To George Washington from Henry Laurens, 16 October 1778
From Henry Laurens
[Philadelphia] 16th October [1778]
Sir
I had the honor of writing to Your Excellency the 13th Instant by Messenger Freeman.1
Inclosed Your Excellency will be pleased to receive an Act of Congress of yesterdays’ date for removing from Massachusetts Bay to Charlotte[s]ville in Virginia the Troops of the Convention of Saratoga unless Sir Henry Clinton shall have complied with one of the requisitions of Congress in their Act of the 11th September last.2
Also an Act of this date in a printed Paper forbidding every Person holding an office under the United States to encourage or attend at Theatrical Entertainments.3
I likewise trouble Your Excellency with an Act of the same date for preventing the spreading seditious Papers in these States by the Enemy under the Mask of Flags of Truce or otherwise and for punishing Persons detected in attempts to disperse such Papers—this, as I apprehend was intended to extend as a direction to Your Excellency, and to Commanders of seperate Departments, but upon a review I find it is not so comprehensive it is therefore offered at present as matter of information.4 I have the honor to be &c.
P.S: Your Excellency’s favor of the 6th Inst. & the Roll containing proceedings of a Court Martial on General Schuyler have been duly presented to Congress.5
LB, DNA:PCC, item 13. The heading to this letter on the manuscript includes the notation: “by [Jesse] Brown.”
1. The messenger was Charles Freeman.
2. The act concerning the removal of the Convention Army to Charlottesville, Va., was passed on this date (see , 12:1016). For Congress’s resolutions of 11 Sept. seeking British passports to enable American vessels to bring provisions and fuel to Boston for the Convention Army’s use, see Henry Laurens to GW, 12 Sept.; see also , 12:901–2, and GW to Henry Clinton, 16 September.
3. As occurred on 12 Oct., when Congress passed a broader act for suppressing various popular diversions including theatrical entertainments, the passage of this act specifically aimed at theaters apparently involved a good deal of parliamentary maneuvering (see , 12:1018–20; see also Laurens to GW, 13 Oct., and note 2).
4. This act “recommended to the executive powers of these United States, to take up and secure in safe and close custody” anyone who under a flag of truce tried to distribute the manifestos and proclamations issued by the British peace commissions, but it also directed that those papers “be printed in the several gazettes, more fully to convince the good people of these states of the insidious designs of the said commissioners” (, 12:1015–16).
5. Congress read this letter on 13 Oct. (, 12:1004–5).