Sir

Your Letter of the 26th Ulto I have received In Answer to which give me Leave to observe to You, that I also claim a Right to be treated with the Respect due to me as a Gentleman and an Officer intrusted with a Command from the Honorable the Representatives of thirteen Colonies; Why Sir, are these positive Mandates? Have I ever disputed your Orders? Since I have been in the Army I have exerted every Faculty to promote a Union among the Officers and have carefully avoided Every Thing that might have the least Tendency to cause Jealousies, In short Sir I have steadily and invariably pursued those Measures that appeared to me conducive to the true Interest of our Country. How ungenerous therefore is It that an Advantage should be taken of my conciliating Disposition, Yet You will pardon me If I misjudge; I cannot account for your Imperious Conduct towards me, upon any other Principle, You will remember your Letter to me while I was at St Tohns founded in Falsehood and which You could have no other Motive for Writing but to insult Me, I thought It at that Time not worth answering & shall at present take no further Notice of It, I shall however send a Copy of It to Congress & of your last Letter together with Copies of my own, Except the one You observe was wrote with unbecoming Subacity, that is somehow mislaid & I shall be obliged to You If You will forward It. ー I can remember Nothing in It either disrespectful or Subacid and being confident Nothing of that Nature was intended, I presume the Congress will find that It is not expressed. ー As You have already complained to the Honorable the Congress, I have thought It my Duty to shew them what has passed between Us and they will judge which of Us has the greatest Reason to complain of Ill Treatment. For the present let the Matter rest: They will doubtless do Justice. This is no Time to altercate, the whole of our Time is little enough to attend to the Operations absolutely necessary for the Defence of our Country. ー

You will give me Leave to inform You that the Commanding Officer who is with this Army is to give out Orders & is the Only competent Judge of what is proper & what Not for the internal Regulation of the Army & for the immediate safety of this Country, Since the Death of the Worthy and brave General Montgomery (with whom I had the Happiness to serve in the strictest Harmony & Friendship & who ever treated me like a Gentleman) the Command devolves upon me & I shall give out such Orders as appear to me necessary_ for the Public Good; And shall send out of the Country all Prisoners & such Persons as may be thought dangerous to our Cause as soon as It can be done with Convenience.

The Returns of the Army shall be made out & transmitted to You. I shall also take Care that Your Orders to General Montgomery are executed as far as is possible. ー I shall do Every Thing in my Power to carry into Execution every Resolve of the Congress. ー

Mr. Jordan has accepted the Bills for five hundred Dollars, when It is paid I shall Credit the Public.

I mentioned to You in a former Letter that I thought It very necessary that an Artillery Company as well as Artillery Stores &ca should be sent into this Country, should be glad to hear whether they can be spared from the Colonies or Not & what Assistance of what Nature we may expect. I shall send a Copy of this Letter to Congress & shall also inclose with this a Copy of my Letter to Congress, If there are any Misrepresentations You will have an Opportunity to correct them. ー I am Sir [&c.]

P.S. I will just Observe further that I think It would have been much more Generous in You to have pointed Out to me the Exceptionable part of my Letters before You complained to Congress.