TO RICHARD HENRY LEE.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; a shorter text is in Force, American Archives, 4th ser., vol. ii., p. 176 ; portions of the letter are printed in W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. ii., pp. 256, 257, 281.]
BOSTON March [21] 1775
SIR/
I am much obligd to you for your Favor of the 4th of Feb last by Cap Leighton. From the begining of this great Contest with the Mother Country Virginia has distinguishd herself in Support of American Liberty; and we have abundant Testimony, in the liberal Donations receivd from all parts of that Colony, for the Sufferers in this Town, of their Zeal and Unanimity in the Support of that all important Cause. I have the pleasure to inform you, that the People of this Colony are also firm and united, excepting a few detestable Men most of whom are in this Town. General Gage is still here with Eleven Regiments besides a Detachment from the 59th & 65th, yet it is generally supposd there are not more than 2500 effective Men in all. They have been very sickly thro' the Winter past. Many of them have died and many others have deserted. I have lately seen a joynt List, which I believe to be a true one, of the Royal Irish and the Detachment from the 65th in which the whole Number was 167 & only 102 effective. But though the Number of the Troops are diminishd, the Insolence of the officers (at least some of them) is increased. In private Rencounters I have not heard of a single Instance of their coming off other than second best. I will give you several Instances of their Behavior in publick. On the 6th Instant there was an Adjournment of our Town Meeting when an Oration was deliverd in Commemoration of the Massacre on the 5th of March 1770. I had long expected they would take that Occasion to beat up a Breeze, and therefore (having the Honor of being the Moderator of the Meeting and seeing Many of the Officers present before the Orator came in) I took Care to have them treated with Civility, inviting them into convenient Seats &c that they might have no pretence to behave ill, for it is a good Maxim in Politicks as well as War to put & keep the Enemy in the wrong. They behaved tollerably well till the oration was finishd when upon a Motion made for the Appointmt of another orator they began to hiss, which irritated the Assembly to the greatest Degree, and Confusion ensued. They however did not gain their End, which was apparently to break up the Meeting, for order was soon restored & we proceeded regularly & finishd. I am perswaded that were it not for the Danger of precipitating a Crisis, not a Man of them would have been spared. It was provoking enough to the whole Core that while there were so many Troops stationd here with the Design of suppressing Town Meetings there should yet be a Meeting, for the purpose of delivering an Oration to commemorate a Massacre perpetrated by Soldiers & to show the Danger of Standing Armies. They therefore it seems a few days after vented their passion on a poor simple Countryman the state of whose Case is drawn up by himself and sworn to before a Magistrate as you will see by the inclosd. Thus you see that the practice of tarring & feathering which has so often been exclaimd against by the Tories, & even in the British House of Commons, as inhuman & barbarous, is at length revivd by some of the polite Gentlemen of the British Army, stationd in this place, professedly to prevent Riots. Some Gentlemen of the Town waited on the General on this Occasion. He APPEARD to be angry at it & declared that he knew Nothing about any such Design. He said that he indeed heard an irregular beat of the Drum (for they passed by his House) but thought they were drumming a bad Woman through the Streets! This to be sure would not have been a Riot. The Selectmen of Billerica an Inland town about thirty Miles distant to which the poor abused Man belongs, have since made a remonstrance to the General a Copy of which is inclosd; the General promised them that he would enquire into the Matter, but we hear nothing more about it. Some say that he is affraid of displeasing his Officers & has no Command over them. How this may be I cannot say. If he does not soon punish the officers concernd in this dirty Action, which was done in direct Defiance of their own Articles, one would think it is so. If he does not do it, he must look to his own Commission. Qui non prohibet nec puniit fecit. This Town resents it and have directed their Committee of Correspondence to enquire into this and other Conduct and have Depositions before Magistrates in perpetuam rei Memoriam, to be improvd as Opportunity may offer. A Change of Ministers and proper representations may reduce a Tyrant, at least to the Condition of a private Subject. The People are universally enragd, but from the Motives of sound Policy their resentment is for the present restraind. Last Saturday a Waggon going from this Town into the Country was stopped by the Guards on the Neck, having Nine Boxes of Ball Cartridges which were seisd by the Troops. Application has been made to the General, by a private Gentleman who claimd them as his property. The General told him that he would order them to be markd as such but they could not THEN be deliverd. The Gentleman told him that if they were not soon deliverd he should seek recompence elsewhere. I think you may be satisfied that though "the General has compleated his Fortification" at the only Entrance into the Town by Land, and our Harbour is still shut up, "our People are in good Spirits," and I dare say " the Business of Discipline goes on well."
I have Just received Letters from our mutual Friends in London dated the 24, 26 & 28 Decr & 4 & 7 Jany, some Extracts from which I have thought it necessary to have inserted in our News papers, as youl see by the inclosd. One paragraph which alarms me I have not disclosd to any one, which is this "I have been in the Country with Lord Chatham to shew him the petition of the Congress of which he highly approvd. He is of Opinion that a solemn Renunciation of the Right to TAX on the one side, and an ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE SUPREMACY on the other should accompany the repeal of all the obnoxious Acts. Without that, he says, the Hearts of the two Countries will not openly embrace each other with unfeigned Affection & Reconcilement." In this short Sentence I think it is I easy to see that his Lordships plan of reconciliation is the same now with that which he held forth in his Speech at the time of the repeal of the Stamp Act. However highly I think of his Lordships INTEGRITY I confess I am chagrind to think that he expects an Acknowledgment of the Supremacy in terms on our part. I imagine that after such an Acknowledgment, there may be a variety of Ways by which Great Brittain may enslave us besides taxing us without our Consent. The possibility of it should greatly awaken our Apprehensions. Let us take Care lest America, in Lieu of a Thorn in her foot should have a Dagger in her heart. Our united Efforts have hitherto succeeded. This is not a Time for us to relax our Measures. Let us like prudent Generals improve upon our Success, and push for perfect political Freedom.
Mr John Allston a young Gentleman in my Neighborhood who owns the Vessel in which Cap Leighton returns is also a Passenger on board. His Views are to form Commercial Connections in Virginia. You will excuse me if I bespeak your favorable Notice of him should he fall in your way.
I am with sincere regards
Your affectionate Friend & Countryman