The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 05
History
The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 05
United States -- Foreign relations -- 1775-1783; United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Sources
"In reading over my letter, I remark I have stated at fortysix
thousand the number of volunteers actually armed among us; we have not
yet an exact return, it is possible there may be four or five thousand
more, because at the end of last year we generally reckoned upon
fortyfive thousand, and there have been since formed five new corps,
commanded by officers as respectable for their personal courage, as
for their patriotism. If this martial ardor, which animates all the
orders of the community, has any inconvenience, it is, that it takes
away from the manufacturers a prodigious number of hands.
Independently of the time given to military exercise, you would not be
able to conceive how many people are employed in these melancholy but
necessary manufactures, which have no other use, end, or object, than
the destruction of men. The casting of cannon, the manufacture of arms
of every description, of tents, and other articles, which are
required for the preparation for a campaign, employ moreover several
thousands of hands; it is true, that the two levies divide the labor
between them.
"They say, that the Duke of Leinster, on whom they had so unjustly
ventured to publish some offensive reflections, has declared publicly
and in the most solemn manner, that he will support the people in the
vindication of their rights to a free constitution absolutely
independent. If the serenity of our present situation is sometimes
interrupted, it is by those unlucky white boys, who, from time to
time, renew their atrocities. The 1st instant fifty of these banditti
well mounted met upon an eminence at Cloriseu, near to Feathard, where
they conducted themselves in an inhuman manner towards two
individuals."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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