form a due sense of the general privileges of man kind. To the eyes and ears of the temperate part of the public, and the breasts of suffering thou sands, in the provinces, be the melancholy appeal, whether the present unnatural rebellion has no been made a foundation for the completest system of tyranny that ever God, in his displeasure, suffered for a time to be exercised over a froward and stubborn generation. Every species of provision, brought to my camp, will be paid for at an equitable rate, and in solid coin. In consciousness of christianity, my royal master's clemency, and the honor of soldiership, I have dwelt upon this invitation, and wished for more more persuasive terms to give it impression. And let not people be led to disregard it, by considering their distance from the immediate situation of my camp. I have but to give stretch to the Indian forces under my direction-and they amount to thousands-to overtake the hardened enemies of Great Britain and America. I consider them the Arbitrary imprisonment, confiscation of property, persecution, and torture, unprecedented in the inquisition of the Romish church, are among the palpable enormities that verify the affirmative. These are inflicted, by assemblies and committees, who same, wherever they may lurk. dare to profess themselves friends to liberty, If, notwithstanding these endeavors, and sincere upon the most quiet subjects, without distinc inclinations to effect them, the phrenzy of hostilition of age or sex, for the sole crime, often for ty should remain, I trust I shall stand acquitted the sole suspicion, of having adhered in principle in the eyes of God and men in denouncing and to the government under which they were born, executing the vengeance of the state against the and to which, by every tie, divine and human, they wilful outcasts. The messengers of justice and of owe allegiance. To consummate these schocking wrath await them in the field: and devastation, faproceedings, the profanation of religion is added mine, and every concomitant horror, that a reluc to the most profligate prostitution of common reatant, but indispensable prosecution of military duson, the consciences of men are set at nought; and ty must occasion, will bar the way to their return. multitudes are compelled not only to bear arms, but also to swear subjection to an usurpation they abhor. Animated by these considerations-at the head of troops in the full powers of health, discipline, JOHN BURGOYNE. Camp, at Ticonderoga, July 2, 1777. majesty's armies, in America, colonel of the queen's regiment of light dragoons, governor of Fort William in North Britain, one of the representatives of the commons of Great Britain, and commanding an army and fleet employed on an expedition from Canada, &c. &c. Most high, most mighty, most puissant, and sublime general! and valour-determined to strike where necessary To John Burgoyne, esq. lieutenant general of his -and anxious to spare where possible-I, by these presents, invite and exhort all persons, in all places where the progress of this army may point-and by the blessing of God I will extend it far-to maintain such a conduct as may justify me in protecting their lands, habitations, and families. The intention of this address is to hold forth security, not depredation to the country. To those, whom spirit and principle may induce to partake the glo- When the forces under your command arrived at rious task of redeeming their countrymen from Quebec in order to act in concert and upon a com. dungeons, and re-establishing the blessings of legal mon principle with the numerous fleets and armies government, I offer encouragement and employ- which already display in every quarter of America, ment; and, upon the first intelligence of their asso-the justice and mercy of your king, we, the repciation, I will find means to assist their undertak-tiles of America, were struck with unusual trepidaings. The domestic, the industrious, the infirm, tion and astonishment. But what words can exand even the timid inhabitants, I am desirous to press the plenitude of our horror, when the colonel protect, provided they remain quietly at their of the queen's regiment of light dragoons advanced houses; that they do not suffer their cattle to be towards Ticonderoga. The mountains shook be. removed, nor their corn or forage to be secreted fore thee, and the trees of the forest bowed their or destroyed; that they do not break up their lofty heads-the vast lakes of the north were chilbridges or roads; nor by any other act, directly or led at thy presence, and the mighty cataracts stopindirectly, endeavor to obstruct the operations of ped their tremendous career, and were suspended the king's troops, or supply or assist those of the in awe at thy approach. Judge, then, Oh! ineffable enemy. governor of Fort Williara in North Britain, what must have been the terror, dismay, and despair clemency, and the honor of soldiership, we thankthat overspread this paltry continent of America, fully accept. The blood of the slain, the cries of and us, its wretched inhabitants. Dark and dreary injured virgins and innocent children, and the never indeed, was the prospect before us, till, like the ceasing sighs and groans of starving wretches, now sun in the horizon, your most gracious, sublime, languishing in the jails and prison ships of New and irresistible proclamation, opened the doors of York, call on us in vain; whilst your sublime promercy, and snatched us, as it were, from the jaws of annihilation. We foolishly thought, blind as we were, that your gracious master's fleets and armies were come to destroy us and our liberties; but we are happy in hearing from you (and who can doubt what you assert?) that they were called forth for the sole purpose of restoring the rights of the constitution, to a froward and stubborn generation. clamation is sounded in our ears. Forgive us, ✪ our country! Forgive us, dear posterity! Forgive us, all ye foreign powers, who are anxiously watching our conduct in this important struggle, if we yield implicitly to the persuasive tongue of the most elegant colonel of her majesty's regiment of light dragoons. Forbear, then, thou magnanimous lieutenant ge general! Forbear to denounce vengeance against us-Forbear to give a stretch to those restorers of And is it for this, Oh! sublime lieutenant general, constitutional rights, the Indian forces under your that you have given yourself the trouble to cross direction-Let not the messengers of jusuce and the wide Atlantic, and with incredible fatigue tra- wrath await us in the field, and devastation, and verse uncultivated wilds? And we ungratefully every concomitant horror, bar our return to the refuse the proffered blessing?—To restore the allegiance of prince, who, by his royal will, would rights of the constitution, you have called together deprive us of every blessing of life, with all pos◄ an amiable host of savages, and turned them loose sible clemency. loose to scalp our women and children, and lay our country waste-this they have performed with their We are domestic we are industrious, we are inusual skill and clemency; and yet we remain insen. firm and timid: we shall remain quietly at home, sible of the benefit, and unthankful for so much and not remove our cattle, our corn, or forage, in goodness. William in North Britain? A. B. hopes that you will come, at the head of troops, in the full powers of health, discipline, and valor, and Our congress have declared independence, and take charge of them for yourselves. Behold our our assemblies, as your highness justly observes, wives and daughters, our flocks and herds, our have most wickedly imprisoned the avowel friends goods and chattles, are they not at the mercy of our of that power with which they are at war, and most lord the king, and of his lieutenant general, memprofanely compelled those, whose consciences will ber of the house of commons, and governor of Fort not permit them to fight, to pay some small part towards the expenses their country is at, in sup. porting what is called a necessary defensive war. If we go on thus in our obstinacy and ingratitude, what can we expect, but that you should, in your anger, give a stretch to the Indian forces under your direction amounting to thousands, to overtake and destroy us? or, which is ten times worse, that you should withdraw your fleets and armies, and leave us to our own misery, without completing the benevolent task you have begun, of restoring to us the rights of the constitution? We submit-we submit-most puissant colonel of the queen's regiment of light dragoons, and governor of Fort William in North Britain! We offer our heads to the scalping knife, and our bel. lies to the bayonet. Who can resist the force of your eloquence? Who can withstand the terror of your arms? The invitation you have made, in the consciousness of christianity, your royal master's Saratoga, 10th July, 1777. E. F. &c. &c. &c.. Proposals for an exchange of general Burgoyne.— Ascribed to his excellency William Livingston, esq. governor of the state of New-Jersey.* Should the report of general Burgoyne's having infringed the capitulation, between major general Gates and himself, prove to be true, our superiɔrs The turgid, bombastic proclamation (for which see American Museum, vol. II. page 495) which gave rise to this elegant and poignant satire, was prefaced in the following manner: "Proclamation by John Burgoyne, esquire, lieutenant general of his majesty's armies in America, colonel of the queen's regiment of light dragoons, governor of fort William, in North Britain, one of the repre sentatives of the commons of Great Britain, and commanding an army and fleet on an expedition from Canada, &c. &c. &c."—C. IV. For John Burgoyne, governor of fort William in Here I would demand one governor of one of the United States, as his multitulary excellency is governor of a fort; and two more, as that fort is in North Britain, which his Britannic majesty may be presumed to value in that proportion; but considering that the said fort is called William, which may excite in his majesty's mind the rebellious idea of liberty, I deduct one upon that account, and, rather than puzzle the cartel with any perplexity, I am content with two governors. will doubtless take proper care to prevent his ment, I suppose a colonel of her majesty's own regireaping any benefit from it; and should he be dement will procure at least three continental colonels tained as a prisoner for his infraction of any of the of horse. articles, I would humbly propose to exchange him in such manner, as will at the same time flatter his vanity and redound to the greatest emolument of America. To evince the reasonableness of my proposal, I would observe, that by the same parity of reason, that a general is exchanged for a gene. ral, a colonel for a colonel, and so on, with respect to other officers, mutually of equal rank, we ought to have for one and the same gentleman, who shall happen to hold both those offices, both a general and a colonel. This will appear evident from the consideration that those exchanges are never regulated by viewing the persons exchanged in the light of men, but as officers; since otherwise, a colo nel might as well be exchanged for a serjeant as for an officer of his own rank; a serjeant being, undoubtedly, equally a man, and, as the case sometimes happens, more of a man too. One prisoner, therefore, having twenty different offices, ought to V. For John Burgoyne, one of the representatives of Great Britain. The first member of congress who may fall into the enemy's hands. VI. For John Burgoyne, commander of a fleet em- employed in an expedition from Canada. VIII. For John Burgoyne, &c. &c. &c. redeem from captivity twenty prisoners aggregately | VII. For John Burgoyne, commander of an army holding the same offices; er such greater or less number as shall, with respect to rank, be equal to his twenty offices. This being admitted, I thinkments. general Burgoyne is the most profitable prisoner we could have taken, having more offices, or (what Some connoisseurs in hieroglyphics imagine that amounts to the same thing in Old England) more these three et ceteras are emblematical of three titles, than any gentleman on this side the Ganges. certain occult qualities in the general, which he And as his impetuous excellency certainly meant to never intends to exhibit in more legible characters, avail himself of his titles, by their pompous display v.z. prudence, modesty, and humanity. Others sup in his proclamation, had he proved conqueror, it is pose that they stand for king of America; and that, but reasonable that we should avail ourselves of had he proved successful, he would have fallen them now he is conquered; and, till I meet with a upon general Howe, and afterwards have set up better project for that purpose, I persuade myself for himself. Be this as it may, (which it however that the following proposal will appropriate them to a much better use, than they were ever applied to before. The exchange I propose is as follows: 1. For John Burgoyne, esquire. Some worthy justice of the peace, magnanimously stølen out of his bed, or taken from his farm by a band of ruffians in the uniform of British soldiers, and now probably perishing with hunger and cold in a loathsome jail in New York. behoves a certain gentleman on the other side of the water seriously to consider) I insist upon it, that as all dark and cabalistical characters are suspicious, these incognoscible enigmas may por end much more than is generally apprehended. At all events, general Burgoyne has availed himself of their importance, and I doubt not they excited as much terror in his proclamation, as any of his more tumingus titles. As his person, therefore, is by the capture, become the property of the congress, all II. For John Burgoyne, lieutenant general of his ma. his titles, (which some suppose to constitute his jesty's armies in America. Two majors general. very essence) whether more splendid or opake, latent or visible, are become, ipso facto, the lawful III. For John Burgoyne, colonel of the queen's regi goods and chattels of the continent, and ought not ment of light drugoons. As the British troops naturally prize every thing in proportion as it partakes of royalty, and under value whatever originates from a republican govern to be restored without a consideration equivalent. If we should happen to over-rate them, it is his own fault, it being in his power to ascertain their intrinsic value; and it is a rule in law, that when a man is possessed of evidence to disprove what is alleged against him, and refuses to produce it, the presumption raised against him, is to be taken for granted. Certain it is, that these three et ceteras must stand for three somethings, and as these three somethings must, at least, be equal to three some- things without rank or title, I had some thoughts of setting them down for three privates; but then as they are three somethings in general Burgoyne, which must be of twice the value of three any things, in any three privates, I shall only double them, and demand in exchange for these three problematical, enigmatical, hieroglyphical, mystic, necromantic, cabalistical and portentous et ceteras, six privates. power. Nor can I forbear suggesting its fatal tendency to widen that unhappy breach, which you, and those ministers under whom you act, have repeatedly declared you wish to see forever closed. My duty now makes it necessary to apprise you, that, for the future, I shall regulate my conduct towards those gentlemen of your army, who are, or shall observe towards those of ours who may be may be in our possession, exactly by the rule you in your custody. If severity and hardship mark the line of your conduct (painful as it may be to me) your prisoners will feel its effect; but if kindness and humanity are shown to ours, I shall, with pleasure, consider those in our hands only as unfortunate, and they shall receive from me that treatment to which the unfortunate are ever entitled. So that, according to my plan, we ought to detain this ideal conqueror of the North, now a real prisoner in the East, till we have got in exchange for him, one esquire, two majors general, three colonels of light horse, two governors, one member of congress, the admiral of our navy, one commander in chief in a separate department, and six privates; His excellency genera! Gage. which is probably more than this extraordinary hero would fetch in any part of Great Britain, were he exposed at public auction for a day and a year. All which is nevertheless, humbly submitted to the consideration of the honorable the congress, and his excellency general Washington. I beg to be favored with an answer as soon as possible, and am, sir, your very humble servant, G. WASHINGTON. Princeton, December 8, 1777. ANSWER. Boston, August 13, 1775. SIR-To the glory of civilized nations, humanity and war have been compatible; and compassion to the subdued is become almost a general system. Britons, ever pre-eminent in mercy, have out Letter from his excellency general Washington to ge- one common examples, and overlooked the crimi neral Gage. HEAD QUARTERS, Cambridge, August 11, 1775. SIR-I understand that the officers, engaged in the cause of liberty and their country, who, by the fortune of war, have fallen into your hands, have been thrown indiscriminately into a common jail, appropriated for felons-that no consideration has been had for those of the most respectable rank, when languishing with wounds and sickness-that some of them have been even amputated in this unworthy situation. nal in the captive. Upon these principles, your prisoners, whose lives, by the laws of the land, are destined to the cord, have hitherto been treated with care and kindness, and more comfortably lodged, than the king's troops, in the hospitals; indiscriminately, it is true, for I acknowledge no rank that is not derived from the king. My intelligence from your army would justify severe recrimination. I understand there are some of the king's faithful subjects, taken sometime since by the rebels, laboring like negro slaves, to gain their daily subsistence, or reduced to the wretched alternative, to perish by famine or take arms against their king and country. Those, who have made the treatment of the prisoners in my hands, or of your other friends in Boston, a pretence for such measures, found barbarity upon falsehood. Let your opinion, sir, of the principle which actuates them, be what it may, they suppose they act from the noblest of all principles, a love of freedom and their country. But political opinions, I conceive, are foreign to this point. The obligations arising from the rights of humanity, and claims of rank, are universally binding and extensive, except in case of I would willingly hope, sir, that the sentiments retaliation. These, I should have hoped, would of liberality, which I have always believed you to have dictated a more tender treatment of those in- possess, will be exerted to correct these misdoings. dividuals, whom chance or war had put in your Be temperate in political disquisitions; give free and misrepresent; and not only the effects, but the causes of this unhappy conflict will soon be removed. operation to truth, and punish those who deceive political disquisition; nor shall I now avail my. self of those advantages, which the sacred cause of my country, of liberty and human nature, give me over you; much less shall I stoop to retort any invective. But the intelligence, you say you have received from our army, requires a reply. I have taken time, sir, to make a strict enquiry, and find it has not the least foundation in truth. Not only Should those, under whose usurped authority you act, controul such a disposition, and dare to call severity retaliation, to God, who knows all hearts, be the appeal for the dreadful consequences, your officers and soldiers have been treated with I trust that British soldiers, asserting the rights of the state, the laws of the land, the being of the constitution, will meet all events with becoming fortitude. They will court victory with the spirit their cause inspires, and from the same motive will find the patience of martyrs under misfortune. a tenderness due to fellow citizens and brethren, but even those execrable parricides, whose councils and aid have deluged their country with blood, have been protected from the fury of a justly enraged people. Far from compelling or permitting their assistance, I am embarrassed with the numbers who croud to our camp, animated with the pu Till I read your insinuations in regard to minis rest principles of virtue and love of their country. ters, I conceived that I had acted under the king; You advise me to give free operation to truth; to whose wishes it is true, as well as those of his punish misrepresentation and falsehood. If expeministers, and of every honest man, have been to rience stamps value upon counsel, your's must see this unhappy breach forever closed; but unfor- have a weight which few can claim. You best can tunately for both countries, those, who have long tell, how far the convulsion, which has brought since projected the present crisis, and influence such ruin on both countries, and shaken the mighty the councils of America, have views very distant empire of Britain to its foundation, may be traced from accommodation. to these malignant causes. I am, sir, your most obedient humble servant, George Washington, esq. REPLY. HEAD QUARTERS, You affect, sir, to despise all rank, not derived from the same source with your own. I cannot con. ceive one more honorable, than that which flows from the uncorrupted choice of a brave and free people, the purest source and original fountain of all power. Far from making it a plea for cruelty, a mind of true magnanimity and enlarged ideas, would comprehend and respect it. Cambridge, August 19, 1775. Sin-1 addressed you on the 11th inst. in terms which gave the fairest scope for the exercise of that humanity and politeness, which were supposed What may have been the ministerial views which to form a part of your character. I remonstrated have precipitated the present crisis, Lexington, with you on the unworthy treatment shewn to the Concord, and Charlestown, can best declare. May officers and citizens of America, whom the fortune that God, to whom you then appealed, judge beof war, chance, or a mistaken confidence, had tween America and you. Under his providence, those who influence the councils of America, and thrown into your hands. all the other inhabitants of the United Colonies, at Whether British or American mercy, fortitude, the hazard of their lives, are determined to hand and patience, are most pre-eminent-whether our down to posterity those just and invaluable privivirtuous citizens, whom the hand of tyranny has leges which they received from their ancestors. forced into arms, to defend their wives, their chil I shall now, sir, close my correspondence with dren, and their property, or the mercenary instru ments of lawless domination, avarice, and revenge, you, perhaps forever. If your officers, our prisonbest deserve the appellation of rebels, and the pu. ers, receive a treatment from me, different from nishment of that cord, which your affected clemen- what I wished to shew them, they and you will cy has forborne to inflict-whether the authority remember the occasion of it. under which I act, is usurped, or founded upon I am, sir, your very humble servant, the genuine principles of liberty-were altogether foreign to the subject. I purposely avoided all General Gage. GEORGE WASHINGTON. |