Providence May 21st 1776 ー
Sir
You will on Receipt of this deliver to Messrs [Levi] Hollingsworth & [Thomas] Richardson the Bomb Brig or Schooner as they may think best if they have occasion for them ー And if you can Collect any of the hands that belong to the Fleet you must get them onboard and take Charge of the Vessel yourself, and follow such directions as you shall Receive from them.
E. H. Cr in Chief
To Mr Walter Spooner2 at New London
1. Hopkins Letter Book, RIHS.
2. Spooner was appointed a midshipman on board the Alfred, December 31, 1775, but was transferred temporarily to the sloop Providence before the fleet sailed from the Delaware. Apparently he had been among those left in New London because of illness when the fleet sailed to Rhode Island, Alfred's Muster Roll, R.I. Arch.
