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Browsing: Diary of John Adams, Volume 3
[Thursday August 29. 1776.]
Docno: DJA03d448
Date: 1776-08-29
Thursday August 29. 1776. A Letter of the 27th. from R. H. Harrison, the Generals Secretary, and one of the 28th. from General Mercer, both giving an Account of an Action on Long Island on the 27th. were read and referred to the Board of War.
{p. 414}
The Board of War brought in a report, which was taken into Consideration, whereupon Resolved. See the several Resolutions in the Journal.1
Resolved That the Committee, to whom the Plan of Treaties with the Amendments, was recommitted, be impowered to prepare such farther Instructions as to them shall seem proper, and make report thereof to Congress.
1.
JCC
, 5:717. This appears to be a single resolve, continuing George Measam as commissary of stores for the northern army and fixing his pay.
[Fryday August 30. 1776.]
Docno: DJA03d449
Date: 1776-08-30
Fryday August 30. 1776. A Memorial from Mr. Kosciusko was read and referred to the Board of War.
[Monday. September 2. 1776.]
Docno: DJA03d450
Date: 1776-09-02
Monday. September 2. 1776. A Letter of the 31. of August from General Washington, inclosing the determination of a Council of War, and the reasons for quitting Long Island, and a Copy of a Letter from Lord Sterling: Also, one of the 23d from General Gates, with sundry Papers inclosed: one from sundry field Officers in the Army at Ticonderoga, dated the 19th of August, with the Proceedings between a Court Martial and brigadier General Arnold.
Also a Letter of the 23d, from Captain John Nelson, and one from Benjamin Harrison Junior, deputy Pay master General, with his Weekly Account, were read and referred to the Board of War.
Congress being informed, that General Sullivan was come to Philadelphia, with a design to communicate a Message from Lord Howe:
Ordered that he be admitted and heard before Congress.
A petition from Michael Fitzgerald; one from John Weitzell and one from James Paul Govert, were read and referred to the Board of War.
General Sullivan being admitted, delivered a Verbal Message he had in Charge from Lord Howe, which he was desired to reduce to Writing and then he withdrew.
Resolved that the board of War be directed to prepare and bring in a plan of military Operations for the next Campaign.
[Tuesday September 3. 1776.]
Docno: DJA03d451
Date: 1776-09-03
Tuesday September 3. 1776.
General Sullivan, having reduced to Writing the verbal message from Lord Howe, the same was read as follows:
“The following is the purport of the message of Lord Howe to Congress by General Sullivan.
That, though he could not at present treat with Congress as such, yet he was very desirous of having a Conference, with some of the members, whom he would consider for the present only as private
{p. 415}
Gentlemen, and meet them himself as such, at such place as they should appoint.
That he in conjunction with General Howe, had full Powers, to compromise the dispute between Great Britain and America upon terms Advantageous to both; the Obtaining of which delayed him near two months in England, and prevented his Arrival at this place, before the declaration of Independancy took place:
That he wished a compact might be settled at this time, when no decisive blow was struck, and neither party could say they were compelled to enter into such Agreement.
That in case Congress were disposed to treat, many Things, which they had not as yet asked, might and ought to be granted them; and that, if, upon the Conference, they found any probable ground of Accommodation, the Authority of Congress must be afterwards Acknowledged, otherwise the Compact would not be compleat.”
In this written Statement of the Message it ought to be observed that General Sullivan has not inserted, what he had reported verbally, that Lord Howe had told him “he would sett the Act of Parliament wholly aside, and that Parliament had no right to tax America or meddle with her internal Polity.”1
The Board of War brought in a report, which was read, and a number of Resolutions adopted upon it, which see in the Journal.2
1. JA's feelings of repugnance toward Lord Howe's proposal and Sullivan's willingness to convey it are very fully expressed in several letters JA copied into his Autobiography at p. 424 ff. , below. According to Benjamin Rush's recollections, JA turned to him (Rush) while Sullivan was delivering Howe's request to Congress and “whispered to me a wish 'that the first ball that had been fired on the day of the defeat of our army [on Long Island], had gone through [Sullivan's] head.' When he rose to speak against the proposed interview, he called Genl. Sullivan ‘a decoy duck, whom Lord Howe has sent among us to seduce us into a renunciation of our independence' ” (Rush, Autobiography
, p. 140; see also p. 119–120).
2.
JCC
, 5:732. This concerned establishing a post route between Philadelphia and Ticonderoga.
Cite web page as: Founding Families: Digital Editions of the Papers of the Winthrops and the Adamses, ed.C. James Taylor. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 2007.
http://www.masshist.org/ff/
http://www.masshist.org/ff/