in Congress, acting on the most arduous committees until the 4th of December. Thus, several days after he obtained leave of absence, he was chairman of a committee of three, to which were referred, "the return of the ordinance, &c. taken from the enemy, enclosed in General Gates' letter of the 10th, and a letter from the council of safety of New York."* On the second of December, a committee of three were appointed, to recommend to the several states, to call in the paper money issued by them, under the authority of the king of Great Britain. Of this committee, Mr. Lee was chairman. On the 4th instant, a letter from General Washington, and one from General Varnum, were laid before Congress, and referred to a committee of five, of which Mr. Lee was chairman.‡ The state of Mr. Lee's health now compelled him to return to Virginia, and to relinquish for a time, all public pursuits. The attention of Mr. Lee, while in Congress, was not confined to the business of that body. His active mind was deeply engaged in all public concerns, and was constantly considering what could be done most conducive to the public good. Among other instances of this, which might be mentioned, the following may be here related while he was still in Congress at York in Pennsylvania, there passed through that place a serjeant and eight men, whose term of enlistment had expired. When Mr. Lee heard of this circumstance, he hired a It *On the third of December, the committee on Indian affairs, reported a speech to be made to the Six Nations of Indians. was written by Mr. Lee. It gives a pleasing instance of the ease with which he could adopt his eloquence to the bold and figurative style of those orators of nature. After reproaching them for their ingratitude to the United States, and expressing astonishment at their late conduct, it declares, it would have been as impossible to have expected it, as to have expected, "that the mole should overturn the vast mountains of the Alleghany, or that the birds of the air, should drink up the waters of the Niagara." See the whole speech at p. 555, vol. iii. Journals. Ib. p. 561. † Jour. p. 518–551. man to go after them with a letter to the serjeant and men, persuading them to return to the army, and pledging Mr. Lee's honour, to pay them the enlistment money and the cost of the conveyance of their baggage. He succeeded in getting them to return. While he was in Congress, engrossed with its business, he prepared a plan of defence of the coasts of Virginia, which received great eulogium from the military and naval characters of the day. As he was passing through Maryland on his return to Virginia, he heard that persons on both shores of the Potomac, carried on considerable traffic with the British ships of war in the Chesapeake Bay. He wrote from the tavern in which he was lodging for the night, letters to the governors of the states of Virginia and Maryland, informing them of this circumstance, and devising a method by which this intercourse might be prevented. The author has the manuscript copy of those letters also. It was thought that the following letter from Arthur Lee to General Washington, written during the year in which the reader has been contemplating Mr. Lee's public career, would add a pleasing variety to the narration of this Memoir. Mr. Arthur Lee was for a time an accredited commissioner of the United States, to the court of Berlin. It contains an interesting anecdote of General Washington, and informs us too, of the opinion of the military men of Europe, of his talent as a gene-ral.* The manuscript copy of it was given by the writer to his brother R. H. Lee. To his Excellency GENERAL WASHINGTON. BERLIN, June 15th, 1777. DEAR SIR-It has been with uncommon satisfaction, that I have seen you in a situation in which I long hoped you would be, if we were forced to dispute the great question, which, in my own opinion, I was satisfied * This letter too, may serve to prove further, the incorrectness of the charge contained in Johnson's life of Green, that the "Lees of Virginia were inimical to General Washington. Full proof to the same effect, can be given in relation to F. L. Lee. would happen. I never forgot your declaration, when I had the pleasure of being at your house in 1768, "that you were ready to take your musket upon your shoulder whenever your country called upon you.' I heard that declaration with great satisfaction: I remember it with the same, and have seen it verified to your immortal honour and the eminent advantage of the illustrious cause in which you are contending. I have the pleasure of assuring you that your conduct against General Howe, has been highly approved by military men, here and in France. That approbation has been increased in those to whom I have had an opportunity of stating the great inferiority of the troops you commanded, to those of the enemy, in number and in every provision for war. The Prussian army, which amounts to two hundred and twenty-eight thousand, are disciplined by force of hourly exercise, and move with a rapidity and order which are certain to succeed against any troops in Europe. When the king reviews any army of forty thousand men, not a man or horse, the former in full march, the latter in full gallop, is discernibly out of line. The regiments are in the field every day, where, beside the general exercise, every man is filed off singly, and passes in review before different officers, who beat his limbs into the position they think proper, so that the man appears to be purely a machine in the hands of a workman. The improvements of utility which I have been able to note, are these; the ramrods are of double thickness all the way, and enlarged as ours are at one end. The advantage is to ram down the charge, so that they do not turn the rod, but raising it to the muzzle, they plunge the lower end into the barrel, and then raising it up, return it straight, without the necessity of turning it as formerly. This saves a great deal of awkward motion, and of time. The mouths of the loops are very large, so that there is much more readiness in hitting them than formerly; which also expedites the important business of charging. The musket, to compensate for this increase of weight, is two inches shorter in the barrel. When the men present, instead of levelling their firelocks, they are taught to slant them down, so that a point blank shot would apparently strike the ground at about ten yards distance. This depression is found necessary to counteract the elevation, which the act of firing inevitably gives the musket; and even when a ball strikes the ground, it generally rises, and may do execution, but if directed too high it is lost entirely. These are alterations which seem to me of great utility, and I wish they may appear so to you. It is my intention to write a history of this civil contention. The share you have had in it, will form an interesting and important part. It will be in your power to preserve a variety of material papers and anecdotes for such a work. May I venture to hope that you will think me so far worthy of your confidence as to preserve them for me? Dubious parts of history can be cleared only by such documents; and we shall want every authentic record to vouch against the forgeries which will be offered to the world. The resources of our enemy are almost annihilated in Germany, and their last resort is to the Roman Catholics of Ireland. They have already experienced their readiness to go, every man of a regiment raised there last year, having obliged them to ship him off tied; and certainly they will desert more than other troops whatever. They themselves rely on the present campaign. They have no probability of reinstating their army, except with Roman Catholics of Ireland; should this campaign materially diminish it, I have a plan for rendering that of little effect, which, I hope, will succeed. Should you keep your ground, the question of acknowledging your independence, will become very serious, next winter, with the European Powers. But until the events of this summer are decided, their conduct will remain the same, and no open acts of interference will take place. I am, dear sir, with great respect, yours, &c. &c. ARTHUR LEE." Mr. Lee was unable to return to Congress, before the first of May, 1778. He had been, in the preceding April, re-elected, from Westmoreland county, a member of the Assembly of Virginia. On the first of May, he took his seat in Congress; and on that day, he was chosen chairman of a committee of three, "to report proper instructions to the commissioners of the United States at foreign courts." On the 4th instant, a let ter from General Washington was read, and referred to a committee of three; of which committee, Mr. Lee was chairman. On this day, despatches having arrived, bearing a treaty of alliance with France, a committee of three was appointed, to prepare proper forms of ratification of the treaty with his most Christian majesty; of this committee, Mr. Lee was chairman. It was highly expedient, to inform the people of America, of the treaty of alliance with France, by an address, which should be calculated to inspire them with fresh hope and vigour. On the sixth instant, it was Resolved, "That a committee of three be appointed, to prepare an address to the inhabitants of these states, on the present situation of public affairs;" Mr. Lee was chosen chairman.§ On the eighth instant, this committee reported an address, which may be read in the fourth volume of the Journals, page 267. It is an eloquent production, and admirably well fitted, to arouse and inspirit. The author has no further proof that it was written by Mr. Lee, than that to be derived from its style, and to be inferred from the fact, that he almost in every case, prepared the papers of committees on which he acted, especially, as chair mar. On the thirteenth instant, a letter was received from General Washington, enclosing one from General Sir William Howe, respecting an exchange of prisoners; which letters were referred to a committee of three, of which Mr. Lee was one. On the next day, a memorial * Jour. p. 251-2. † Ib. p. 255. ‡ Ib. p. 257. | Ib. p. 285. |