The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 04
History
The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 04
United States -- Foreign relations -- 1775-1783; United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Sources
Paris, March 14th, 1780.
Sir,
By a letter from London of the 3d of this month, received since my
former of this day's date, I learn that the friends of the Ministry
were in hopes every hour to hear that Clinton, who embarked seven
thousand effective men, (though they are said to be ten) in the latter
end of December, is in possession of Charleston. The detachment
consisted of the light infantry and grenadiers of the seventh,
twentythird, thirtythird, fortysecond, sixtythird, and sixtyfourth
British regiments, a legion of horse, yagers, four battalions of
Hessian grenadiers; the New York volunteers, Ferguson's corps; one
Hessian regiment, and a detachment of the seventyfirst British
regiment. Many are of opinion that a part of this army was intended
for the Windward Islands, and that they embarked and sailed the 26th
of December, and was much hurt by a storm after sailing. Two thousand,
under Lord Cornwallis, were said to be intended for the Chesapeake, to
burn two or three men of war in James river, and to serve as a
division to the other five, going against Charleston.
The friends of the Administration are not in spirits about the picture
of affairs in America and the West Indies. They fear the French will
have a superiority there, from whence some late accounts are arrived
of vast sickness and disorder on board the English ships. The naval
war will, to appearance, be removed for the next summer to that
quarter. Rodney was to sail with four ships only to the West Indies;
and Walsingham will not take more than that number as a convoy to
about one hundred West Indiamen, which were to sail about the 20th of
this month, and more ships of war would probably conduct this fleet
off the land, and it was probable in the New York and Quebec trade
about fifty vessels more would sail about the same time. That there
was no talk of any troops or ships going to New York or Quebec. That
there was a rumor that Wallace would have a small squadron, and carry
four or five thousand men out, but this was not believed. That the
Ministry had been hard pressed in several parliamentary questions
lately; that their party was losing ground daily; that the county
petitions for reformation were a heavy weight upon them; that it was
likely there would be serious disturbances, if reforms do not take
place; that the committees for each county have already appointed
three deputies to meet and act for the whole, which is the beginning
of a Congress, and will probably be soon called by that name; that it
was hard to determine whether these movements at home, or the
proceedings in Ireland, chagrin the Ministry most; that the
sovereignty of England over Ireland will not be of many month's
duration; that the armed associations in the latter amount to
sixtyfour thousand men, who seem determined to free themselves from
every restriction that has been laid on them; that their Parliament is
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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