DUMAS.
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON TO C. W. F. DUMAS.
Philadelphia, September 5th, 1782.
Sir,
It was not till within these few weeks, that I received your favor of the 4th of April last, together with the interesting paper it enclosed, since which time we are informed that your prediction relative to the reception of Mr Adams has been verified. It would have given me great pleasure to have learned so important an event, with the steps that immediately led to it from your pen. Your usual punctuality induces me to believe that your letters have been unfortunate, since I cannot ascribe this omission to neglect. When you do me the honor to write again, be pleased to enter minutely into the subject; since everything that relates to it is not only important in itself, but will be so much the object of curiosity hereafter, that it should have a place among our archives.
It would be a great advantage to you and to us, if you maintained such a correspondence with your sea-ports as would enable you to avail yourselves of every opportunity of writing to us, as it would give your letters the charms of novelty, and preserve to you the character of attention, and to us, as it would enable us to confirm or contradict the accounts, that we continually receive by private letters, or through the enemy's papers, some time before we have your relation of them.
The enemy have at length evacuated Savannah, and in all probability Charleston, by this time; since, on the 7th of August they gave notice in general orders for the tories to prepare themselves for such an event. Their fleet, consisting of fifteen sail of the line, arrived yesterday at Sandy Hook. The French fleet, under the Marquis de Vaudreuil had arrived some time before at Boston, where he unfortunately lost one of his ships, which struck upon a rock and sunk in the harbor. Congress, willing to testify their sympathy in this misfortune, have presented the America, a ship of seventyfour guns, to his Most Christian Majesty. She is in such a state that she can in a short time be fitted to join his fleet.
We wait with the utmost impatience some account from Europe of the state of the negotiations for a general peace.
The caution of the enemy in keeping within their posts, will probably render this an inactive campaign, though we never had a finer or better appointed army than at present.
I have the honor to be, &c.