[Extract]

On the 6th of December Lord Geo: Germain wrote to Genl [Henry] Clinton, acquainting him with the state of the Armament, prepared for that Expedition, & signified to him His Majesty's Command, that upon the arrival of the Troops at Cape Fear he should take them under his command, & concert with Govr Martin the best means of employing them for effecting the restoration of legal Government in that Province. He was instructed that after the place of landing the Troops had been fixed upon, a Proclamation should be issued containing assurances in His Majesty's name, of free pardon to all such who should lay down their Arms, & submit to The King's Government; requiring that the Provincial Congress, & all other unlawful associations should be dissolved, & the Judges allowed to administer Justice, & hold their Courts according to the Laws and Constitution of the Colony. ー After such Proclamation, & after the plan of operations was fixed, he was to proceed to hostilities against these Towns & places, the Inhabitants of which should refuse to submit, & to endeavour to arrest the persons, & seize & destroy the property of such who should actually continue in Arms & refuse to give those Tests of their obedience which public safety might require. He was told, that if from the nature of the coast, the landing of the Troops should be attended with hazard & difficulty, or if he should find the Inhabitants disinclined to join The King's Troops so that no considerable advantage could be expected, he should in that case, proceed with the force under his command, to any other of the Southern Governts where, according to his judgement upon the best inf ormation the object of the Expedition might be most effectually answered ー It was observed to him, that if a landing was made in No Carolina, the operations there would probably not be of long duration, & therefore it would be necessary to look forward to the other objects of the Expedition ー That it was impossible to say whether it would be most advisable to proceed to Virginia or to South Carolina, & therefore he must use his own discretion in the choice of those objects ー That if he should think fit to proceed in the first place to Virginia, the plan of his operations must be directed by such Information & opinion as he should receive from Lord Dunmore ー That if he should judge it expedient, in the first place, to proceed to So Carolina, the possession of Charles Town, & the restoration of legal Government there, would from the importance of that place, have very beneficial consequences, & therefore if that Town refused to admit The King's Forces he was to attack it, & it was hoped, that with the assistance of the Fleet he would be able to reduce it, in which case it was most probable the other Towns upon the Sea coast would return to their duty, so that he might safely detach a part of his force to Savannah in Georgia, in order to effect a restoration of legal Government, & of The King's Authority in that Province ー It was observed to him that the well affected persons there who unprepared to resist, had been compelled to submit to the violence of the times, was very great, & therefore, that there was the fairest prospect of that Province being reduced to obedience, in which case that it might be a proper station for his Troops until the season would admit of his joining Genl Howe as early as possible with the greatest part of his Force, leaving only, in any Colony which might be reduced to obedience, such a number of Troops as might be sufficient to secure the well affected from further insult & danger.

To the observations made by Lord Geo.Germain upon the probable convenience that might arise from making Georgia a station for the Troops in case that Province was reduced to olbedience, his Lordship added the like <Ybservations upon other places that, in different circumstances might be found advantageous in that respect, & particularly mentioned Port Royal Harbour & James Island on the South side of Ashley River.

On the same day that these Instructions were prepared for General Clinton, namely on the 6th of December, Lord Geo: Germain signified His Majesty's command to the Lords of the Admiralty that the Transports taken up for the reception of the five Regts ordered to be embarked at Corke, should proceed thither, with as much expedition as possible; that Sr Peter Parker should also proceed thither directly with the Ships under his Command; & that their Lordships should give Sr P. Parker such Instructions as should correspond with the directions contained in his Lordships Letter to Genl Clinton, a copy of which was communicated to them. His Lordship at the same time communicated to them a copy of his letter to Major General Clinton of that day's date, and acquainted them, that it was His Majesty's Pleasure that they should give such Instructions to Sir Peter Parker as should correspond therewith & as they should think might enable him to give every possible facility towards effecting the object and end of that Expedition.

Whilst these preparations were making, & before the Instructions to Genl Clinton were finally completed, Lord [Charles] Cornwallis expressed a wish to serve upon this Expedition, & also that his Regt the 33d might make part of the Armament, & His Majesty having been graciously pleased to accept his Lordship's offer, orders were given, that the said Regiment should be substituted in the place of any one of the other 5 Regts which the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, with the advice of the Commandr in Chief, should think most proper; & Lord Geo: Germain, in a letter of the 6th Decr signified to Lord Cornwallis, His Majesty's Pleasure, that he should immediately proceed to Corke, on board one of the ships of War destined for that service, & which was then at Portsmouth, waiting for a favourable wind. It was further signified to him, that upon his arrival at Corke, he should take upon him the Command of the Land Forces destined for that Expedition ー That he should use all possible dispatch in embarking the Regts & when the whole Armament was collected, to proceed without delay to Cape Fear River in No Carolina, where he was to put himself under the command of such superior officer as he should find to have been sent thither by Major General Howe.

Notwithstanding the orders which had been given early in October, that the Armament intended for the Southern Expedition should be ready to proceed from Corke on the 1st of Decr the preparations making in consequence of those orders, both in the Admiralty & Ordnance Departments, met with a variety of unexpected difficulties & delays. It was not till the middle of Decr that the Ordnance Storeships & the Tenders to the Bomb Vessels, were in readiness to proceed from the River. A continued easterly wind prevented their getting round to Portsmouth; & it was the 29th Decr before Sr Peter Parker sailed from that place.