[No. 3959.]

Governor Clinton to General Heath on the Enemy's Method of Communication Between Canada and New York.

Pokeepsie, 2d Sepr. 1781.

Sir, I this Moment received the Letter of which I inclose you a Copy. Notwithstanding the extraordinary Delay it has met on its way from Albany, I conceive it my Duty to transmit you the Intelligence it contains, as the Dispatches from Canada aluded to, may not yet have passed our Lines & I think it probable they have not. I am not acquainted with the Enemy's present channel of Communication but I am lead to believe it will be either through the Eastern Parts of this County & into West Chester and Smiths Clove & so to Elizabeth Town or Paulus Hook on the west side of the river; on either route there are so many disposed to give their Assistance that it is impossible to fix upon Particular Persons. The most probable way of intercepting them is to apprize the Magistrates & Militia Officers near the Lines to have trusty Persons to watch the Roads and no persons suffered to pass unless well known without being strictly examined. The communication for some time past from Canada to New York I have reason to believe has been principally through the Grants or across the Country by Niagara. I am &C.

[No. 3960.]

Colonel Willett to Governor Clinton Regarding Three-Year Men-A Raid on Cobleskill-Governor Clinton's Reply.

Fort Renselear, 2d September, 1781.

Sir, I am endeavouring to procure the necessary materials to send you a return agreeable to your Excellencies directions

in your letter of the 7th ultimo. Some of the returns I have ordered to enable me to do this business have this day arrived, and Nothwithstanding my having sent to each officer Command. ing a Company a plain and easy form to make the returns by, two that I have received are both wrong, so that I shall have to send them back to be rectified. Should this go through, the whole of the Companies distant from this post, which I have reason to fear on account of the Greeness of most of the Officers, it will be some time before I shall be able to furnish a return agreeable to my wish. I shall do my best to send you one as good and as soon as I can.

With respect to the Three Years men-By returns from the different officers who were recruiting for my regiment, the first of August their appeared to have been forty seven Inlisted, Only twenty two of which were Mustered and five of those on Furlong, so that there were only ninteen who had Joined. Since that some have been Inlisted out of the levies. These, however, reinforce us none, And the Nineteen are in such a situation that they are hardly worth naming in the Article of strength at present. About half of them are with Captain Wright at Saratoga and the rest scattered among the Companies of levies from Schohary to Fort Herkimer. What number Major McKinstry has I don't know. But conceive it would be best to have the whole formed into some Corps, and all ordered to one place. Tryon County is undoubtedly the place I would wish to have them, and it is without Doubt the place that stands in most need of assistance. For Saratoga must have 5 or 600 hundred men for Itself from the New York & New England levies, and the whole New England World at hand to augment their strength in time of need. While our remote situation will al

ways render us more exposed and require more time to afford us succor. But whether they are ordered to this or any other Quarter they assuredly had best be formed into some kind of a Corps, and ordered to take post together in some particular place, for at present they are every where & no where.

I beg leave, therefore, to request Your Excellency to give some orders respecting these troops, and it will be necessary to do this as soon as may be, as the men ought to be furnished with Cloathing which can hardly be done in their present situation.

Permit me likewise to suggest to you, Sir, Whether it would not be worth while to procure if possible, some cloathing ready to issue to such men as may Inlist into this service from the levies, I think this will become a strong Inducement for men to Inlist, as the Weather grows cold and the men becomes bare of Cloathing. If your Excellency should be of this opinion, I should be Glad to have your assistance in endeavoring to procure a supply of Cloathing to be sent to these posts as soon as possible.

There is a Lieutenant Simmons of my regiment who has himself been a prisoner in Canada from whence he made his Escape. He has a brother who was taken at the same time he was and who is still a prisoner, and is treated with remarkable severity at Chambly. If your Excellency can provide any way to have him exchanged I am well informed that it will deliver a good Whig from great Distress. Some prisoners have been taken from the enemy this way. I shall send one we have here belonging to the Thirty-fourth British regt. now at Canada to Albany to-morrow, perhaps this one or some other soldier, or it may be a Tory, would be received for the said Simmons. Should it be thought right I wish to have the Commissary of

prisoners directed to try to effect his exchange because he is a suffering Whig.

I should be glad to know what is to be done with the places of such disaffected persons as may be removed from the frontiers into the Interior parts of the State. If Colonel Benson can furnish me with the whole of the law for this purpose I shall be much obliged to him.

Last Sunday a party of the enemy Went to Cobes-kill, and did, as I have been informed a considerable deal of Mischief. It was more than thirty hours after they were gone before I knew any about it, so it was not in my power to do anything with them. How it came to pass that I had no early intimation of this affair from a distance of about 24 miles I have not yet learned. And I had a considerable party at Terloch which is only 8 or 10 miles distance who were longer than I was before they knew anything about it.

Cobes-kill is a place that we have had no Guards at for some time, nor Will it do for me at present to extend my Guards that way.

I have the honor to be, Your Excellencies most obedient and very humble servt.

DRAFT OF GOVERNOR CLINTON'S REPLY.

Pokeepsie, 11th Septr. 1781.

Sir, I was favoured with your Letter of the 2nd Instant yesterday. Previous to which I had issued an order of which I now enclose you a copy, to Capt. Job Wright to take charge of such Recruits in Saraghtoga and its Vicinity as were enlisted on Bounties of unappropriated lands & I directed the Muster Master to repair to that Place & muster them. From his Repre

sentation of them they can be of little service anywhere as they are chiefly unarmed & it is not in my Power at present to provide any for them, it would, therefore, not add sufficiently to your strength to compensate for the Trouble of moving them into Tryon County. I am persuaded could we cloathe the few that are already enlisted it would induce many more to ingage but this is equally out of my Power & as I was not formulated with any Returns of new Recruits tho repeatedly called for. Before the Commander in Chief left this Quarter, I was not authorized to make any application to him on the subject & I have Reason to believe he has left no Orders respecting them. I will nevertheless take the earliest opportunity of mentioning this Matter to Genl. Heath & urge him to have them Armed & Cloathed. You may recollect that the Time for compleating these Corps expired last Month and I am no longer authorized to take any measures for effecting it. It is nevertheless my Opinion that the Idea ought not be relinquished and I mean to propose to the Legislature who are to meet at this Place the beginning of next Month an enlargement of the Time & some additional Encouragements for this Service & I would wish to have your Ideas of what would be effectual. I have directed the State Commissary of Prisoners to pay particular attention to the Exchange of Mr. Samons in a Letter this Day addressed to him & informed him that you will send a Prisoner from Tryon County to offer for him. I have carefully inspected all the Laws which have any Relation to the Levies & find I have no authority to draw any Money from the Treasury on Account of their Pay. It I had in the Case of the 45 Days Men raised last Fall extended to no other. I sincerely wish it was in my power to relive you from embarrassment for want of Cash