Sr We arrived the 16th in the Evening at New Winsor, having been detained. part of a day by Baird, the morning following we rowed down the River about 8 miles to the Fortress in the Highlands, where we spent the day in making such Observations as we thought would be of most use to the Congress, & wish our time would have permitted us to render them more perfect without interfering with the other commissions with which we have been honoured.

We found the fortress in the care of Messrs [William] Bedlow, [Thomas] Grenell, & [Jonathan] Lawrence, whom the Convention of New York had appointed Commissioners to superintend the work, wch was carried on under the direction of Mr. Romans, agreable to his plan presented to the Congress.

The Garrison consisted of one hundred men, being the remainder of two companies from which drafts were made to compleat those that were sent up to the Northward while they continued recruiting; exclusive of these there were at the fortress 27 Carpenters, 16 Masons, 2 Smiths, and 59 Labourers a Clerk, and a Steward.

We must own that we found the fort in a less defensible scituation than we had reason to expect, owing chiefly to an injudicious disposition of the labour, which has hitherto been bestowed on the Barracks, the Block house, & and the South West Curtain, this Mr Romans assured us would be finished in a week, & would mount 14 Cannon; but when completed, we consider as very insufficient in itself to answer the purpose of defence, tho it is doubtless Necessary to render the whole fortification perfect, but as it is the least useful, we think it should have been last finished; it does not command the reach to the southward, nor can it injure a Vessel turning the West point, & after she has got round, a small breeze or even the tide, will enable a ship to pass the Curtain in a few minutes. the principal Strength of the Fortress will consist in the South Bastion, on which no labour has as yet been bestowed; a Vessel turning the Point is immediately exposed to its fire, the platform of this will be raised 57 feet above high Water mark, when compleated, which gives it an elevation of about 11 degrees above the guns of a Vessel at the West point, supposing she carries them 12 feet above the surface of the Water, according to Mr Romanss Account. On this Bastion it is proposed to mount 11 heavy Cannon. The block-house is finished, & has 6 4-pounders mounted in it, & is at present the only strength of the fortress, the Barracks Consist of 14 Rooms, each of which may contain 30 men, but they are not yet Compleated for want of Bricks with which to run up the Chimneys.

The Fortress is unfortunately commanded by all the Grounds about it, & is much exposed to an attack by land; but the most obvious defect is, that the grounds on the West point are higher than the fortress, behind which point an Enemy may land without the least danger: ー in order to render the Port impassable, it seems necessary that this place should be occupied, & batteries thrown up on the opposite shore, where they may be erected with little expence, as the Earth is said to be pretty free from stone, this will indeed render our Work very expensive, but we fear nothing short of it will be sufficient to avail us of the winding of the river.

Mr Romans informs us of a place, about 4 miles lower down the River, which is free from the inconveniency we have mentioned & where the elevation is much greater, had we had more time, we should have gone & examined it.

We would submit to the Congress whether it may not be proper to send some persons better versed in these matters than we are, to take an accurate survey of the highlands, & to pitch on those spots on which Batterys may be most cheaply expeditiously & advantageously raised.

We found at the fortress,

These are all the particulars which our Short Stay at the fort enabled us to collect ー we offer our own sentiments, in matters with which we are so little acquainted with the greatest diffidence, & submitt them implicitly to the Cong[ress] but cannot help wishing, when we consider the importance of the object, that they would take the opinion of those who are capable of giving them more useful information

We congratulate you & the Congress in the happy success of our Arms, & remain [&c.]

Albany Novr 23 ー 1775

P.S. We proposed to set out to morrow for Ticonderoga