“Sir:--We have just been informed of a circumstance, which, were it not so well authenticated, I should scarcely think credible. It is that Colonel Allen, who, with his small party, was defeated and made prisoner near Montreal, has been treated without regard to decency, humanity, or the rules of war; that he has been thrown into irons, and suffers all the hardships inflicted upon common felons. “I think it is my duty, sir, to demand, and do expect from you, an eclaircissement on this subject. At the same time, I flatter myself, from the character which Mr. Howe bears as a man of honor, gentleman and soldier, that my demand will meet with his approbation. I must take the liberty, also, of informing you that I shall consider your silence as a confirmation of the report, and further assuring you, that whatever treatment Colonel Allen receives, whatever fate he undergoes, such exactly shall be the fate of Brigadier Prescott, now in our hands. The law of retaliation is not only justifiable in the eyes of God and man but absolutely a duty.” Washington observed in a letter to Congress: “My reason for pointing out Prescott as the object who is to suffer for Allen’s fate, is that I am given to understand that Prescott is the cause of Allen’s sufferings. I thought best to be decisive on the occasion, as did the generals whom I consulted thereon.” Shortly afterwards, Washington received a letter from Levi Allen, a brother to the Colonel, and of like enterprising and enthusiastic character. It was dated from Salisbury, Connecticut, and enclosed affidavits of the harsh treatment his brother had experienced, and of his being confined on board of the Gaspé, “with a bar of iron fixed to one of his legs, and iron to his hands.” Levi proposed to go to England, where he supposed his brother was, raise a mob and set him free, bribe the jailor, or in some way deliver him from confinement. Washington kindly advised against Levi’s wild project. The measure of retaliation was actually meted out to Prescott, of which Washington spoke in his letter to Howe.