favour me with a copy of it, to be fent from hence. I am fenfible of the liberty I take in making this request; but I am fenfible, whether you comply with it or not, you will pity the diftrefs that fuggefts it; your humanity will drop a tear on the fault, and efface it. I will pray that heaven may grant you may never want the comfort it is in your power to beltow on ASGILL. Copy of a Letter from Comte Vergennes to General Washington, dated Verfailles, the 29th of July, 1782. SIR, IT is not in quality of a king, the friend and ally of the United States, though with the know ledge and confent of his majefly, that I now have the honour to write to your excellency. It is as a man of fenfibility, and a tender father who feels all the force of paternal love, that I take the liberty to addrefs to your excellency my earneft folicitations in favour of a mother and family in tears. Her fituation feems the more worthy of notice, on our part, as it is to the humanity of a nation, at war with her own, that he has recourfe, for what the ought to receive from the impartial juftice of her own generals. I have the honour to inclofe your excellency a copy of a letter which Mrs. Afgill has juft wrote to me. I am not known to her, nor was I acquainted that her fon was the unhappy victim, deftined by lot to expiate the odious crime that a former denial of juftice obliges you to revenge. Your excellency will not read this letter, without being extremely affected; it had that effect upon the king and upon the queen, to whom I communicated it. The goodness of their majefties hearts induce them to defire that the inquietudes of an unfortunate mother may be calmed, and her tendern is reaflured. I feel, Sir, that there are cafes where humanity itself exacts the most extreme rigour; perhaps the one now in queftion may be of the number; but allowing reprizals to be juft, it is not lefs horrid to those who are the victims; and the well known for me not to be percharacter of your excellency is too fuaded that you defire nothing more than to be able to avoid the dif. agreeable neceffity. There is one confideration, Sir, which, though it is not decifive, may have an influence upon your refolution. Capt. Afgill is doubtle's your prifoner, but he is among thofe whom the arms of the king contributed to put into your hands at York-Town. Although this circumftance does not operate as a fafeguard, it however juftifies the intereft I permit myself to take in this affair. If it is in your power, Sir, to confider and have regard to it, you will do what is very agreeable to their majefties; the danger of young Afgill, the tears, the defpair of his mother, affect them fenfibly, and they will fee with pleasure the hope of con folation fhine out for thefe unfortunate people. In feeking to deliver Mr. Afgill from the fate which threatens him, I am far from engaging you to feek, another victim; the pardon, to be perfectly fatisfactory, must be entire. I do not imagine it can be productive of any bad confequences. If the English general has not been able to punish the horrible crime you complain of, in fo exemplary a manner as he fhould, there is reafon to think he will take the moft efficacious measures to prevent the like in future. I fincerely with, Sir, that my interceffion may meet fuccefs; the fentiment which dictates it, and which you have not ceafed to manifeft on every occafion, affures me, that you will not be indiffer. ent to the prayers and to the tears of a family which has recourfe to your clemency through me. It is rendering homage to your virtue to implore it. Copy of a Letter from General Washington, to Capt, Afgill, covering the above Rejove. Head Quarters, Nov. 13. "SIR, "IT affords me fingular pleafure to have it in my power to tranfmit you the inciofed copy of an act of Congrefs of the 7th inft. by which you are releafed from the difagreeable circumftances in which you have fo long been. Suppofing you would wish to go to New-York as foon as poffible, I alfo inclofe a paffport for that purpose. "Your letter of the 18th of October came regularly to my hands; I beg you to believe that my not anfwering it fooner did not proceed from inattention to DE VERGENNES. you, or a want of feeling for your fituation; I daily expected I have the honour to be, with the most perfect confideration, Sir, yours, &c. (Signed) Copy of the Order of Congress for a releafing Capt. Afgill. By the United States in Congrefs affembled, Nov. 7, 1782. ON the report of a committee to whom was referred a letter of the 19th of Auguft, from the com. mander in chief, a report of a committee thereon, and motion of Mr. Williamfon and Rulege relative thereto, and alfo another letter of the 25th of October from the commander in chief, with a copy of a letter from the Count de Vergennes, dated the 29th of July laft, interceding for Capt. Afgill, Refolved, that the commander in chief be directed, and he is hereby directed, to fet Capt. Afgill at liberty. CHARLES THOMSON, Sec, determination of your cafe, and I thought it better to await that, than to feed you with hopes. that might in the end prove fruitlefs. You will attribute my detention of the inclofed letters, which have been in my hands about a fortnight, to the fame cause. 66 I cannot take leave of you, Sir, with our affuring you, that in whatever light my agency in this unpleafing affat may be received, I never was influenced through the whole of it by fanguinary motives, but by what I conceived a fenfe of my duty, which loudly called upon me to take measures, however difagreeable, to prevent a repetition of thofe enormities which have been the fubject of difcuffion; and that this unportant end is likely to be answered without the effufion of the blood of an innocent perfon, is not a [2] 2 greater greater relief to you than it is to, Sir, your moft obedient and hum. ble fervant, (Signed) G. WASHINGTON." When Capt. Afgill arrived at New-York the Swallow packet having failed without him, he followed her in a boat, but did not overtake her till the had got upwards of four leagues to fea. The confequence was, that he came over without fervant or bag gage. Whitehall, April 12. Extracts of Letters from Lieutenant General Sir Eyre Coote, K. B. dated Madras, the 31st of Auguft, and 25th of September 1782, received at the Office of his Majefty's principal Secretary of State for the home Department, on the 7th of April, 1783. W HILST I was training every nerve in advancing the army to the neighbourhood of Chingleput, to counteract the views of Hyder and the French, I anxiously looked to the refult of my reference to the governor general and to the arrival of their orders in confequence, as a period which would undoubtedly restore to me that authority over the fouthern troops which would enable me to direct them to fuch à cooperation as might tend equally to facilitate my own movements, and distract the defigns of our enemies; but moft unfortunately on the 18th of February, long before anfwer could come any from Bengal, Colonel Braithwaite was attacked by Hyder Ally's fon, Tippo Saib, and Monf. Lally, near the banks of Colle roon, and totally defeated. His whole detachment, confifting of abour 2000 infantry, 250 cavalry, 18 officers, and a field train of 13 pieces, were either captured or destroyed. The French being free from any apprehenfions of a check from our fouthern forces, and covered by the army of Hyder Ally to the northward, which fecured them from all fudden attack by my army, proceeded in perfect fecurity againft Cuddalore, which being incapable of holding out for any length of time, was, on the 6th of April, furrendered to the French forces under Monf. Duchemin, on terms of capitulation, which I have the honour to inclofe. To his Excellency Sir Eyre Coote, K. B. Lieutenant General and SIR, arms on IT gives me much concern to inform you, that this garrifon fur. rendered to the French the 4th inftant in the morning. A copy of the capitulation I have now the honour of forwarding. I flatter myself your excellency will excufe me for not fending it fooner, as I have been prevented by a multiplicity of business, ow ing to conftant applications from the gentlemen in charge of the French officers, relative to the delivering over the ftores, &c. of this garrison. I have the honour to be, With the greatest respect, Your excellency's very obedient and most humble fervant, (Signed) JAMES HUGHES. Cuddalore, April 6, 1782. SIR, THE French general, being defirous of having as little bloodfhed as poffible, has fent me to inform you, that the nabob's troops having joined his army, if you do not immed.ately furrender, it will be out of his power to prevent the plundering of the fort, being promifed to the European and black troops if they attack it. In confequence of which he propoles articles of capitulation, fuch as, from our fituation, you have reafon to expect: wishing to convince the English, that it is only in war we look on you as enemies, and being fent for this purpofe by Monf. Duchemin, general of the French army, I fign thefe his firft propofals, according to the power he has invefted me with. (Signed) LE VTE DE HOUDETOT. N. B. The above is a tranflation of a copy from the original. Articles of Capitulation drawn up between his Excellency Monf. Pierre Duchemin, Mabul of the Camps and Army of the King of France, and Commandant of the Troops of his Majesty in India, on the one Side, and Capt. James Hughes, Commandant of the Garrifen of Cuddalore, on the other. The gates fhall be delivered up to-morrow, the 4th of April, 1782, between the hours of eight and nine in the morning. Agreed. The English flag fhall be kept flying till that time on the ramparts, and all hoftilities fhall be fufpended; Captain Hughes giv. ing his word, that nothing fhall go out of the place, either by land or fea, and all that does go English, whether within or without from the hill of Vandiwash, to it, fhall be fecured to them.. Agreed. The whole is thoroughly underftood and agreed to, upon the strictest honour. April 3, 1782. Signed for the French general, Le Vicomte de Houdetot. (Signed) DUCHEMIN. Captain Commandant of Cuddalore. N. B. The above is a tranfl tion of a copy from the original articles of capitulation. JAMES HUGHES, Captain Commandant. On the 12th, I received intelligence of the enemy having commenced the fiege of Permacoli. And I find that garrifon capitulated on the 17th. I had ro doubt of the enemy's forming defigns upon Vandiwath; indeed my intelligence gave me reafon to believe, that the French and Hyder would march immediately to attack it: I therefore moved the army towards it with all P fi le dispatch, in full perfuafion that our enemies would have met. me there, and tried a decifive action; but I arrived there without receiving the maileft oppofition; apprehending, however, left the enemy might be in doubt about my defire of bringing tem to action, and convinced that they would not feek for me in the neighbourhood of Vandiwath, where I could receive them to fo great advantage, I determined to advance towards them. I accordingly made two marches in the direct road to the ground, on which we had obferved them, be encamped; but on my approach they fell back, and both by my intelligence, and by what I could difcover from the heigh s in the neighbourhood of Cur camp, they took up their fation on the Red Hills. This was a pofition in itfelt fo ftrong, and could, by an army of fuch magnitude as Hyder's, fupported by an European force far exceeding the numbers in my army, be oc cupied to fo great advantage, that I judged it exp dient to lay my intelligence and fentiments before the two next officers in command, Major General Stuart and Colonel Lang, that I might have the benefit of their opinions on a matter of fuch momentous importance, and on the iflue of which depended the whole of the British interefts in India. Upon a reference to the coun cil of war, which was held on this occafion, the idea I fuggeted of drawing the enemy from their ftrong peft, by moving in a direction which would effe&tually check Hyder's fupplies, and alarm him for the fafety of his grand magazine of Arnee, was unanimously ap proved. In conformity to that plan, we accordingly marched on the 30th, and, on the first of June, encamped at the distance of about five miles from Arnee. That day I received intelligence that Hyder, on hearing of the route we had taken, marched immediately, and that the advance of his army had arrived the preceding evening at Deff or, diftant from us about twenty-five miles, and in the high road toward us. I was thereby fatisfied, that the effect I had in |