The Newport Gazette

PROVIDENCE June 20.
Copy of a Letter from the Honourable Major-General Sullivan, to General Pigot, Commander of the Enemy's Troops on Rhode Island.
Providence, June 4, 1778.
SIR,
The repeated Applications of the distressed Families of those Persons who were captured by your Troops on the 25th ult. induce me to write you upon the Subject. As those men were not in actual Service, or found in Arms, I cannot conceive what were the Motives for taking them, or guess the Terms upon which their Release may be obtained. Had the War, on the Part of Britain, been founded in Justice; and had your Troops, in their Excursion, completed the Destruction of the Boats, and our military Preparations in that Quarter, without wantonly destroying defenceless Towns, burning Houses consecrated to the Deity, plundering and abusing innocent Inhabitants, and dragging from their peaceful Habitations unarmed and unoffending Men: such an Expedition might have shown with Splendor.—It is now darkened with savage Cruelty, and stained with indelible Disgrace.
"In your last Letter to me, you gave it as your Opinion, that the Inhabitants of America, at large, would entertain more favourable Sentiments of the Views and Intentions of Great Britain, than I seemed inclined to have. If, Sir, the unprecedented Cruelty of your Troops, displayed upon every petty Advantage, Since the Commencement of this Contest: the inhuman and unexampled Treatment of Prisoners, who, by the Fortune of War, have fallen into your Power, had not sufficiently convinced the Inhabitants of the United States, that they had nothing to expect from that Nation, but a Continuance of those tyrannical and cruel Measures which drove them to a Separation: the Conduct of your Party, in their late Excursion, must have stamped it with infallible Certainty.
"The Law of Retaliation has not as yet been exercised by the Americans. Humanity has marked the Line of their Conduct thus far, even though they knew that their Tenderness was attributed to base Timidity; but if a Departure from the Laws of Humanity can in any Instance be justified it must be, when such relentless Destroyers are entrapped by the Vigilance, of the Party invaded. Perhaps, at some such Period the Americans, fired with Resentment of accumulated Injuries; wearied with the long Exercise of a humane Conduct, which has only been rewarded with Barbarity and Insult; and despairing to mitigate the Horrors of War, by persisting in the Practice of a Virtue, which their Enemies seem to have banished from their Minds; may, by suddenly executing the Law of Retaliation, convince Britain, that they have mistaken the Motives of American Clemency, and tried too far an undeserved Lenity. Should such an Event take Place, the unhappy Sufferers may charge their Misfortunes to the Commanding Officers of the British Army in this Country, whose misconduct has weaned the Affections of Americans from your Nation, driven them to draw Alliances to your Sovereign, and at length taught them to Act the Part of Retaliation.
"I should not have wrote you so particularly upon this Subject, had I not observed in the Newport Gazette, that the Conduct of your Troops, employed on the late Expedition, had received your Approbation and warmest Thanks.
"Your favouring me with a Line, informing upon what Terms a Release of those unfortunate Persons may be obtained will much oblige, Sir,
Your most obedient,
and very humble Servant.
JOHN SULLIVAN."
M. General Pigot.
Gen. Pigot's Answer.
Newport, June 10, 1778
SIR,
Received your very extraordinary Letter, and as you request nothing more than the Favour of a Line, to inform you upon what Terms the Prisoners taken on the 25th of last Month, can be obtained, it is unnecessary to trouble you with Reply to any other Part of your Letter.
"You are pleased to say, you cannot conjecture upon what Terms their Release may be obtained. You certainly all know, that by the Laws of this Country every Man above sixteen, and under sixty is obliged to serve as a Militia-man, under very severe Penalties, and have General Field Officers appointed to lead them whenever called to act; and I have no Doubt but many of those very Persons, whom you call peaceable Inhabitants have marched on the last intended Invasion of this Island, by General Spencer, Taking the Case, I cannot see there can be any Objection made to their being exchanged for Soldiers or Seamen. Any one who does not come under the above Description of being between sixteen and sixty, upon your pointing him out, be immediately set at Liberty without any Exchange Should this Proposal be agreeable to you I am ready to make the Exchange as soon as you please; but in case it does not meet with your Approbation, I am sorry to acquaint you, that not having it in my Power to accommodate the Prisoners so commodiously and well as I could wish to do, be under the Necessity, when an Opportunity offers, of sending them to New-York where they will be better attended to be more at large, and I wish their Exchange may be as speedily effected.
I am, Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant
ROBERT PIGOT.
M. General Sullivan.
NEWPORT: June 25.

GENERAL SULLIVAN's Reply to General PIGOT's Letter of the 10th Instant.

Providence June 20th, 1778.

SIR,

As it was not in any Power to comply with the Terms proposed by you, in your Letter of the 10th Instant, respecting the Exchange of the Persons taken by your Troops on the 25th of last month; I could not answer you without consulting the Council of War, who request me to send a Flag in which Governor Bradford goes with some Propositions which he will communicate.

We have some Seamen here taken by our Vessels of War, others we expect will in a few Days be brought in from Boston.

The Council wishes to know whether you will Exchange the Prisoners whose Names are contained in the List sent by Governor Bradford, for an equal Number of the Troops of this State now in your Hands and about the Rhode Island Parole.

Should this Proposal be agreed to, the Persons mentioned in the List shall be delivered to you immediately after receiving the Flag, and the List sent for the Prisoners can be collected here for the Purpose.

You may depend on as speedy a performance as possible on the Part of this State, and that I shall do every Thing in my Power to forward to Rhode Island Persons in Exchange for such as you may send out.

I have the Honour to be, Sir, your most Obedient humble Servant.

JOHN SULLIVAN.

M. Gen. Pigot.

ANSWER.

Newport, June 22d, 1778.

SIR,

In the favour of your Letter last night by Gov. Bradford. before its Arrival every Thing relative to the Release of the Soldiers and Inhabitants taken the 25th May, was settled with Mr. Melsonneau, the Commissary of Prisoners.

I learn by Gov. Bradford, that it would be agreeable to you to give Sailors in Exchange for the Inhabitants, I have given my Consent thereto. Mr. Melsonneau, the Commissary will wait upon you with the Agreement, which I doubt not will be complied with as soon as possible.

I have the Honour to be, Sir, your most Obedient humble Servant.

ROBERT PIGOT.

P. S. Some of the Inhabitants being Old and Infirm, I have discharged them, without looking for others in Exchange.