Sir

At four O'Clock this Afternoon I had the Honour to receive your Letter of the 12th Instant.

I should have been extreamly happy, If Congress had been in Sentiment with me on the Necessity of a Delegation from that respectable Body to this Place, a Necessity which to me appears to be absolute.

A General Sir, who commands an Army in which Discipline and Subordination is established and prevails, and every Corps of which considers Itself under his immediate Command, can devote the greatest Proportion of his Time uninterruptedly to weigh every Measure that It may be necessary for him to pursue in Order to compleat the Wishes of his Superiors; Unfortunately for me I have seldom, very seldom indeed had half an Hour to Myself in any Period of this Campaign. Judge of my Situation at this Moment; General [David] Worster's Regiment detained here for three Days by violent Gales and heavy Rains, are now in Doubt whether they will proceed to the Army at St Johns, The General's Secretary and his Chaplain inform me, that many of the Officers & most of the Men, apprehend being detained in Canada all Winter; that they may be pre vented by Frost from returning; that they will perish with Cold or Sickness; that if the Army should be under the Necessity of retreating from St Johns, many must fall a Sacrifice to the Enemy, as there will not be Boats suffici[ent] to bring them away, (altho' we really have Craft sufficient for a Thousand more than the Army consists of); That none but the General, his Secre[tary] and Champlain have any Inclination to proceed.

The Weather is now clearing, the Wind favourable and I wait in the most distressing Anxiety for the Morrow, to see the Event.

I shall dispatch a Copy of your Letter to General Montgomery, for him to Execute such of the Orders It contains as relate to the Affairs of Canada &c. I am happy that Congress has so just a Sense of that Gentleman's Abilities and Zeal his being in this Army has been the Source of vas[t] Consolation to me. I hope his Health will be continued to him that he may be enabled to support that Variety of Fatigue both of Mind and Body to which he is every moment exposed.

Were it possible to foresee the Result of our Operations at St Johns, I should be able to determine if it was necessary to build any Vesse[ls] of War on Lake Champlain, at present I am at a Loss what to do, but least any Detrimen[t] should arise to the Public from the Dilemma [I] am In, If it is the Intention of Congress to prepare Timber for constructing such Vessels without waiting the Event of our Operations, the Difference of Time it will take in, my sending t[o] New York for Carpenters or Congress sending ther[e] on Receipt of this and ordering them up, cannot be much, permit me however to observe that all that can be done this Fall will be to hew the Timber and prepare Roads to draw It out in Winter, so that the Shipwrights may begin their Work in April, I say this is all that can be done, for no Plank are to be had here, & if there was, Winter is so severe in this Latitude that no Building could be carried on.

If the Tun of Powder mentioned in Your Letter should be sent here, it will be vastly short of what this Garrison and Fort George ought to have should we be unfortunate at St Johns. ー Should we succeed, a vastly greater Quantity will be wanted in Canada. ー

Congress mentions a Garrison for Crown Point, I suppose that is founded on a Supposition that there is a Fortification at that Place, Whereas in Fact there is none. It may be possible this Fall to enclose the Barracks with a Pickett, but that is the most that can be done. And very much is wanted here, more (unless Canada should be ours) than can be at any Rate compleated this Campaign.²