1780. South Carolina delegate at congrefs," From the arrival of Sir H. Clinton and lord Cornwallis in the Savannah, and their landing the army upon the Carolina fide of the river, it can be no longer doubted, that it has been refolved at St. James's, to remove the theatre of the war to the fouthern states." He then pointed out as the measures to be immediately taken-the fending all the troops raised weft of the Delaware, inftantly by the water route to James river, and marching them directly crofs North Carolina to meet the enemy. Mr. Matthews received the letter on the 13th of March just as he was going to the houfe: when there, he stated the contents of it as a matter of information and not of opinion, with a view of attracting more effectually the attention of congrefs. He then took the liberty of propofing the plan of operations for the fouthern campaign agreeable to Gates's ideas. The propofal was not duly regarded; and it was not till afterward that the refolution was taken to fend forward the Maryland and Delaware lines. These amounted only to 1400 effective men. They marched from head quarters at Morris-town on the 16th of April, under the command of baron de Kalb, embarked at the Head of Elk in May, landed foon at Petersburgh in Virginia, and from thence proceeded by land toward South Carolina. Virginia made great and effectual exertions to expedite their movements: but in North Carolina little or no preparations were made for fupporting the troops or transporting their baggage. The baron was under the neceffity of halting on Deep river the 6th of July. He received frequent affurances of support; but found no refources except in making frequent detachments for collecting provifions, which

4

Newbern, July 20, the reasons that urged him to leave 1780. Charlestown without the permiffion of the commandant, left the fame should be reprefented as a breach of his parole, and of courfe infamous and dishonorable. The letter relates, that the morning of the day the justice left the town, he was informed, that the preceding night a party had affembled together to take him out of his house and put him to death; and that it would certainly have been effected, had not a British officer, capt. Conftable, prevailed on them to confider further of the matter. To fhow his utmost reliance on his lordship's honor, he fays in it" I will immediately return to my parole in Charlestown, if I obtain your promise that no further injury or infult fhall be offered me. I require no other fecurity." He then adds-" There are many English officers, my lord, that have intelligent and generous fpirits, that know it is impoffible to fix any immutable standard of opinion in politics, any more than religion; and therefore not impoffible that a very upright and virtuous man may be a member of congress, governor, judge, &c. notwithstanding the common epithet of rebel fo freely bestowed on them. Such men (it is no matter which fide their principles lead them to embrace) behold human mifery in every fhape, or from whatever cause derived, with pity and concern, and by compaffion and politenefs endeavour to foften and mitigate it but the malignity and virulence of Scotch (with fome few exceptions) and American refugee officers (with none at all) whether in a civil or military line, is fingularly confpicuous throughout this war, and cannot be defcribed but in terms offenfive to the pen of a gentleman."

1780. his predeceffor with due confideration, confirmed his standing orders, and requested that he would keep the command of his divifion as formerly in the grand army. The Baron's divifion confifted of all the Maryland and Delaware troops: these with a finall legionary corps under col. Armand, confifting of about 60 horse and as many foot foldiers, who arrived a few days before, and three companies of artillery, conftituted the whole of the army. The Baron with great fatisfaction complied with Gates's requeft. A confiderable body of North Carolina militia had taken the field under gen. Cafwell. His appointment and inftructions to join and co-operate with the regular forces had been announced to the Baron, who daily expected his arrival, and with him a confiderable fupply of provifions. Cafwell however, upon the plea of preventing fome difaffected inhabitants from taking arms in favor of the enemy, excused his not complying with the inftructions; and as to the fupply though promifed, no part of it ever arrived. On the July morning of July the 27th, gen. Gates marched at the head *7 of the army, to effect a junction of the regular and irregular forces, to affume an appearance of hoftile views. upon the enemy's advanced pofts, and in expectation of fharing with the militia the fupplies they received from the state. The troops paffed Deep river at the Buffalo-ford, and encamped in the afternoon at Spinks's farm on the road to Camden.

Here we fhall leave them till time and future operations yield us the materials for proceeding in the history of the fouthern department. However we must not quit North Carolina without mentioning, that Mr. Juftice Pendleton ftated to lord Cornwallis, in a letter dated

Newbern, July 20, the reasons that urged him to leave 1780. Charlestown without the permiffion of the commandant, left the fame should be reprefented as a breach of his parole, and of courfe infamous and difhonorable. The letter relates, that the morning of the day the justice left the town, he was informed, that the preceding night a party had affembled together to take him out of his house and put him to death; and that it would certainly have been effected, had not a British officer, capt. Conftable, prevailed on them to confider further of the matter. To fhow his utmost reliance on his lordship's honor, he fays in it-" I will immediately return to my parole in Charlestown, if I obtain your promise that no further injury or infult fhall be offered me. I require no other fecurity." He then adds-" There are many English officers, my lord, that have intelligent and generous fpirits, that know it is impoffible to fix any immutable standard of opinion in politics, any more than religion; and therefore not impoffible that a very upright and virtuous man may be a member of congress, governor, judge, &c. notwithstanding the common epithet of rebel fo freely bestowed on them. Such men (it is no matter which fide their principles lead them to embrace) behold human mifery in every fhape, or from whatever cause derived, with pity and concern, and by compaffion and politenefs endeavour to foften and mitigate it but the malignity and virulence of Scotch (with fome few exceptions) and American refugee officers (with none at all) whether in a civil or military line, is fingularly confpicuous throughout this war, and cannot be described but in terms offenfive to the pen of a gentleman."

1780.

The proceedings of congrefs muft now again engage

our attention.

The grand council of the American states called upon each, in February, for specific fupplies of provifion and forage. But before thefe could be brought in, fuch advantage was taken of the public wants, that the nominal debt of the continent was increafed beyond calculation. Depreciation was rapid. The enemy took courage, and fet every engine to work, by counterfeiting and multiplying their base emiffions, to decry the credit of the paper currency. Congrefs, to baffle their defigns and curb inteftine avarice, refolved on the 18th of March, to call in by taxes in the course of one year, and to burn all the paper bills heretofore emitted to the amount of 200 million of dollars, and in lieu thereof to iffue ten millions of new money, which was to be iffued as faft and no faster than the old was brought in. For every 20 dollars of the old, one dollar of the new emiffion was to be perfected, and lodged in the continental loan offices in the respective states. These new bills were to be redeemable in fpecie, within fix years after the present, and to bear an interest at the rate of 5 per cent. to be paid also in fpecie at the redemption of the bills, or at the election of the owner annually, in fterling bills of exchange on the American commiffioners in Europe, at four fhillings and fixpence per dollar. The new bills. were to iffue on funds of individual states, established for the purpose. As the faid bills were completed, the states respectively on whofe funds they iffued were to receive fix tenths of them, and the remainder was to be fubject to the orders of the United States, and credited to the states on whose funds they iffued. Thefe bills