fortune under it exhibits a striking proof of the advantages which result from unanimity & a spirited conduct in the Militia-the Northern army before the surrender of Genl. Gates was reenforced by upwards of 12000 Militia who shut the only door by which Burgoyne could Retreat, and cut of all his supplies. How different our case !-the disaffection of great part of the Inhabitants of this State-the languor of others & internal distraction of the whole, have been among the great and insuperable difficulties I have met with, and have contributed not a little to my embarrassment this Campaign,-but enough! I do not mean to complain, I flatter myself that a Superintending Providence is ordering every thing for the best-and that, in due time, all will end well. -that it may do so, and soon, is the most fervent wish of &c.

British

Foreigners

PRISONERS.

Canadians

Genl. Burgoyne and Staff among which are 6 Members of Parlia

400 Sett of Harness a Number of Ammunition Waggons Compleat.

The General and Regimental Hospital not Including in the Above Return amounting to between 5 and 600 Men. Nor according to the said Acct. are the Staff Officers or Women.'

1 For a full copy of this letter I am indebted to Dr. John S. H. Fogg, of Boston.

TO LIEUTENANT-COLONEL ALEXANDER HAMILTON.

DEAR SIR,

HEAD-QUARTERS, 30 October, 1777.

It having been judged expedient by the members of a council of war held yesterday, that one of the gentlemen of my family should be sent to General Gates, in order to lay before him the state of this army and the situation of the enemy, and to point out to him the many happy consequences, that will accrue from an immediate reinforcement being sent from the northern army, I have thought proper to appoint you to that duty, and desire that you will immediately set out for Albany, at which place or in the neighborhood, I imagine you will find General Gates.

You are so fully acquainted with the two principal points on which you are sent, namely, the "state of our army and the situation of the enemy," that I shall not enlarge on these heads. What you are chiefly to attend to is, to point out in the clearest and fullest manner to General Gates the absolute necessity that there is for his detaching a very considerable part of the army, at present under his command, to the reinforcement of this; a measure that will in all probability reduce General Howe to the same situation in which General Burgoyne now is, should he attempt to remain in Philadelphia without being able to remove the obstructions in the Delaware, and opening a free communication with his shipping.

The force, which the members of the council of war judged it safe and expedient to draw down at

present, are the three New Hampshire and fifteen Massachusetts regiments, with Lee's and Jackson's, two of the sixteen additionals. But it is more than probable, that General Gates may have destined part of these troops to the reduction of Ticonderoga, should the enemy not have evacuated it, or to the garrisoning of it, if they should. In that case, the reinforcement will vary according to circumstances; but if possible let it be made up to the same number out of other corps. If, upon your meeting with General Gates, you should find that he intends, in consequence of his success, to employ the troops under his command upon some expedition, by the prosecution of which the common cause will be more benefitted than by their being sent down to reinforce this army, it is not my wish to give any interruption to the plan. But if he should have nothing more in contemplation, than those particular objects, which I have mentioned to you, and which it is unnecessary to commit to paper, in that case you are to inform him, that it is my desire that the reinforcements before mentioned, or such part of them as can be safely spared, be immediately put in march to join this army.

I have understood, that General Gates has already detached Nixon's and Glover's brigades to join General Putnam; and General Dickinson informs me, that by intelligence, which he thinks may be depended upon, Sir Henry Clinton has come down the river with his whole force. If this be a fact, you are to desire General Putnam to send the two brigades forward with the greatest expedition, as there can be

no occasion for them there. I expect you will meet Colonel Morgan's corps upon their way down; if you do, let them know how essential their services are to us, and desire the Colonel, or commanding officer, to hasten their march, as much as is consistent with the health of the men after their late fatigues. Let me hear from you when you reach the North River, and upon your arrival at Albany. I wish you a pleasant journey, and am, dear Sir, &c.

SIR,

TO MAJOR-GENERAL GATES.

HEAD-QUARTERs, near WhiteMARSH, 15 MILES FROM PHILA.,
October 30, 1777.

By this opportunity I do myself the pleasure to congratulate you on the signal success of the army under your command, in compelling General Burgoyne and his whole force to surrender themselves prisoners of war; an event that does the highest honor to the American arms, and which, I hope, will be attended with the most extensive and happy con

1 The British evacuated Forts Montgomery and Clinton, on the 26th of October, and the same day proceeded down the river with their whole force both of troops and shipping. In a letter from General Putnam to the Commander-in-chief, dated at Fishkill, October 31st, he stated that Poor's, Warner's, Learned's, and Paterson's brigades, Colonel Van Schaick's regiment, and Morgan's riflemen, were on their way from the northward to join him, amounting in the whole to five thousand seven hundred men, which number, added to those already with him, would make his whole force about nine thousand strong, exclusive of Morgan's corps, the artillery-men, and the militia from Connecticut and New York. The militia had been mostly discharged. General Warner's brigade consisted of sixteen hundred Massachusetts militia, whose time of service was to expire at the end of November.

On the same day that the above intelligence was communicated, General Putnam called a council of his principal officers, whose unanimous advice it was, that four thousand men should move down the west side of the Hudson