13th [July 1776]. ー This day General Howe came on board. Saluted him with fifteen guns. Mr. [Samuel] Reeve was dispatched with a flag of truce to Amboy, in the Jerseys, opposite Staten Island, on the west side, with letters from the admiral, which they received. In the evening Lieutenant [Philip] Brown was likewise sent with a flag of truce and despatches to George Washington, Esq., &c., at New York. Three boats were sent off to meet ours; but as the letter was addressed as above, the people who came off said they had no such person amongst them as George Washington Esq., but supposed all the world had known General Washington since last spring.