however both Surprize and Concern that the Sin of Fear (as Lewis Morris calls it) should operate so powerfully on some of your Patriots, as it seems to do. The Provision for the Delegates I imagined Would be similar to that of...
18From John Jay to Sarah Livingston Jay, 23 December 1775 (Jay Papers)
I have now the Pleasure of informing you that the New York Convention has at Length made some Provision for their Delegates viz t . 4 Dollars p r . Day for their Attendance on the last, and this Congress, so that I shall not be so great a Sufferer as I once apprehended. The Allowance indeed does by no Means equal the Loss I have sustained by the appointment, but the Convention I suppose...
19From John Jay to Alexander McDougall, 23 December 1775 (Jay Papers)
Since writing my last to You, I find the Congress will not adjourn even for the Holy days, They have not indeed so determined but that seems to be the opinion of the majority of the members Where does M r . Alsop stay—should any Thing happen to one of us the Colony would be unrepresented. For my Part I wish some of the absent Gent. would return, we but just make a Quorum—Did not this...
20Memorandum Concerning the Snow Dickinson, [January 1776] (Franklin Papers)
AD : American Philosophical Society On December 26, 1775, the secret committee contracted with Bayard & Jackson of Philadelphia to spend $15,000 on flour and other produce to be exchanged at Nantes for gunpowder, arms, and cloth. The firm had had earlier dealings with Montaudoüins frère of Nantes, to whom it entrusted the new transaction. The ship selected was the Dickinson or Dickenson ,...
21Contract between the Secret Committee and John Brown, [before 20 January 1776]: résumé (Franklin Papers)
Copy with DS by Nicholas Brown: John Carter Brown Library <[Before Jan. 20, 1776]: Agreed between John Brown on the one part and members of the committee on the other that a voyage or voyages will be undertaken to procure thirty-six tons of gunpowder (or, failing that, sufficient saltpetre and sulphur to make up the same amount), 1,000 stand of good arms, 1,000 gun locks, twenty tons of lead,...
22From John Jay to James Jay, 4 January 1776 (Jay Papers)
As to Politick’s I can say little, nor do I desire that Your Letters should say anything on that Subject. Thus much I can say in general that Everything with us is in a good Way, and, tho’ We desire Reconciliation, are well prepared for contrary Measures. This is an unnatural Quarrel, & God only knows why the British Empire should be torn to Pieces by unjust Attempts to subjugate us. Some say...
23From John Jay to James Duane, 6 January 1776 (Jay Papers)
As I intend to leave this City Tomorrow I take the Liberty of sending you the inclosed. I have just rec d a Letter from H.B. Livingston & his Brother John. Harry informs me that his Major has quitted the Service & that his Coll. has also resigned. These Places being vacant I think Harry sh d be made a Lieu t . Coll immediately, for as the Lieut. Coll. continues in the Service he certainly...
24Export License from the Secret Committee, 9 January 1776: résumé (Franklin Papers)
DS : University of Pennsylvania Library <Philadelphia, January 9, 1776, to the New Hampshire committee of inspection: The secret committee, as empowered by the Congress, authorizes John Langdon of New Hampshire to export to the amount of $10,000 the produce of the colonies, in their service and according to the Continental Association; horned cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry are excepted....
25Contract between the Secret Committee and Oswell Eve and George Losch, 11 January 1776: résumé (Franklin Papers)
Text printed in Samuel Hazard, et al. , eds., Pennsylvania Archives (1st series; 12 vols., Philadelphia and Harrisburg, 1852–56), IV , 696. <January 11, 1776: It is agreed between the undersigned members of the committee and Oswell Eve and George Losch, of Philadelphia County, that Eve and Losch will manufacture all the saltpetre delivered to them by the committee during the next year into...
Under Governments which have just and equal Liberty for their Foundation, every Subject has a Right to give his Sentiments on all Matters of public Concern; provided it be done with Modesty & Decency. I shall therefore take the Liberty of calling the Attention of my Countrymen to a Subject, which however important seems to have passed without due Notice; I mean the Practice of impressing...
27The Committee of Secret Correspondence: a Report to Congress, [on or before 14 February 1776] (Franklin Papers)
AD : National Archives The invasion of Canada, authorized by Congress in June, 1775, had begun in August under Major General Philip Schuyler. Because of his ill health the command almost immediately devolved upon his subordinate, Brigadier General Richard Montgomery, who by November had captured the forts at Chambly and St. Johns and the city of Montreal. Governor Carleton escaped to Quebec...
28Charter Party between the Secret Committee and Joseph Harper and James King, 1 February 1776: résumé (Franklin Papers)
DS : The Rosenbach Foundation <February 1, 1776: The agreement is between members of the committee and James King and Joseph Harper, Philadelphia merchants and owners of the brigantine Cornelia of approximately 100 tons, Thomas Genn master, to hire her for a voyage to France. She is to sail to a port in South Carolina to be subsequently designated, there to be loaded with rice, indigo, or...
29Contract between the Secret Committee and John and Nicholas Brown, 6 February 1776: résumé (Franklin Papers)
Copy: John Carter Brown Library <Philadelphia, February 6, 1776: The Browns will procure in Europe 10,000 good blankets at approximately 4 s. 6 d. to 5 s. sterling apiece; 9,200 yards of blue and brown broadcloth for uniforms and 800 yards of different colors for facings, most of the cloth, being for privates, at about 4 s. sterling per yard and the rest, for officers, at 6 s. ; ten tons of...
30Charter Party between the Secret Committee and Joseph Hewes, 14 February 1776: résumé (Franklin Papers)
Copy (microfilm): University of North Carolina Library, Chapel Hill <February 14, 1776: The agreement is between members of the committee and Joseph Hewes of North Carolina, merchant, one of the owners of the brigantine Fanny of approximately 150 tons, now in the York River, to hire her for a voyage to Europe. She will be in good condition and well provisioned and manned. The owners will pay...