with you at home, than I have the most distant prospect of finding abroad, if my stay were to be seven times seven years. But as it has been a kind of destiny, that has thrown me upon this service, I shall hope that my undertaking it is designed to answer some good purpose. You might, and I suppose did perceive, from the tenor of my letters, that I was apprehensive I could not avoid this appointment, as I did not pretend to intimate when I should return. That was the case. It was utterly out of my power to refuse this appointment, without exposing my character to such censures, as would have reflected dishonor upon myself, and given pain to my friends. This, I am sure, could not, and ought not, to be pleasing to you, and must have lessened me considerably in my own esteem. I shall rely, therefore, confidently on that Providence, which has heretofore preserved and been bountiful to me, not doubting but that I shall return safe to you in the fall. I shall feel no pain from the toil or the danger of the campaign; my unhappiness will flow from the uneasiness I know you will feel from being left alone. I therefore beg, that you will-summon your whole fortitude, and pass your time as agreeably as possible. Nothing will give me so much sincere satisfaction as to hear this, and to hear it from your own pen. My earnest and ardent desire is, that you would pursue any plan that is most likely to produce content, and a tolerable degree of tranquillity; as it must add greatly to my uneasy feelings to hear, that you are dissatisfied or complaining at what I really could not avoid.

As life is always uncertain, and common prudence dictates to every man the necessity of settling his temporal concerns, while it is in his power, and while the mind is calm and undisturbed, I have, since I came to this place (for I had not time to do it before I left

home) got Colonel Pendleton* to draft a will for me, by the directions I gave him, which will I now enclose. The provision made for you in case of my death will, I hope, be agreeable.

I shall add nothing more, as I have several letters to write, but to desire that you will remember me to your friends, and to assure you that I am, with the most unfeigned regard, my dear Patsy, your affectionate, &c.

TO THE CAPTAINS OF SEVERAL INDEPENDENT

COMPANIES IN VIRGINIA.

GENTLEMEN,

Philadelphia, 20 June, 1775.

I am now about to bid adieu to the companies under your respective commands, at least for a while. I have launched into a wide and extensive field, too boundless for my abilities, and far, very far, beyond my experience. I am called, by the unanimous voice of the Colonies, to the command of the Continental army; an honor I did not aspire to; an honor I was solicitous to avoid, upon a full conviction of my inadequacy to the importance of the service. The partiality of the Congress, however, assisted by a political motive, rendered my reasons unavailing, and I shall to-morrow set out for the camp near Boston.

I have only to beg of you, therefore, before I go, (especially as you did me the honor to put your companies under my direction, and know not how soon you may be called upon in Virginia for an exertion of your

* Colonel Edmund Pendleton, at this time a delegate from Virginia to the Continental Congress.

military skill,) by no means to relax in the discipline of your respective companies.

*

I have the honor to be, &c.

TO JOHN AUGUSTINE WASHINGTON.

DEAR BROTHER,

Philadelphia, 20 June, 1775.

I am now to bid adieu to you, and to every kind of domestic ease, for a while. I am embarked on a wide ocean, boundless in its prospect, and in which, perhaps, no safe harbour is to be found. I have been called upon by the unanimous voice of the Colonies to take the command of the Continental army; an honor I neither sought after, nor desired, as I am thoroughly convinced, that it requires greater abilities and much more experi

The reply of the Independent Company of Alexandria to this letter is an evidence of the warm attachment of his friends, at the same time that it is remarkable for the sentiments it expresses, even at so late a day, in regard to a conciliation with Great Britain.

"Your favor of the 20th ultimo, notifying us of your intended departure for the camp, we received, and, after transmitting copies to the different officers, to whom it was directed, we laid it before a full meeting of your company this day. At the same time that they deplore the unfortunate occasion, that calls you, their patron, friend, and worthy citizen, from them and your more tender connexions, they beg your acceptance of their most hearty congratulations upon your appointment to the supreme military command of the American confederated forces. Firmly convinced, Sir, of your zealous attachment to the rights of your country, and those of mankind, and of your earnest desire, that harmony and good will should again take place between us and our parent state, we well know, that your every exertion will be invariably employed to preserve the one and effect the other.

"We are to inform you, Sir, by desire of the company, that, if at any time you shall judge it expedient for them to join the troops at Cambridge, or to march elsewhere, they will cheerfully do it. We now recommend you to the favor of Him, by whom kings reign and princes decree justice, wishing all your counsels and operations to be directed by his gracious providence to a happy and lasting union between us and Great Britain."

ence, than I am master of, to conduct a business so extensive in its nature, and arduous in the execution. But the partiality of the Congress, joined to a political motive, really left me without a choice; and I am now commissioned a General and Commander-in-chief of all the forces now raised, or to be raised, for the defence of the United Colonies. That I may discharge the trust to the satisfaction of my employers, is my first wish; that I shall aim to do it, there remains little doubt. How far I may succeed, is another point; but this I am sure of, that, in the worst event, I shall have the consolation of knowing, if I act to the best of my judgment, that the blame ought to lodge upon the appointers, not the appointed, as it was by no means a thing of my own seeking, or proceeding from any hint of my friends.

I am at liberty to inform you, that the Congress, in committee, have consented to a Continental currency, and have ordered two millions of dollars to be struck for payment of the troops, and other purposes, and have voted fifteen thousand men as a Continental army, which number will be augmented, as the strength of the British troops will be greater than was expected at the time of passing that vote. General Ward, General Lee, General Schuyler, and General Putnam are appointed MajorGenerals under me. The Brigadier-Generals are not yet appointed. Major Gates is made Adjutant-General. * I expect to set out to-morrow for Boston, and

* General Ward had already been appointed, by the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, commander of all the forces raised by that colony, and was now in Cambridge at the head of the army. Generals Lee and Schuyler were in Philadelphia, and accompanied the Commander-in-chief to New York. Lee continued with him to head-quarters. Putnam was in Cambridge, commanding the Connecticut troops. Gates was at his seat in Berkley County, Virginia, but speedily joined the army.

Lee was a colonel on half-pay in the British army, but he resigned

hope to be joined there in a little time by ten companies of riflemen from this province, Maryland, and Virginia. For other articles of intelligence, I shall refer you to the papers, as the printers are diligent in collecting every thing that is stirring.

I shall hope that my friends will visit and endeavour to keep up the spirits of my wife, as much as they can, for my departure will, I know, be a cutting stroke upon her; and on this account alone I have many disagreeaable sensations. I hope that you and my sister, although the distance is great, will find so much time this summer as to spend a little of it at Mount Vernon.

My sincere regards attend you both, and the little ones, and I am your most affectionate brother.

his commission, by a formal letter to the Secretary at War, as soon as he was appointed major-general by the Congress, and before he received a commission in the American army. He had been a soldier from his youth, and had seen much service in America during the French war, and afterwards in Europe. When he received this appointment, he had been only about eighteen months in the colonies, but that time had mostly been spent in travelling. He thus formed many acquaintances, and inspired the public with a high opinion of his military character. His friend Gates had induced him to buy lands in Virginia, beyond the Blue Ridge, where he sometimes resided. Gates, also, had been an officer in the British army. He was a captain at Braddock's defeat, where he was wounded; and he rose afterwards to the rank of major, which he resigned, and retired from the service, purchasing lands and settling himself as a planter in Virginia. A friendly intercourse had long subsisted between him and Washington. He was appointed Adjutant-General by the Congress, at the express solicitation of the Commander-in-chief, with the rank of brigadier. General Washington wrote to him immediately after his appointment, and Gates replied in very cordial terms, adding in conclusion; "I will not intrude more upon your time, only to assure you, that I shall not lose a moment in paying you my personal attendance, with the greatest respect for your character, and the sincerest attachment to your person." Gates arrived in Cambridge before the middle of July. Both Lee and Gates had passed several days at Mount Vernon six weeks previously, just before Washington left home for the Continental Congress.