Philadelphia September 18th 1780
My Dear sir,
This day I had the pleasure of receiving yours of the fifteenth, inclosing 365 Dollars. The Bundle of money which you was so very Kind as to procure for me I received. It Came in good time, but will not last long in this most Expensive place, and therefore must beg the favour of you to procure Some more for me, as soon as you Can, it must be of the old Continental money. The new will not pass here. Have been with the Coach maker. He has promised your chariot, Shall be finished by the last Week in October.
Our Army Continues much distressed for want of Meat. They get one meal only in three days, and how long that Scanty Allowance will Continue, is uncertain. The Jersey Inhabitants, in whose State the Army is, are plundered daily by partys from the Army, without a possibility of restraint, are not the worst of Consequences to be dreaded, from the Armys thus Careing for themselves - may it not be expected that even the people of the Jerseys, who have upon all Occasions exerted themselves in Support of the Common Cause, will at length have their affections Alienated from the Army, & look upon them as plunderers, and Enemies, rather than the protectors of their Rights. Is it not most Shameful that our Army Should be Starving, while the Country abounds with provisions? To what Can it be imputed? Is it from a want of inclination in the States, to Comply with what has been repeatedly required of them by Congress? Or is it from inattention to the public Cause, or inabillity to render the necessary Supplies? I hope neither of these is the Case. Satisfied I am, that our resources are abundantly Sufficient, and that the bulk of the people Continue firm in the opposition - from the disjointed and deranged State of our finances proceed all our embarrassments, and how to extricate ourselves is the difficulty. There Seems to be a fatality attending every measure, that has been adopted for that purpose. The most probable Schemes have by Some means or other been rendered ineffectual. The Resolves of the 18h March promised fair, but am afraid Will not Answer the end proposed. How is the old money to be got in and the new put into Circulation while our Taxes are Anticipated and paid of in Certificates? Our present Situation is truly Alarming. Our Army in want of every thing; no money in the Treasury and our Credit Exausted.
Congress had advice today of the Arrival of Admiral Rodney at the Hook on the 13th,1 with twelve Ships of the line, And four frigates, and that they had taken & brought in with them a french frigate - that 5000 Troops were to be Sent from N.Y. to the Southward. It is reported that the Combined fleets from the West Indias is on the Coast - if so the french will be Superior and may put a Stop to the embarkation at New York. Fryday last General Smallwood was by the unanimous Vote of Congress promoted to the Rank of Major General. Am Sorry to Acquaint you that this Morning dyed much lamented Mrs. Reed the Presidents Lady. My Compliments to Mrs. Lee
and am with the greatest esteem & regard, Dr sir, Your Excellencys most hble Servt,John Hanson2
Receiver’s copy, Lee, Horsey and Carroll Papers deposit (1985), Maryland Historical Society.
1 Before departing for his Hartford conference with the French, Washington had forwarded on September 16 a copy of a letter of the 14th from Brig. Gen. David Forman with information that Adm. George B. Rodney "with twelve sail of the line & four frigates are Arrived off Sandy Hook from the West Indies." Both letters were read in Congress this day. See JCC, 18:836; Washington, Writings (Fitzpatrick), 20:49n; PCC, item 152, 9:175, 179. Forman’s letter is not in the Washington Papers, DLC. The information was "confirmed beyond a doubt" in a September 18 letter from Nathanael Greene, acting in behalf of the absent Washington. This letter was read on September 20 and referred to the delegates of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Copies were also sent to the governors of Maryland and Virginia. JCC, 18:841, and PCC, item 155, 1:431 - 32.
2 This day Hanson also wrote a nearly identical letter to Charles Carroll of Carrollton, for which see the Carroll Papers, MdHi.
3 Hanson’s next letter to Lee, dated September 23, consisted merely of a single line covering a recently intercepted letter from the Earl of Cornwallis to Lt. Col. Nesbit Balfour, the British commandant at Charleston, S.C. Lee, Horsey, and Carroll Papers deposit, MdHi.