I rece^d: Your Excelencies letter on the 17^th. 1 wherein you inform me of the Contents of a letter Gener^l Washington rec^d. from the Commanding Officer of red Bank,² Informing of the Evacuation of Fort Miffling and of the Constant & heavy firing of the Enemy particularly from a Floating Battery which lay very near the Fort which Made that Step Necessary & have no doubt, disagreeable Enough to your Excelency & to Every well Wisher to our Cause in General, But when your Excelency is made Acquainted with the proceeding & action of that day & Sir the Plan of Action by our Fleet & a View of the Whole you will I am Confident give Praise & Honour, to them & not degrade our Gentlemen whom have with the Greatest Spirit & Bravery defended the Pass of our River for Two Months Altho not half Manned & those few men under them Naked for want of Cloathes of Every Kind & Blankets, Thus we have with Spiritt whenever the British Fleet advanced beat them back & Drove them in Every Action & they rec^d Much Damage, & Cou'd the Army Maintain the Heights we could hold the Pass by Battery on Shore & the fleet for ever—Your Excelency may think that our force was greater than It really was, our Force on the River was 12 Galleys & two floating Batteries & a few Armed boates its true that we borrowed the men to Reinforce us going to action out of the Other Vessels & Captain Robinson in Particular has been Allways ready to give Every Assistance with his people & the rest of the Continential Officers, the rest of the fleet Cou'd not come down below the Chevax De Freeze & the Most of our Actions has been below them, I am Sorry there Shoud be any Blame on our Fleet they have played their part well our Enemys has said it, & am sorry those we are Fighting for cannot Speak well of us, & as to the Gentleman that Commanded on that day to the w^stward, not obeying Orders I did Accuse him for not doing more untill I was made acquainted with the Damage that part of the Fleet had Rec^d. & Saw the Floating Battery whom I order'd over to Assist the Gallies in the Destroying the Enemy^s Ship³ & Sloop⁴ Floating Battery & they Rec^d so much Damage before she could get over to their Assistance & had her Cables & Warps cut to pieces as fast as they Run them Out & unluckily for us the Wind blew fresh Westerly that Day that we could not get the Fleet as Soon to Action as we Wished to do, for we was Obliged to Warp them to Action The Galleys & Floating Battery, I was Carrying all to Act on their Floating Battery & was playing on her When an Officer with a Note from the Commanding Officer⁵ came from the Fort & woud be glad the Commodore woud Fire on the Ships below As they Gauld^d. the Fort Most, I Immediately Drew all the Fleet from her for Some time when I saw their Ship Floating Battery Warping up higher I then Sent the Galleys & Battery to Atack her for by the Note from the Fort I thought they would Manage her & that they would Wish us to drive down the Ships which we did, & had no Assistance but from a Two Gun Battery⁶ which we would have Man^d. ourselves but the Artilery officers woud not Suffer us to do it, the Action was Hott & Heavy that day Six Battery^s playing on us from the Shore to Westward besides two Nine Inch Mortars & two Floating Battery^s & Seven Ships & two of these Galleys that with their Shot from their Battery^s & Ships the River was Cover'd with Shot on all Sides of us and Cross Fire in Such a manner I was Surprized the Fleet never gave way which they never did untill their Ships was drove down we had on that Day 38 men kill'd & Wounded & all the Galleys Except one much Shater'd with shot two of which we have now on Shore Reaparing here but I make no doubt there is many whom are not Judges blame us for not destroying their Ship Battery, do they know that no part of our fleet can get in there if its not halfe or two thirds Flood, or Suppose they could, can any man think that twelve Open boates could go into Such a Pass under the Fire of Six Battery^s & their two Floating Battery^s, & then not more than four hundred Yards from them & destroy a Ship of Twenty Four, 24 pounders besides a Sloop with three Heavy Cannon in her a Work no part the British fleet would atempt doing or if they had never could Effect^d. Such an Atempt for my Own part I have run Every Risque to do whatever our little Fleet was Capable of doing, & have defended the pass so long as the Army thought proper to Stay on the sides of the River what more we could do I know not unless it was to Stay untill the Enemys Army had got above us & those in the Citty⁷ had posted themselves on windmill Island & at Coopers Ferry & all to fall Prisoners with the Fleet in their hands but I think we have done much better but if it's thought there has been any Neglect let us have a hearing & you will find I think that the Fleet has Kept the Pass & not anything from the Shore. When Gen^l. S^t Clear, Kelb & Knox came down⁸ myselfe & the Oldest Continential Officer⁹ was Sent for in Councill & we then gave our Opinion that we could hold the Pass of the River as well as before with the Battery^s we were erecting if they could be Supported with the troops & that we thought the Loss of Fort Miffling was nothing that we Could Efectually hold the Pass of the River as well Without it as with it, the Gener^ls. thought the Enemy would be on our backs before a Sufficcient Reainforcem^t. could come How then can any blame be laid on the Fleet, I have Inclosed your Excelency some few papers I now shall Indeavour to give your Excelency some Account of our Reatreat, on the 18^th of November we had a Councill with the Generals & Officers of the Garison & on the same evening they gave me their Determination in writing a Copy¹⁰ of which you have Inclosed with some other other Papers we heard nothing more of it untill Next Morning when one of our Officers came on board & Told me our people were leaving the Fort we on that day brought the Galleys up into Lads Cove where we held Councill which you will see the purport of¹¹ we lay two Nights for a Wind to Pass the fleet but having none it was agreed by the Whole Gentlemen that the Galleys Ought to Pass that Night Accordingly I got them under way at 3 OClock in the Morning & about half past four they past the Citty without having one Shott fired at them they had with them Nine Armed boates whom all got Safe up about 10 OClock the same day Captain Robinson & myselfe went on Shore in order to See Gen^l. Vernom to know what Support we culd get from the Troops but we found they had Reached Hattenfield where we could Expect Nothing from them I took a Horse & went up to get Waggons to bring up our Stores & to dispatch the Galleys down to Assist in geting the remainder of the Fleet past the Citty but it being late when I got up & the Tide not answering untill Morning & before day I heard a firing at Town & Soon after saw one of our boates whom told me that what part of the Fleet they thought Could be got bye was passed & that the Rest was Sett on Fire agreeable to a Councill held in the Evening by all the Gentlemen of both Continential & State Captain Robinson told me he waited on the Gen^l. & he told him he could give him no Support untill he got up to Ancoakus & Saw that our Fleet must fall in their hands if they was not destroyed, we Should have Sent some of the Fleet down the River if we could have been Supply^d. with Bread to go with tho we have been fully Imployed here Crossing & reacrossing Troops & their Baggage & Still Complaints that they can get nothing done by the Galleymen—is Every Officer in the Army to Lodge Complaints To General Washington of the Fleet & the Officers in it not to be heard or is the Fleet under the Command of Every Officer in the Army if it is it's the first Fleet that ever was Commanded by sea Officers under the Command of any Army or the Officers in it if it is so I believe few will Continue in it, we would wish to Support our Rank & Honour which we never shall be able to do while every officer in the Army is to be a Judge of our Actions let our Conduct be Examin^d. into By men of Judgment if we have not done our Duty let us Suffer accordingly I Should be glad Your Excelency Would point out a place where the Fleet may Winter for I dont think the River will be open long hear, I have been unwell three days but am much better & Shall I hope be able to go on board the Fleet tomorrow I hope to hear from Your Excelency Soon, having not to add am [&c.]