---

Dear Sir,

Since my last by Mr Underhill I am favoured with yours of the 11th of June, the death of our old friend Colo Harvey has given me real uneasiness, he will be much missed, I wish to God he could have been spared and that the G——r and Judge H——d had been called in his stead.

I wrote a long letter to R Smith on the 20th of June and forwarded it by a Vessel to Currituck, the injunctions of Secrecy being then in part taken off I gave him some account of our proceedings in Congress, we have agreed to emit paper Bills of Credit to the amount of two Millions of Dollars, for the redemption of which every Colony is bound Jointly & severally, the Quota of each Province to be settled in proportion to the number of souls it contains, and to be sunk in seven years in the manner most agreeable to their respective assemblies or Conventions, to raise an Army of Fifteen thousand men (those already raised in the Eastern Colonies to make part of it) Ten thousand to be employed near Boston, & five thousand in New York, on Hudson River, the Lakes &c, so stood the first Resolution, we have since resolved to employ an additional number so that I expect the whole will exceed Twenty thousand men, we have appointed as you will see by the Newspapers a General & Commander in Chief a number of Majors General & Brigadiers General, All the other officers are to be appointed by the Provincial Conventions, we have Resolved to petition the King, to address the People of England, also the people of Ireland, to write a Letter to the City of London, and to the Inhabitants of Jamaica, we have published a manifesto or declaration of War. Caswell set off about ten days ago to meet the Assembly which you say is expected on the 12th of this month, he carried most of the Resolves with him and will give you a particular account of our proceedings, before he left us we wrote a Circular Letter to the Committees of our Province, since his departure the Congress received a Copy of a Letter from General Gage to Governor Martin forwarded by the Provincial Convention of New York, also a Copy of Governor Martin's Letter to Henry White Esqr of New York delivered to us by the Committee of this City, these

Letters have alarmed Hooper & my self, we have sent Copies of them to the Committees of Edenton & Wilmington, we have prevailed on the Presbyterian Ministers here to write to the Ministers and congregations of their Sect in North Carolina,¹ and have also made application to the Dutch Lutherans & Calvinists to do the same, these people are all staunch in our cause and have promised to set their Brethren in North Carolina right, if the Governor attempts to do anything he ought to be seized, and sent out of the Colony so should the Judge, the powers of Government must soon be superseded and taken into the hands of the People, administration has even tried to let loose the Indians on our Frontiers, to raise the Negroes against us, and to destroy our Trade, Block up our Harbours, made mean concessions to all the European Powers to prevail with them not to furnish us with Arms and Ammunition, and have sent a formidable army to cut our throats, and then abuse us with the names of Rebels & Cowards.

I have sent R Smith a few Copies of a Sermon preached by Smith the Provost of the College, it is much liked here. I have also sent him several Magazines, newspapers and our declaration of War, and Rules & articles of War &c, &c, to these I must refer you for news & amusement. Hooper thinks Congress will break up the latter end of next week. I think otherwise, perhaps not before the last of August, but this is only guess work. I hope by your influence and example you will drive every principle of Toryism out of all parts of your province. I consider myself now over head & ears in what the ministry call Rebellion, I feel no compunction for the part I have taken nor for the number of our Enemies lately slain in the Battle at Bunkers Hill, I wish to be in the Camp before Boston tho' fear I shall not be able to get there 'till next Campaign. General Howe says the Americans fought more like Devils than Men, he never knew nor heard of such a Carnage in so short a time, he confesses that if their reinforcements had come up fifteen minutes sooner the British Troops would have been all cut off. It is reported here that General Burgoyne is among the Dead, but we have no certainty of it.

I hope your family & Connections are all well, my best Compliments to them. Hooper Joyns in this with

———

---