[ [1] Richard Henry Lee.
[ [2] The name of Lieutenant Governor Colden of New York, to whom this and two other letters are directed, was doubtless assumed by Mr Lee for the purpose of disguise, in case the letters should fall into the enemy’s hands. Colden was a royalist.
[ [3] See the Journal of Congress for January 2d, 1776.
[ [4] See an account of Dr Church, in Washington’s Official Letters, vol. i. p. 36.
[ [5] There are only two fragments of the original of this letter remaining, but there is in the office a copy of the whole, endorsed as follows.
“Copy of A. Lee’s letter to the Committee of Secret Correspondence, dated June 3d, 1776, and taken from the original in the cover of a Dictionary, which was delivered to the Secretary of Congress, by Robert Morris, on the 4th of September, 1778, and to the Committee of Foreign Affairs, 7th December following.”
This copy, as well as the endorsement, is written in Mr Lovell’s hand, and attested, James Lovell.
[ [6] This suspicion was ill founded, as events proved. No man gave more substantial testimonies of his patriotism, and ardent zeal in the cause of his country, than Joseph Reed. The suspicion grew out of the circumstance, that Mr Reed had corresponded with Lord Dartmouth a year or two before, respecting the state of the Colonies.
[ [7] This record was entered at the time on the Journal of the Committee, but was not made public.
[ [8] There is no reply to this letter on record. It is probable, that a verbal message was communicated in reply by M. Gerard, as may be judged from the letter directed to him, which immediately follows.