The Newport Gazette

From the Connecticut Gazette.

Copy of a Letter from Lord CORNWALLIS to General WASHINGTON, dated Brunswick, April 3d, 1777.

SIR,

I ENCLOSE you a Paper, which Lieutenant-Colonel Walcott delivered Yesterday to Lieut. Col. Harrison, and which Lieut. Col. Harrison did not think proper to receive. I am, Sir, with due Respect, your most obedient humble Servant,

CORNWALLIS.

General Washington, &c. &c. &c. (Copy)

DEMAND, &c. by Lieutenant-Colonel WALCOTT, April 2d, 1777, for RETURN of PRISONERS.

WHEREAS General Washington did, in his Letter to General Howe, bearing Date the 30th Day of July, 1776, declare, that he was authorized to propose, and did in the same Letter accordingly propose a general Exchange of all Prisoners of War, in the Manner following; viz. Officer for Officers of equal Rank, Soldier for Soldier, and Citizen for Citizen. To which Proposal his Excellency General Sir William Howe did, in his Answer of the first of August following, accede and agree. And whereas, in Pursuance of this Agreement, Gen. Sir William Howe, relying upon the Honour and good Faith of General Washington, for the due and punctual Performance thereof, on his Part, hath, at several Times, sent and delivered over to General Washington, as will fully appear from the Lists with them transmitted, a Number of Officers on their Parole, and upwards of two Thousand two Hundred Privates, of the Enemy, his Prisoners; and who, as well Officers as Privates, are still to be considered as such, until they are regularly Exchanged, Officers for Officers of equal Rank, and the Privates by a like Number of those who are in the Possession of General Washington: none of whom having been taken before, or about the Time of concluding the Agreement, have, in direct Violation thereof, been detained as Prisoners for full eight Months, and others taken in the latter End of December, and in the Beginning of January last, have been in the like Condition of Prisoner for three Months: none, or very few of whom, have been hitherto Sent in, in Return or Exchange of the Number of Prisoners sent by General Howe to General Washington.--- I, Lieutenant Colonel William Walcott, vested with full Power for this among other Purposes, do therefore, in the most positive and peremptory Manner, require and demand of General Washington the full and due Performance of the Agreement above recited: and consequently the speedy and immediate Release of all Prisoners of War, whether British, Hessians, Waldeckers, Provincials or Canadians, as well Officers as Soldiers, now in his Possession, or so far as they may go towards the Exchange of those sent or delivered over: to General Washington. And whereas there are still in the Possession of General Sir William Howe, very considerable Number of Officers, and a Number of Privates, of the Enemy, Prisoners, unexchanged: I do further require and demand of General Washington, that as Soon as he shall have completed the Exchange of these already delivered over to him, agreeable to my Requisition and Demand for that Purpose, he shall proceed to the Exchange of these last mentioned Officers and Privates, in Conformity to the Agreement of the 30th of July and the 1st of August, 1776; to the Execution of which the groundless and unprecedented Objections offered on the Part of General Washington by Lieutenant-Colonel Harrison, cannot with any Degree of Reason, or consistency with Common Sense, be allowed or admitted as Obstacles. The One, "as that the Whole of the Prisoners contained in the Commissary's Lists, and delivered over to Gen. Washington, shall not be accounted for, because many of them died on their Return to the Place of their Destination, and many immediately after their Arrival." Posterior to their therefore, manifestly from this Objection itself as stated, to their being delivered over to General Washington. All of whom therefore must be, and all of whom, this Objection notwithstanding I do again require and demand to be exchanged, according to the express Terms of the Agreement, "Soldier for Soldier," for every Man delivered over to the Person who received them so and on the Behalf of Gen. Washington: The other, "The Case of Lieutenant-Colonel Lee," whose Release General Washington might, with greater Propriety, demand, whenever, within the Terms of the said Agreement. "Officers for Officers, of equal Rank," he shall have in his Possession an Officer of Rank equal to the required Rank of the Gentleman in Question; but until that happens, the Demand and Objection upon this Subject are at least premature. I do moreover expect and demand that an immediate and categorical Answer should be given to their just and reasonable Requisitions and Demands.

Given at the House of the Reverend Mr. Beech, in the Township of Hillsborough, the 2d Day of April, 1777.

W. WALCOTT, Lieut. Col.

To General Washington, &c. &c. (Copy)

Morris Town, April 9, 1777.

SIR,

TAKE the Liberty of transmitting you a Copy of a Paper addressed to me by Lieut. Col. Walcott, of your Army, which came inclosed in a Letter from Lieutenant-General Lord Cornwallis. It is with peculiar Regret I am constrained to observe, that this illiberal Performance of Col. Walcott is evidently calculated to answer a less generous Purpose than that of merely effecting an Exchange, something a gross Misrepresentation of such Objections as for justifiable Deviations from that due and line which expected would mark his Conduct in Mirror Candour and Integrity. As that Gentleman has therefore two Articles insisted on by me through Lieut. Col. Harrison; it their meeting on the 1st ult, as groundless, unprecedented and inconsistent, out with any Degree of Reason or Common Sense; though founded, as I conceive in the clearest Principles of Equity and Justice. Nor contenting himself with this which would have given me no Concern; he has assumed the Privilege of distilling and misstating those Articles, in such a Manner, as to adopt them to the unfair Conclusions he wishes to bias. Having premised these Things, and being charged in direct and positive Terms by Col. Walcott, who acted under your Authority, with a Violation of the Agreement made between us for the Exchange of Prisoners, and called upon for the Performance of the same I think it necessary to explain the Motives of my Conduct, and the Grounds on which those Articles or Objections stand. In Respect to the first I freely confess that I do not hold myself bound, either by the Spirit of the Agreement, Or the Principles of Justice, to account for those Prisoners, who, from the Rigour and Severity of their Treatment, were in so emaciated and languishing a State at the Time they came out, as to go render their Death almost certain and inevitable and which in many Instances, happened, while they were returning to their Homes, and in many others after their Arrival You must be sensible that our Engagement, as well as all others of the Kind, though in Letter it express only an Equality of Rank and Number in the Rule of Exchange, yet it necessarily implies a Regard to the general Principles of rational Compensation and adequate Equivalent This is inherent in its Nature is the Key of Reason; and no Stipulation or Condition in which Prisoners should be returned, was requisite. Humanity dictates that their Treatment should be such as Health and Comfort demand: and her Laws have been duly respected Condition has been generally good this the Language of Humanity Justice declares the same. To every Cartel, or Agreement I of the Prisoners themselves and the concealing Powers: On : re cqaally exists, that they Oould trea cd, as that thoy dould b e hi The Reveria is eherefore o Ovidemt I tion, axd cughs ts fubise the iPlon whom it is chargeable to Slr . and ill. Consequencee refah Nor can it be expeetedj thx fo: futlre Service: by Adr d dira&t Violation of: Conpaa jects far an Hxchange.. Ifaeh retprn Othero noti cbe fmy* ptn would tc to pive. wlehow Hqnivalent, acd wou'd (Eer ibe Ramainder df this
Encouragement to Cruelty and Inhumanity.

The Argument drawn from the mere Circumstance of the Prisoners having been received, is of no Validity. Though, from their wretched Situation, they could not, at that Time, be deemed proper for an Exchange, our Humanity required that they should be permitted to return amongst us.

It may perhaps be fairly doubted, whether an Apprehension of their Death, or a great Part of them, did not contribute somewhat to their being sent out when they were.

Such an Event, while they remained with you, would have been truly distressing, because it would have destroyed every Shadow of Claim for the Prisoners in Our Hands.

And therefore Policy, concurring with Humanity, dictated that the Measure should be adopted. Happy had it been, if the Expedient had been thought of before these ill-fated Men had been reduced to such Extremity: It is confessed, however, on all Sides, that after their Delivery, they still continued your Prisoners, and would be so, till regularly exchanged. I acknowledge that I should be, and I have been always willing, notwithstanding this Concession, to account for every Man that was in a proper Condition, and fit to be exchanged, at the Time they came out, so far as the Proportion of Prisoners with us would extend.

With what Propriety, or on what Foundation of Justice, can more be demanded?

This has been proposed, or what is the same, was most clearly implied, in the first Article or Objection made by Lieut. Colonel Harrison, and illiberally rejected since, as inconsistent with any Degree of Reason or Common Sense. Painful as it is, I am compelled to consider it as a Fact, not to be questioned, that the Usages of our Prisoners, whilst in your Possession, (the Privates at least) were such as could not be justified.

This was proclaimed by the concurrent Testimony of all that came out, their Appearance sanctioned the Assertion, and melancholy Experience, in the speedy Death of a large Part of them, stamped it with infallible Certainty.

In Respect to the second Article insisted on, your discriminating Maj. General Lee from other captive Officers belonging to the American Army, demanded my particular Attention. I was authorized to conclude, from your paying him under particular Restraint, and from your Letter of the 23d of January last, that you considered him in a singular Point of View, and meant to exclude him from the common Right of Exchange, stipulated for all Officers in general to me. This Distinction, the more injurious and unwarrantable as you never excepted him, though you knew him to be an Officer in our Army at the Time, and long before, the Agreement was entered into, made it my Duty to assert his Right in an explicit Manner, and to endeavour to put the Matter on so unequivocal a Footing as to insure his Enlargement, whenever an Officer of equal Rank, belonging to your Army should be in Our Power. This was attempted by the Article, and nothing more, nor is any other Inference to be drawn from it.

It is true, a Proposition was made since his Captivity, to give a certain Number of Officers inferior Rank in Exchange for him. But it was not claimed as a Matter of Right. When then does that Proceeding merit such which it is suggested that the immediate Release of General Lee had been demanded, without having an Officer of equal Rank to give for him? The Suggestion cannot be supported by the most tortured Exposition, nor will it have Credit, where Candour is deemed a Virtue, and Words preserve their Form and Meaning.

As to the Charge of Delay in not returning the Prisoners in our Hands,--the imperfect Situation of those taken at a more early Period of the War, through the different States, arising from the Circumstances of their Captivity, and Regard to their better Accommodation, made their Detention for a considerable Time unavoidable.

When the Agreement subsisting between us took Place, the Speediest Directions were given to have them collected, that an Exchange might be effected. This was done in Part, and at a Time when Motives of Policy opposed the Measure, but were made to yield to rigid Maxims of good Faith. We were pursuing the Exchange, and continued our Exertions to accomplish it, till the miserable Appearance, indicating an approaching Catastrophe, of those sent out by you, made it proper. For seeing that a Difficulty might arise, and that it might be expected I should account for the Whole of them, which I by no Means thought equitable, it became necessary that the Matter should be adjusted, and the due Proportion settled, for which I ought to be responsible, before any Thing farther could be done on my Part. Upon this Ground stands also the Detention of those who have been since captured.

Added to those Considerations, the Discrimination set up in the Instance of Gen. Lee, is to be regarded as utterly irreconcilable to the Tenor of our Agreement, and an insurmountable Obstacle to a Compliance with your Demands.

Thus, Sir, have I explained the Motives of my Conduct, and, I trust, vindicated myself, in the Eye of Impartiality, from the improper and groundless Charge, which you, and the Gentlemen acting by your Authority, have been pleased to allege against me. If in doing this, I have departed, in the smallest Degree, from that Delicacy, which I always wished should form a Part of my Character, you will remember, I have been forced into Recrimination, and that it has become an Act of necessary Justice.

I shall now declare it to be my ardent Wish, that a general Exchange may take Place on generous and liberal Principles, as far as it can be effected, and that the Agreement subsisting between us for that Purpose should be invariably observed: and I call on you, by every Obligation of good Faith, to remove all Impediments on your Part to the Accomplishment of it. I, however, you do not, I console myself with a Hope that those unfortunate Men, whose Lot it is to be your Prisoners, will bear their Sufferings with becoming Fortitude and Magnanimity.

I am, Sir, with due Respect, your most obedient humble Servant,

G. WASHINGTON.

His Excellency Gen. Sir William Howe.

(Copy)

Published by Order of Congress,

Charles Thomson, Secretary.