The army was to prosecute the rest of the march to Virginia by land, and with that view took the road leading to Alexandria, a flourishing commercial town upon the Potomack; but upon the news of the arrival of the _Romulus_ ship of war, with two frigates and a number of transports, we turned off towards Annapolis, but the horses and carriages continued their journey by land. As we advance towards the south we observe a sensible difference in the manners and customs of the people. This opulence was particularly observable at Annapolis. That very inconsiderable town, standing at the mouth of the river Severn, where it falls into the bay, out of the few buildings it contains, has at least three-fourths such as may be styled elegant and grand. The state-house is a very beautiful building, I think the most so of any I have seen in America. The peristyle is set off with pillars, and the edifice is topped with a dome. We are embarking with the greatest expedition; the weather is the finest you can conceive, and the wind fair: I think the impatience of the French will soon be at an end. Williamsburgh, September 30, 1781. The army has had a very agreeable passage hither, except the grenadiers, chasseurs, and the first American regiments [these sailed from the Head of Elk], who were fourteen days on the water. Judge how inconvenient this must have been to troops crowded into a narrow space, and without any decks over them; while even the officers had nothing but biscuit to live upon. The shores of this Bay, which is formed by the influx of so many great rivers, are far from being lofty, neither are they much cleared of woods, and it is but rarely that you discover any habitations; but the few we saw were very agreeably situated. This country will be, in time, one of the most beautiful in the world.