Gentlemen —

Your resolve of 5th instant, also yours of yesterday by Mr. Degrushe, we have this moment received and note the contents. ,ve shall use our best endeavours to get the cannon and other necessary stores. As to the cables and anchors ordered to General [George] Clinton, we would acquaint you that in a few hours after we received your orders, we put on board a sloop four anchors and two cables, which was all we had on board the ships that would answer, and the reason they are not down is, that Mr. [Gilbert] Livingston thought it best for the sloop to go down with a raft of timber for the docks which were then ready, by which we imagine the sloop must be detained. We should have sent the other two cables, which we must have taken from the privateer sloops, but could not then be spared, as they were going up to Esopus with the ships, and it would not do to leave them at single anchor. As soon as our sloop returns (which is all the boat we have,) we shall send the other cables down. The ship Congress got into Esopus creek yesterday, and we have reason to think the ship General [sic] Montgomery has got in this day, as the tide has been much higher to-day than it has been for some time past. I am, gentlemen [&c.]

To the Honourable Pierre Van Cortlandt,
President of the Convention of the State of New-York.