But in the mean time what were the troops doing at New York? And in the first place, what were Colonel Cleaveland, and the companies under his command, doing? They were becoming sadly diminished in numbers, and the theme of all Colonel Cleaveland's letters was the same—a cry for more men from England. "The demand for Artillerymen," he wrote "is so great that the smallest body of infantry wish not to move without them. I must therefore entreat your Lordship to give us every possible addition to our Corps.... From the small number of Artillerymen in quarters, and no assistance to be had from the army, I am obliged to hire seamen to act as labourers, and find they do more work than any other men I can employ." At the very time he was writing thus, he was being pressed by the Commander-in-Chief to increase the number of guns for the field during the summer campaign; to form batteries of iron 24-pounders and brass 12- pounders on travelling carriages; and to buy as many horses as he could, instead of trusting to those which were pressed for service as required. His patience and the wants of the army being unable to wait for the deliberate movements of the English Ordnance officials, he at last obtained permission from the Commander-in-Chief to enlist three hundred men in New York, "although," he wrote, "these will be very insufficient to man the cannon for the field,—and we therefore most ardently wish for more Artillery from England." He clothed the recruits with the last year's clothing for the 4th Battalion, demanding an additional supply from England in its room. By the correspondence of this time, it appears that the men had no greatcoats except a few for use on sentry, which were kept in the guard rooms. The severity of the winter made it necessary to demand a supply, as the men were much exposed. This appeal was made in the year 1777, and was granted in the year 1786—the matter having taken nine years to penetrate the official brain. Even then it was only granted in part—to the extent of ten per company, increased two years later to fifteen, as the idea became more comprehended by the authorities.