This, Sir, is not the first time, even during my little experience here, that the same claim has been made on this floor; and this seems the more astonishing, because the archives of the country furnish such ample and undoubted materials for its refutation. The question of the comparative contributions of men by different States and sections of the country in the war of the Revolution was brought forward as early as 1790, in the first Congress under the Constitution, in the animated and protracted debate on the assumption of State debts by the Union. On that occasion, Fisher Ames, a Representative from Massachusetts, famous for classic eloquence, moved a call upon the War Department for the number of men furnished by each State to the Revolutionary armies. The motion, though vehemently opposed, was carried by a small majority. Shortly afterwards an answer to the call was received from the Department, at that time under the charge of General Knox. This answer, which is one of the documents of our history, places beyond cavil or criticism the exact contributions in arms made by each State. Here it is,--taken from the original, in a volume of the "American State Papers,"[98] published under the authority of Congress. This is official. [98] Military Affairs, Vol. I. pp. 14-19. Compare with Coll. New Hamp. Hist. Soc., Vol. I. p. 236. _Statement of the number of troops and militia furnished by the several States, for the support of the Revolutionary War, from 1775 to 1783, inclusive._ Number of Number of Total militia Conjectural continental militia. and continental estimate of NORTHERN STATES. troops. troops. militia. New Hampshire 12,496 2,093 14,589 3,700 Massachusetts 67,907 15,155 83,062 9,500 Rhode Island 5,908 4,284 10,192 1,500 Connecticut 32,039 7,792 39,831 3,000 New York 17,781 3,312 21,093 8,750 Pennsylvania 25,608 7,357 32,965 2,000 New Jersey 10,726 6,055 16,781 2,500 ------ ------ ------ ------ Total 172,465 46,048 218,513 30,950 SOUTHERN STATES. Delaware 2,387 376 2,763 1,000 Maryland 13,912 5,464 19,376 4,000 Virginia 26,678 4,163 30,841 21,880 North Carolina 7,263 2,706 9,969 12,000 South Carolina 6,417 ---- 6,417 25,850 Georgia 2,679 ---- 2,679 9,900 ------ ------ ------ ------ Total 59,336 12,709 72,045 74,630