"SIR,It is difficult for us to express the regret we feel at being obliged again to solicit your Excellency's attention and patronage. Next to the anguish which the prospect of our own wretchedness excites in our breasts, is the pain which arises from the knowledge of your anxiety on account of those men who have been the sharers of your fortunes, and have had the honor of being your companions through the various vicissitudes of the war. Nothing therefore, but necessity, could induce us to such a representation which we know must give you concern. "Your Excellency has so intimate a knowledge of the condition of the army, as to render a particular delineation unnecessary. As you have been a witness of our sufferings during a war uncommon in its nature, and unparalleled in many circumstances attending it; so you are now, Sir, no less a witness of the unequal burden which has fallen on us, from the want of that provision, to which, from our assiduous and unremitting services, we conceive we are entitled. Having recently expressed our sense of what was due to our distress; having repeated to your Excellency the confidence we had, that our accounts would be liquidated, the balances ascertained, and adequate funds provided for payment, previous to our being dispersed or disbanded; having seen with pleasure, the approbation which Congress gave our reliance, it is with a mixture of astonishment and chagrin that we view the late resolve of Congress, by which the soldiers for the war, and a proportionate number of officers, are to be furloughed without any one of those important objects being accomplished; and, to complete the scene of woe, are to be compelled to leave the army without the means of defraying the debts we have necessarily incurred in the course of service, or even of gratifying those menials in the pittance which is their due; much less to carry with us that support and comfort to our families, of which, from our long military services they have been deprived. No less exposed to the insults of the meanest followers of the army, than to the arrest of the sheriff-deprived of the ability to assist our families, and without an evidence that any thing is due to us for our services, and consequently without the least prospect of obtaining credit for even a temporary subsistence, till we can get into business,-to what quarter can we look? We take the liberty to say this, Sir, only to your Excellency; and, from the sincerity of our hearts, we do it no less from a persuasion of the efficacy of your further efforts in our favor, than from the kind assurances you have been pleased to give us of your support. "To your Excellency, then, we make our appeal, and in the most solemn manner, from that abhorrence of oppression and injustice which first unsheathed our swords; from the remembrance of the common dangers through which we have passed; and from the recollection of those astonishing events, which have been effected by our united efforts,-permit us to solicit your further aid, and to entreat that the order of the 2d instant, founded on the act of Congress of the 26th of May last, may be suspended or varied in its operation, so far as that no officer or soldier be obliged to receive a furlough till that honorable body can be apprized of the wretched situation into which the army must be plunged by a conformity to it; that your Excellency will endeavor to prevail on Congress,-nay, that on the principles of common justice, you will insist that neither officer nor soldier be compelled to leave the field till a liquidation of accounts can be effected, till the balances are ascertained, certifi cates for the sums due, given, including the commutation of half pay to the officers and gratuity of eighty dollars to the soldiers; and till a supply of money can be furnished, sufficient to carry us from the field of glory, with honor to ourselves and credit to our country. We still wish to believe, that that country, to which we have been so long devoted, will never look with indifference, on the distresses of those of her sons, who have so essentially contributed to the establishment of freedom, the security of property, and the rearing of an empire. "In the name and behalf of the generals and officers commanding regiments and corps, in the cantonment on Hudson's river, Í have the honor to be, with the highest respect, July 5th, 1783." To the foregoing address General Washington was pleased to make an affectionate reply, in which among other things he observes, that as furloughs in all services are considered as a matter of indulgence and not of compulsion,-as Congress, he is persuaded, entertain the best disposition towards the armyand as he apprehends in a short time the two principal articles of complaint will be removed-he will not hesitate to comply with the wishes of the army with respect to furloughs, &c. He cannot but hope, he observes, that the notes will soon ar rive and that the settlement of accounts may be completed in a very few days. In the mean time he shall have the honor of laying the sentiments of the generals and officers before Congress; they are expressed in so decent, candid and affecting a manner, that he is certain every mark of attention will be paid to them. In his letter to the President of Congress enclosing the address of the officers, and his answer, his Excellency observes, "These enclosures will explain the distresses which resulted from the measures now carrying into execution, in consequence of the resolution of the 26th of May; but the sensibility, occasioned, by a parting scene, under such peculiar circumstances, will not admit of description! While I consider it a tribute of justice, on this occasion to mention the temperate and orderly behaviour of the whole army, and particularly the accommodating spirit of the officers in arranging themselves to the command of the battalions, which will be composed of the three years' men; permit me to recall to mind, all their former sufferings and merits, and to recommend their reasonable request, to the early and favorable notice of Congress." 19th. On the completion of eight years, from the memorable battle of Lexington, the proclamation of the Congress for a cessation of hostilities, was published at the door of the public building, followed by three huzzas, after which, a prayer was offered to the Almighty Ruler of the world, by the Reverend Mr. Ganno, and an anthem was performed, by voices and instruments. On the 29th of June, about eighty new levy soldiers of the Pennsylvania line, who had been stationed at Lancaster, in defiance of their officers, marched to Philadelphia, to seek a redress of their supposed grievances, from the executive council of the state. They proceeded to the barracks in the city, where were quartered some other soldiers, who joined them, amounting to about three hundred in the whole. The day following, these insurgent troops, with fixed bayonets, and drums beating, marched to the state house, the seat of Congress, and of the supreme executive council of Pennsylvania. They placed sentinels at every door, sent in a written message to the President and council, and threatened to let loose an enraged soldiery on them, if they were not gratified as to their demands within twenty minutes. Though no other insult was offered to Congress, this duresse continued about three hours. Congress resolved that the authority of the United States had been grossly insulted by the armed soldiers-that their committee confer with the executive council, and that in case it should appear to the committee, that there is no satisfactory ground for expecting adequate exertions, by the state of Pennsylvania for supporting the dignity of the federal government, the President on the advice of the committee, should summon the members of Congress, to meet on Thursday the 26th at Trenton or Princeton, and that the secretary at war, should communicate to the Commander in Chief, the state and dispo sition of the mutineers, that he might take immediate measures for suppressing them. Congress now found it expedient to separate and reassemble at Princeton. The Commander in Chief, on receiving information of this shameful outrage, instantly detached fifteen hundred men, under command of Major General Howe, to quell the mutiny and punish the most guilty. Before his arrival, however, they had dispersed without bloodshed. A number were brought to trial, and two sentenced to suffer death, and four others to receive corporeal punishment. The Commander in Chief, on this occasion, addressed the President of Congress, in the feeling language which follows."While I suffer the most poignant distress in observing that a handful of men, contemptible in numbers, and equally so in point of service, if the veteran troops from the southward have not been seduced by their example, and who are not worthy to be called soldiers, should disgrace themselves and their country, as the Pennsylvania mutineers have done, by insulting the sovereign authority of the United States, and that of their own; I feel an inexpressible satisfaction, that even this behaviour cannot stain the name of the American soldiery. It cannot be imputable to, or reflect dishonor on the army at large, but on the contrary, it will, by the striking contrast it exhibits, hold up to public view the other troops in the most advantageous point of light. On taking all the circumstances into consideration, I cannot sufficiently express my surprise and indignation, at the arrogance, the folly, and the wickedness of the mutineers; nor can I sufficiently admire the fidelity, the bravery and patriotism, which must forever signalize the unsullied character of the other corps of our army. For when we consider that these Pennsylvania levies, who have now mutinied, are recruits, and soldiers of a day, who have not borne the heat and burden of the war, and who can have in reality very few hardships to complain of; and when we at the same time recollect that those soldiers, who have lately been furloughed from this army, are the veterans, who have patiently endured hunger, nakedness, and cold; who have suffered and bled without a murmur, and who, with perfect good order, have retired to their homes, without a settlement of their accounts, or a farthing of money in their pockets; we shall be as much astonished at the virtues of the latter, as we are struck with horror and detestation at the proceedings of the former ? and every candid mind, without indulging ill grounded prejudices, will undoubtedly make the proper discrimination. On the second of November, 1783, General Washington issued his farewell orders to the armies of the United States. Having taken notice of the proclamation of Congress, of October 18th, he said, "It only remains for the Commander in Chief to address himself once more, and that for the last time, to the armies of the United States, however widely dispersed the individuals who composed them may be, and to bid them an affectionate, a long farewell. But before the Commander in Chief takes his final leave of those he holds most dear, he wishes to indulge himself a few moments in calling to mind a slight review of the past. He will then take the liberty of exploring with his military friends their future prospects, of advising the general line of conduct, which in his opinion, ought to be pursued, and he will conclude the address by expressing the obligations he feels himself under for the spirited and able assistance he has experienced from them, in the performance of an arduous office. "A contemplation of the complete attainment, at a period earlier than could have been expected, of the object for which we contended, against so formidable a power, cannot but inspire us with astonishment and gratitude. The disadvantageous circumstances on our part, under which the war was undertaken, can never be forgotten. The signal interpositions of Providence, in our feeble condition, were such as could scarcely escape the attention of the most unobserving; while the unparalleled perseverance of the armies of the United States, through almost every possible suffering and discouragement, for the space of eight long years, was little short of a standing miracle." His closing words are, "and being now to conclude these his last public orders, to take his ultimate leave in a short time, of the military character, and to bid adieu to the armies he has so long had the honor to command, he can only again offer in their behalf his recommendations to their grateful country, and his prayers to the God of armies. May ample justice be done them here and may the choicest of Heaven's favors both here and hereafter attend those, who, under the divine auspices have secured innumerable blessings for others! With these |