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 Cornell University Library 
 E211 .W31 1890 
 
 Washington-Duche letters. Now printed 
 
 olin 
 
 3 1924 032 400 917 
 
 Jo 
 
THE 
 
 ^A^ASHINGTON-DUCHE 
 
 LETTERS. 
 
 NOW PRINTED, FOR THE FIRST TIME, FROM THE ORIGINAI, 
 MANUSCRIPTS, WITH AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE BY 
 
 WORTHINGTON CHAUNCEY FORD. 
 
 BROOKLYN, N. Y. 
 
 PRIVATELY PRINTED. 
 1890. 
 
Five hundred copies printed. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introductory Notb 5 
 
 DucHE TO Washington, 
 
 5 August, 1775 7 
 
 Washington to the President of Congress, 
 
 i6 October, 1777 8 
 
 DucHE TO Washington, 
 
 8 October, 1777 9 
 
 Ddch£ to Washington, 
 
 13 October, 1777 26 
 
 Washington to Francis Hopkinson, 
 
 21 November, 1777 28 
 
 Francis Hopkinson to Duche, 
 
 14 November, 1777 30 
 
 Duche to Washington, 
 
 2 April, 1783 35 
 
 Washington to Duche, 
 
 10 August, 1783 38 
 
 (iii) 
 
The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924032400917 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 
 
 The history of Duchy's letter to "Washington has 
 been so often told, and the dramatic contrast between 
 Duche as chaplain to the Continental Congress and as 
 the tempter of Washington's integrity so often drawn, 
 that it is not a little surprising to discover that the 
 famous letter has never been known as it was written, 
 but only from imperfect copies published in channels 
 where garbling had become a recognized trade. The 
 letter was at once turned over to Congress by Washing- 
 ton, although a man of less courage and high minded- 
 ness might have hesitated to submit to a body in which 
 there was a growing faction opposed to him, such a 
 document. In Congress it was widely copied, and the 
 original MS. bears evidence of much handling ; but it 
 was through the loyalist press that the letter first be- 
 came known to the public, and by some curious chance 
 it is Rivington's version that is known to the historical 
 student to-day. On November 29th, 1777, in one of 
 the early issues of Rivington's Gazette, was published 
 this letter, and soon after it was included in a pamph- 
 let issued from the same press, appended to the ' ' Forged 
 Letters" of Washington.* Whence Rivington ob- 
 
 *See the "Spurious I^etters attributed to Washington," in this series of 
 publications. 
 
 (5) tained 
 
tained Ws copy cannot be learned, but the matter liad 
 become well known in Philadelphia, and it was not un- 
 likely that the sheets might have been obtained from the 
 place where Congress was sitting. It again appeared 
 with the spurious letters in 1796, but still retaining the 
 Rivington text, of which the editor of the Official Letters 
 of Washington to Congress wrote : " I regret extremely 
 that I cannot (without openly avowing myself the 
 author), point out to the public the prodigious in- 
 correctness of Mr. Duche's letter. Having compared 
 it with a correct copy which I have taken from the 
 files, I find no less than one hundred and forty devia- 
 tions from the genuine text : — in which number I do 
 not count orthography and punctuation." When Mr. 
 Sparks was making up his important collection of 
 letters written to Washington during the Revolution, 
 he used the Rivington version, and his example was 
 followed by the compiler of ' ' Washington at Valley 
 Forge. ' ' Mr. Winsor states in his ' ' Narrative and 
 Critical History of America ' ' that Sparks was unable 
 to discover the original letter, but it is very curious to 
 find the original in the only place where it could be 
 expected, as an enclosure to Washington's letter to the 
 President of Congress, 16 October, 1777. It is from 
 this MS. that the present copy has been made, giving 
 in print, for the first time, the very words that Duche 
 wrote. A biographical sketch of Duch6 may be found 
 in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Bio- 
 graphy. 
 
 WORTHINGTON ChAUNCEY FoRD. 
 
 Washington, March, i8go. 
 
DUCHE TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 PHILADBLPHIA, AUGUST 5TH, 1 775- 
 
 Sir : You will find by the inclosed, that I have 
 taken the I/iberty to inscribe to you a Sermon, 
 which I lately preached to the First Battalion of 
 our City commanded by Col. Dickinson; not 
 doubting, but under the sanction of your name, it 
 will meet with the Public Candour. 
 
 If the manner in which I have treated the Sub- 
 ject should have the least good Influence upon the 
 Hearts and Actions of the Military Freemen of 
 America, or should add one more virtuous Motive 
 to those, by which, I trust, they are already actu- 
 ated, it will be the best Return I can receive from, 
 my Fellow-Citizens, for the little Labour of lyove. 
 
 I have long been an Admirer of your amiable 
 Character, and was glad of this opportunity of pay- 
 ing you my little Tribute of Respect. 
 
 My Prayers are continually for you, and the 
 brave Troops under your Command. O my dear 
 General ! Would to God a speedy and happy 
 Reconciliation could be accomplished without the 
 Effusion of one more Drop of valuable Blood. I 
 know well, that your Humanity, and Christian 
 
 ( 7 ) Meekness, 
 
Meekness, would ever prompt you to form the 
 same benevolent Wish; and that the Ivove of Mili- 
 tary Glory will in your Breast always give Way to 
 the Love of Peace, when it can be virtuously and 
 honorably obtained. 
 
 May Heaven crown all your truly Patriotic 
 Undertakings with success, cover your Head in 
 the Day of Danger, and restore you unhurt to the 
 arms of your Friends and your Country. 
 
 I am, with the sincerest Esteem and Veneration 
 Your Excellency's most obedient 
 Humble Servant, 
 
 JACOB DUCHE. 
 His Excellency General Washingtoji. 
 
 WASHINGTON TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS. 
 
 [extract.] 
 
 l6 OCTOBER, 1777. 
 
 I yesterday, through the hands of Mrs. Ferguson, 
 of Graham Park, received a letter, of a very curious 
 and extraordinary nature, from Mr. Duch^, which 
 I have thought proper to transmit to Congress. 
 To this ridiculous, illiberal performance, I made 
 a short reply, by desiring the bearer of it, if she 
 should hereafter, by any accident, meet Mr. Duch6, 
 to tell him I should have returned it unopened, if I 
 had any idea of the contents; observing, at the 
 same time, that I highly disapproved the inter- 
 course 
 
course she seemed to have been carrying on, and 
 expected it would be discontinued. Notwith- 
 standing the author's assertion, I cannot but sus- 
 pect that the measure did not originate with him, 
 and that he was induced to it by the hope of estab- 
 lishing his interest and peace more effectually with 
 the enemy. 
 
 DUCHE TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, 8 OCTOBER, 1 777- 
 
 Sir : If this Letter should happen to find you in 
 Council, or in the Field, before you read another 
 sentence, I beg you to take the first opportunity of 
 retiring, and weighing well its important contents. 
 
 You are perfectly acquainted with the Part I 
 formerly took in the present unhappy contest. I 
 was indeed among the first to bear my public testi- 
 mony against having any recourse to threats, or 
 even indulging a Thought of an armed opposition. 
 The torrent, however, was too strong for my feeble 
 efforts to resist. I wished to follow my Country- 
 men as far only as virtue and the righteousness of 
 their cause would permit me. I was, however, 
 prevailed upon, among the rest of my clerical 
 brethren in this City to gratify the pressing Desires 
 of my fellow-citizens, by preaching a sermon to 
 one of the city battalions. I was pressed to pub- 
 lish this sermon, and reluctantly consented. From 
 
 a 
 
10 
 
 a personal attachment of near 20 years standing, 
 and a liigh respect for your character in private as 
 well as in publick life, I took the liberty of dedi- 
 cating it to 3'ou. I had your affectionate thanks 
 for my performance, in a letter ; wherein yoii 
 express, in the most delicate and obliging terms, 
 your regard for me, and your wishes for a continu- 
 ance of my friendship, and approbation of your 
 conduct. 
 
 Farther than this I intended not to proceed. My 
 sermon speaks for itself and utterly disclaims the 
 idea of independency. My sentiments were well 
 known to my friends. I communicated them, 
 without reserve, to many respectable members of 
 Congress, who expressed their warm approbation 
 of them. I persisted to the very last moment in 
 using prayers for my sovereign, tho' threatened 
 with insult from the violence of a party. 
 
 Upon the declaration of independency, I called 
 my vestry, and solemnly put the question to them, 
 whether they thought it best for the peace and wel- 
 fare of the congregations to shut up the churches, 
 or to continue the service without using the peti- 
 tions for the royal family. This was the sad alter- 
 native. I concluded to abide by their decision, as 
 I could not have time to consult my spiritual 
 superiors in England. They deemed it most expe- 
 dient, under such critical circumstances, to keep 
 open the churches, that the congregations might 
 
 not 
 
II 
 
 not be dispersed, which we had great reason to 
 appreliend. 
 
 A very few Days after the fatal declaration of 
 independency, I received a letter from Mr. Han- 
 cock, sent by express to Germantown, where my 
 Family were for y^ Summer Season, acquainting me 
 that I was appointed chaplain to the Congress, and 
 desired to attend them at g o'clock the next morn- 
 ing. Surprised and distressed by an event I was 
 not prepared to expect, obliged to give an immedi- 
 ate answer, without the opportunity of consulting 
 my friends, I rashly accepted the appointment. I 
 could have but one motive for taking this step. I 
 thought the churches in danger, and hoped by 
 these means to have been instrumental in prevent- 
 ing the Ills I had so much reason to apprehend. 
 I can, however with truth declare, that I then 
 looked upon independency rather as an Expedient, 
 and a hazardous one indeed, thrown out in ter- 
 rorem, in order to procure some favourable terms, 
 than a measure, that was seriously to be persisted 
 in at all events. My sudden change of conduct 
 will clearly evince this to have been my Idea of 
 the matter. 
 
 Upon the return of the committee of Congress 
 appointed to confer with Lord Howe, I soon dis- 
 covered their real Intentions. The different ac- 
 counts which each member of the Committee gave 
 of this conference, the time they took to make up 
 
 the 
 
the matter for the public view, and the amazing 
 disagreement betwixt the news-paper accounts, 
 and the relation I myself had from the mouth of 
 one of the Committee, convinced me, that there 
 must have been some unfair and ungenerous Pro- 
 ceed ure. Their Determination to treat on no 
 other ground than that of independenc}', which 
 put it out of his Lordship's Power to mention any 
 terms at all, was a sufficient proof to me, that in- 
 dependency was the idol, which they had long 
 wished to set up, and that rather than sacrifice 
 this, they would deluge their country in blood. '^' 
 
 From this moment I determined upon my resig- 
 nation, and in the beginning of October 1776, sent 
 it in form to Mr. Hancock, after having officiated 
 only two months and three weeks. And from 
 
 * Through General Sullivan, who had been taken prisoner on Long 
 Island, L,ord Howe delivered a message to Congress, that while he could 
 not treat with Congress as such, yet he was very desirous of having a con- 
 ference with some of the members, as private gentlemen, before whom he 
 could lay the full powers he and his brother possessed to offer a compromise 
 in the dispute between Great Britain and her colonies in rebellion. Frank- 
 lin, who had before conducted a peace negotiation with Howe, Edward 
 Rutledge and John Adams, were sent by Congress to hear what Howe 
 could propose, and their report is printed in the Journals of Congress, 17 
 September, 1776. "The three gentlemen were very explicit in their opin- 
 ions, that the associated colonies would not accede to any peace or alliance, 
 but as free and independent states; and they endeavored to prove that 
 Great Britain would derive more extensive and more durable advantages 
 from such an alliance, than from the connexion it was the object of the 
 commission to restore," — Lord Howe io Lord George Germaine, 20 Septem- 
 ber, 1776, 
 
 See also Franklin's Works (Bigelow's edition), VI, 23-33. John Adams, 
 Works, III, 75-80, IX, 446. Writings of Washington, (Ford's edition) IV, 
 401, 402 note. 
 
 that 
 
13 
 
 that Time, as far as my safety would permit, I 
 have been opposed to all their measures. This 
 circumstantial account of my conduct I think due 
 to the friendship you were so obliging as to ex- 
 press for me, and I hope will be sufficient to 
 justify any seeming inconsistencies in the part I 
 have acted. 
 
 And now, my dear Sir, suffer me, in the lan- 
 guage of truth and real affection, to address myself 
 to you. All the world must be convinced, that 
 you engaged in the service of your Country from 
 motives perfectly disinterested. You risqued every 
 thing that was dear to you. You abandoned all 
 those sweets of domestic life, of which your 
 affluent fortune gave you an uninterrupted enjoy- 
 ment. But had you? could you have had the least 
 idea of matters being carried to such a dangerous 
 extremity? Your most intimate friends at the 
 time shuddered at the thought of a separation 
 from the mother country; and I took it for granted, 
 that 3'our sentiments coincided with theirs. What 
 have been the consequences of this rash and violent 
 measure ? A Degeneracy of Representation — con- 
 fusion of councils — Blunders without number. 
 The most respectable characters have withdrawn 
 themselves, and are succeeded by a great majority 
 of illiberal and violent men. 
 
 Take an impartial view of the present congress. 
 What can you expect of them? Your feelings 
 
 must 
 
14 
 
 must be greatly hurt by the representation from 
 your native province. You have no longer a 
 Randolph,* a Bland f or a Braxton, J men whose 
 names will ever be revered, whose demands never 
 rose above the first ground on which they set out, 
 and whose truly generous and virtuous Sentiments, 
 I have frequently heard with Rapture from their 
 own lips. O my dear Sir! what a sad contrast! 
 characters now present themselves, whose minds 
 can never mingle with your own. Your Harrison§ 
 
 ♦Peyton Randolph was born at Williamsburg in 1721, and died of apo- 
 plexy in Philadelphia, in 1775, while President of Congress. In Virginia, 
 he had held many high public offices — member of the House of Burgesses, 
 King's attorney in the colony, in which capacity he was sent to Kugland to 
 antagonize the claim of Dinwiddie to extraordinary land fees, speaker of 
 the Burgesses, chairman of the committee of correspondence, and chairman 
 of the colonial convention (1774). It was Lynch who nominated Randolph 
 as president of the first continental congress, as a gentleman "who had 
 presided with great equity over a very respectable society, greatly to the 
 advantage of America." Adams describes Randolph as a "large, well 
 looking man," 
 
 t Of Richard Bland little is known. He served in the colonial legislature 
 for thirty years, and was a man in no small repute among his colleagues. 
 Early in 1775, reports were circulated that he had applied to the British 
 ministry for the appointment of tax collector in America, promising to pro- 
 mote the designs of the ministers against America did he receive the office. 
 After serving in the first two Continental Congresses, he declined a re- 
 election on the ground of his advanced age, and being "almost deprived of 
 sight." He impressed Adams as a " learned bookish man." 
 
 J Carter Braxton. 
 
 g Benjamin Harrison, of Charles City, has not received favorable notice 
 from historians, and the notes of his colleagues in the Congress are not loud 
 in his praise. Adams, who thought he had good reason for disliking him, 
 gives the following picture: "This was an indolent, luxurious, heavy 
 gentlera.an, of no use in Congress or Committee, but a great embarrassment 
 to both. He was represented to be a kind of nexus utriusque mundi, a 
 corner stone in which the two walls of party met in Virginia. He was de- 
 
 alone 
 
15 
 
 alone remains, and he disgusted with his unworthy 
 associates. 
 
 As to those of my own province, some of them 
 are so obscure, that their very names have never 
 niet my ears before, and others have only been dis- 
 tinguished for the weakness of their understand- 
 ings, and the violence of their tempers. One alone 
 I except from the general charge. A Man of vir- 
 tue, dragged reluctantly into their measures, and 
 restrained by some false ideas of honour from re- 
 tracting, after having gone too far. You cannot 
 be at a loss to discover, whose name answers to 
 this character. * 
 
 scended from one of the most ancient, -wealthy, and respectable families in 
 the ancient dominion, and seemed to be set up in opposition to Mr. Richard 
 Henry Lee . , . Although Harrison was another Sir John Falstaff, except- 
 ing in his larcenies and robberies, his conversation disgusting to every man 
 of delicacy or decorum," &c. ( Works, II. 32, 35}, This is not the only men- 
 tion of the facetious talk of Harrison, and that it is probably a true des- 
 cription, may be judged from the following paragraph taken from a letter 
 from him to "Washington that was intercepted and published by the British. 
 Mr. Force, in using this letter in his American Archives^ Fourth Series, II. 
 1697, omitted this paragraph : — 
 
 *' As I was in the pleasing task of writing to you, a little noise occasioned 
 me to turn my head around, and who should appear but pretty little Kate, 
 the washer- woman's daughter over the way, clean, trim and as rosy as the 
 morning. I snatched the golden, glorious opportunity, and, but for the 
 cursed antidote to love, Sukey, I had fitted her for my general against his 
 return. We were obliged to part, but not till we had contrived to meet 
 again: if she keeps the appointment, I shall relish a week's longer stay. 
 
 "I give you now and then some of these adventures to amuse you and 
 unbind your mind from the cares of war." 
 
 For one of Harrison's electioneering manoeuvres, see Letters of Joseph 
 Jones, 145, note. 
 
 * The delegates from Pennsylvania were Robert Morris, George Clymer, 
 Daniel Roberdeau, James Wilson and Jonathan Smith. The member 
 
 From 
 
i6 
 
 From the New-England provinces, can you find 
 one, that as a gentleman, you could wish to associ- 
 ate with ? unless the soft and mild address of Mr. 
 Hancock, can atone for his want of every other 
 qualification necessary for the station he fills. 
 Bankrupts, attorneys and men of desperate fortunes 
 are his colleagues. 
 
 Maryland no longer sends a Tilghman,* and a 
 Protestant Carroll ;t Carolina has lost its L,ynch,J 
 and the elder Middleton § has retired. 
 
 Are the Dregs of a Congress, then, still to influ- 
 ence a mind like yours ? These are not the men 
 you engaged to serve. These are not the men that 
 America has chosen to represent her. Most of 
 them elected by a little low Faction, and the few 
 gentlemen, that are among them now well known 
 to be upon the Balance, and looking up to your 
 hand alone to move the beam. 'Tis you, Sir, and 
 you only, that support the present Congress. Of 
 this you must be fully sensible. Ivong before they 
 left Philadelphia, their Dignity and Consequence 
 was gone. — What must it be now, since their pre- 
 
 singled out by Duche was probably Morris, who voted against indepen- 
 dency, absented himself when the declaration was submitted for approval, 
 but eventually signed the engrossed document. 
 
 * Matthew Tilghman. 
 
 f Charles Carroll of Carrolton. 
 
 X Thomas Lynch, the warm friend of "Washington, and a leading spirit in 
 the first and second Congress. His son, of the same name, was the signer 
 of the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 i Arthur Middleton. 
 
 cipitate 
 
17 
 
 cipitate Retreat?* I write with freedom, but with- 
 out Invective. I know these things to be true ; 
 and I write to one, whose own Observation must 
 have convinced him that they are so. 
 
 After this view of congress, turn to the Army. 
 The whole world knows, that its very existence 
 depends upon you, that yoiir Death or Captivity 
 disperses it in a moment, and that there is not a 
 man on that side the question in America capable 
 of succeeding you.t As to the Army itself, what 
 have you to expect from them? Have they not 
 frequently abandoned even yourself in the hour of 
 extremity ? Have you, can you have the least 
 confidence in a sett of undisciplined men and offi- 
 cers, many of whom have been taken from the 
 lowest of the People, without Principle, without 
 Courage. Take away those, that surround your 
 Person, how very few are there, that you can ask 
 to sit at your Table? 
 
 Turn to your little Navy— of that little, what is 
 left? Of the Delaware fleet, part are taken, the 
 rest must soon surrender. Of those in the other 
 Provinces, some taken, one or two at sea, and 
 others lying unmanned, and unrigged in their 
 harbours. 
 
 * Congress was then sitting at Yorktown, 
 
 ■f This was hardly true, as the Cabal was at this time maturing its full 
 strength, with a view to advancing General Gates at the expense of Wash- 
 ington. The history of this Cabal will be told in one of the issues of this 
 series. 
 
 And 
 
And now wliere are your Resources? O my 
 dear Sir ! How sadly have you been abused by a 
 faction void of truth, and void of tenderness to you 
 and your country? They have amused you with 
 Hopes of a Declaration of War on y'^ Part of 
 France. Believe me, from the best Authority, 
 'twas a fiction from the first. Early in the Year 
 1776, a French Gentleman was introduced to me, 
 with whom I became intimately acquainted. His 
 Business, to all appearance, was to speculate in 
 the mercantile way. But I believe it will be 
 found, that in his own Country, he moved in a 
 higher Sphere. He saw your Camp. He became 
 acquainted with all your military preparations. 
 He was introduced to Congress, and engaged with 
 them in a commercial contract. In the course of 
 our Intimacy, he has frequently told me, that he 
 hoped the Americans would never think of Inde- 
 pendency. He gave me his Reasons. "Indepen- 
 dency," said he, "can never be supported, unless 
 France should declare War against England. I 
 well know the state of her Finances. Years to 
 come will not put them in a situation to venture 
 upon a breach with England. At this moment, 
 there are two parties in the court of Versailles, 
 one enlisted under the Duke de Choiseul, the 
 other under Count Maurepas. Choiseul has no 
 chance of succeeding. He is violent for War. 
 Maurepas must get the better. He is for oecon- 
 
 omy 
 
^9 
 
 omy and Peace."* This was his Information, 
 which I mentioned to several members of Con- 
 gress. They treated it as a fable, depending en- 
 tirely on Dr. Franklin's Intelligence. The Truth 
 of the Matter is this. Dr Franklin built upon the 
 Success of Choiseul. Upon his arrival in France, 
 he found him out of place, his councils reprobated, 
 and his party dwindled to an insignificant faction. 
 This you may depend upon to be the true State of 
 the Court of France. And further, b}' vast num- 
 bers of lyctters found on board Prizes taken by the 
 King's ships, it appears, that all Commerce with 
 ye merchants, through whom alone your Supplies 
 have been conveyed, will soon be at an End, the 
 Letters being full of Complaints of no remittances 
 from America, and many Individuals having 
 greatly suffered. 
 
 From your Friends in England you have noth- 
 ing to expect. Their numbers are diminished to 
 
 *A Frenchman, Eonvouloir, was sent to America to sound opinion and 
 remove any jealousy of France that might exist. In reply to a direct ques- 
 tion from the Secret Committee of Congress, as to the attitude of France 
 towards the colonies, he wrote: "You ask what are the intentions of 
 France with regard to the American colonies. I do not think that I say too 
 much in telling you that she wishes you well, and that, it is my beliefs she 
 has entertained for you nothing but good will. In other respects, the best 
 way to obtain reliable assurance of anybody's disposition is to address him 
 directly. It is a hazardous step to take, and demands a good deal of con- 
 sideration; I do not advise you one way or the other. I cannot undertake 
 it myself The affair is too delicate." The report of Eonvouloir to his 
 master is printed in Doniol, Hisioire de la Participation de la France a 
 V Elablissement des Etats Unis d'Amerigue, I, 287; and in part in Durand, 
 Documents on the American Revolution^ i. 
 
a Cypher. The Spirit of the whole nation is in 
 full Activit}- against you. A few sounding names 
 among the nobility, though perpetually rung in 
 your Ears, are without character, without influ- 
 ence: Disappointed Ambition has made them 
 desperate: and they only wish to make the de- 
 luded Americans instruments of their Revenge. 
 All Orders and Ranks of Men in G. Britain are 
 now unanimous, and determined to risque their 
 All in the contest. Trade and Manufactures are 
 found to flourish: and new channels are continu- 
 ally opening, that will perhaps more than supply 
 the loss of the old. In a word, your harbours are 
 blocked up, your cities fall one after another, fort- 
 ress after fortress, battle after battle is lost. A 
 British army, after having passed almost unmo- 
 lested thro' a vast Extent of Country, have pos- 
 sessed themselves with ease of the Capital of 
 America. How unequal the Contest now ! How 
 fruitless the expense of Blood! 
 
 Under so many discouraging circumstances, can 
 virtue, can honour, can the love of your country 
 prompt you to persevere? Humanity itself (and 
 sure I am. Humanity is no stranger to your Breast) 
 calls upon you to desist. Your army must perish 
 for want of common necessaries ; or thousands of 
 innocent families must perish to support them. 
 Where-ever they encamp, the country must be im- 
 poverished. Where-ever they march, the Troops 
 
 of 
 
21 
 
 of Britain will pursue, and must compleat the 
 Devastation, which America herself had begun. 
 
 Perhaps it may be said, that it is "better to die 
 than to be slaves." This indeed is a splendid 
 maxim in theory : and perhaps in some instances 
 may be found experimentally true. But when 
 there is the least Probability of an happy accommo- 
 dation, surely wisdom and Humanity call for some 
 sacrifices to be made, to prevent inevitable De- 
 struction. You well know, that there is but one 
 invincible Bar to such an accommodation. Could 
 this be removed, other obstacles might readily be 
 overcome. 'Tis to you, and you alone your bleed- 
 ing cotintry looks, and calls aloud for this sacrifice. 
 Your Arm alone has Strength sufficient to remove 
 'this Bar. May Heaven inspire you with the glori- 
 ous Resolution 'of exerting this Strength at so in- 
 teresting a Crisis, and thus immortalizing yourself 
 as Friend and Guardian of your Coiintry ! 
 
 Your penetrating Eye needs not more explicit 
 Language to discern my meaning. With that 
 Prudence and delicacy, of which I know you to be 
 possessed, represent to Congress the indispensable 
 Necessity of rescinding the hasty and ill-advised 
 declaration of Independency. Recommend (and 
 you have ah undoubted Right to recommend) an 
 immediate cessation of hostilities. Let the Con- 
 troversy be taken up, where that declaration left 
 it, and where Lord Howe certainly expected to 
 
 find 
 
22 
 
 find it. Let men of clear and impartial characters, 
 in or out of Congress, Gentlemen, liberal in their 
 sentiments, heretofore independent in their for- 
 tunes (and some such may surely be found in 
 America) be appointed to confer with his Majesty's 
 Commissioners. Let them, if they please, prepare 
 some well-digested constitutional Plan to lay be- 
 fore them, as the Commencement of a Negotiation. 
 When they have gone thus far, I am confident, 
 that the most happy consequences will ensue. 
 Unanimity will immediately take place thro' the 
 different Provinces. Thousands, who are now ar- 
 dently wishing and praying for such a measure, 
 will step forth and declare themselves the zealous 
 advocates of constitutional Liberty ; and millions 
 will bless the Hero, that left the Field of War to 
 decide this most important Contest, with the Wea- 
 pons of Wisdom and Humanity. 
 
 O Sir ! let no false Ideas of worldly Honour 
 deter you from engaging in so glorious a Task. 
 'Whatever Censures may be thrown out by mean 
 and illiberal minds, your character will rise in the 
 Estimation of the virtuous and noble ; it will ap- 
 pear with lustre in the Annals of History, and form 
 a glorious Contrast to that of those, who have 
 sought to obtain Conquests and gratify their own 
 Ambition by the destruction of their species and 
 the Ruin of their country. 
 
 Be assured, Sir, that I write not this under the 
 
 Eye 
 
23 
 
 Eye of any British officer, or Person connected 
 with the British Army or Ministry. The Senti- 
 ments I have expressed are the real sentiments of 
 my own Heart, such as I have long held, and 
 which I should have made known to you by Letter 
 before, had I not fully expected an Opportunity of 
 a private Conference. When you passed through 
 Philadelphia on your Way to Wilmington,* I was 
 confined by a severe Fit of the Gravel to my cham- 
 ber. I have since continued so much indisposed, 
 and Times have been so very distressing, that I 
 had neither spirit to write a Letter, nor opportunity 
 to convey it, when written. Nor do I yet know, 
 by what means I shall get these sheets to your 
 Hand. 
 
 I would fain hope, that I have said nothing, by 
 which your Delicacy can be in the least hurt. If 
 I have, I assure you, it has been without the least 
 Intention, and therefore your Candour will lead 
 you to forgive me. I have spoken freely of Con- 
 gress and of the Army. But what I have said is 
 partly from my own Knowledge, and partly from 
 the Information of some respectable Members of 
 the former, and some of the best officers of the 
 latter. I would not offend the meanest Person 
 upon Earth. What I say to you, I .say in Confi- 
 dence, and to answer what I cannot but deem a 
 
 ♦August 24th. 
 
 most 
 
24 
 
 most valuable Purpose. I love my country. I 
 love you. But to the I/Ove of Truth, the Love of 
 Peace, and the Love of my God, I hope I should 
 be enabled, if called to the Trial, to sacrifice every 
 other inferior Love. 
 
 If the Arguments made use of in this Letter 
 should have so much Influence, as to engage you 
 in the glorious work, which I have so warmly 
 recommended, I shall ever deem my Success, as 
 the highest temporal Favor that Providence could 
 grant me. Your Interposition and Advice, I am 
 confident, would meet with a favorable Reception 
 from the Authority under which you act. If it 
 should not, you have one infallible Resource still 
 left. Negotiate for America at the Head of your 
 Army. 
 
 After all, it may appear Presumption in an in- 
 dividual to address himself to you on a Subject of 
 such Magnitude, or to say what Measures would 
 best secure the Interest and Welfare of an whole 
 Continent. The friendly and favourable Opinion 
 you have always expressed of me emboldened me 
 to undertake it; and, (which has greatly added to 
 the weight of this motive) I have been strongly 
 impressed with a Sense of Duty upon the Occasion, 
 which left my Conscience uneasy, and my Heart 
 afflicted, 'till I had fully discharged it. I am no 
 Enthusiast. The Case is new and singular to me. 
 But I could not enjoy a Moment's Peace, till this 
 
 Letter 
 
25 
 
 Letter was written. With the most ardent Prayers 
 
 for your spiritual as well as temporal welfare, I am 
 
 Your obed' and sincere Friend and Servant 
 
 JACOB duche;. 
 
 His Excellency Genl Washington. 
 
DUCHE TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, OCTOBER 13"^, 1777- 
 
 Sir: My dear Friend M" Ferguson will deliver 
 into your Excellency's Hands a Letter, which has 
 laid by me several Days for want of a safe Convey- 
 ance, in which I have delivered my Sentiments to 
 you upon the present State of our unhappy Contest 
 without Reserve, and with full Confidence in your 
 Honor. My Mind will remain in a State of pain- 
 ful Anxiety, 'till I have your candid answer, and 
 'till I am assured under your own Hand, that I 
 have not thereby forfeited your Esteem, and that 
 you are not in the least offended at the Freedom, 
 with which I have written. By this Eady, you 
 will have the best opportunity of honoring me 
 with an Answer. I remain with great Respect 
 Your Excellency's most sincere 
 
 Friend and Servant, 
 Addressed T^COB DUCHE. 
 
 To His Excellency General Washiyigton. 
 Favoured by M^f Ferguson.'^ 
 
 *The story of Mrs. Ferguson, nee Grteme, has been told with such fulness 
 by Mr. Charles P. Kieth in his valuable work The Provincial Councillors of 
 Pennsylvania^ as to render any further' research useless. She was the 
 daughter of Dr. Thomas Greeme, who came to Pennsylvania with "William 
 
 ( 26 ) Keith 
 
27 
 
 Keith in 1717, and who afterwards married Ann Diggs, a step-daughter of 
 Keith:— 
 
 ** Elizabeth [Grasme] born February 3, 1736-7, baptized Christ Church, 
 February 3, the most accomplished lady of Provincial times, and whose 
 physical and other misfortunes caused the friend who wrote her epitaph to 
 call her ' the afflicted daughter of Thomas and Ann Greem.' She has some 
 celebrity as one of the earlier female writers of poetry in America. In 
 about her seveuteenth year, she became engaged to be married to a young 
 gentleman about going abroad to fiuish his education in the law. The en- 
 gagement was broken off, says the sketch of her in the Fori I^o/w, reprinted 
 in Hazard's Register, 'not without much suffering on the part of Miss 
 GrjEme.' To divert her mind, she translated La Telemague into English 
 verse; but her heart was weakened, and she was sent abroad under care of 
 Dr. Peters the Councillor. Delavoye's Life of Lord Lynedoch mentions her 
 speaking of a letter from her father's nephew, Thomas Gramme of Bal- 
 gowan, concerning the education of his son, afterwards Lord Lynedoch. 
 On her return, her mother being dead, she became head of her father's 
 house, which she made the rendezvous of the cultivated miuds of the 
 Colony. Her paraphrase of the Book of Psalms, written from 1766 to 1768, is 
 in MS. with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. She married, April 21, 
 1772, Henry Hugh Ferguson, a native of Scotland, and related to the cele- 
 brated philosopher Dr. Adam Ferguson, says a note to Memoirs of the His- 
 torical Society of Pennsylvania ^ Vol. I. He resided in Philadelphia until 
 near the Revolutionary War, when he went to England, being styled in a 
 deed of November 26, 1776, 'of the City and County of Phila., Esq., now 
 sojourning in London.' By that deed his wife and his attorney sold 200 
 acres of Gr^me Park to John Penn. She continued to reside at the mansion 
 house during his absence. He returned to America with the British army, 
 holding the appointment of Commissary of Prisoners; and she obtained a 
 pass to visit him in Philadelphia. He was summoned before the Council 
 of Pennsylvania as a traitor to the new State, and, not appearing, was at- 
 tainted. She was on good terms with the Revolutionary officers, was be- 
 lieved to be a sincere lover of her country. She it was who conveyed to 
 Gen. Washington the letter of Duche urging him. to return to his allegiance 
 to the King, and she communicated to Joseph Reed the statement of Gov. 
 Johnstone that if a reunion of the two countries were cfiFected through 
 Reed's influence, that gentleman could command ;^io,ooo or any Colonial 
 office in the King's gift, to which Reed replied that the King of Great 
 Britain had nothing within his gift to tempt him. The government of 
 Pennsylvania refused in November, 177S, to allow her to go to New York to 
 bid her husband farewell; and she never saw him afterwards. Graeme 
 Park was seized as his property by the agents of forfeited estates, but upon 
 her petition, the Assembly postponed the sale of it during her lifetime, and 
 she was allowed to remain there free of rent to the State. In the letter 
 part of her life, she was very poor, but various anecdotes are told of her be- 
 nevolence even then. She died at the house of Seneca Lorkens, a Quaker, 
 near Graeme Park, February 23, 1801, without issue, buried Christ Church." 
 
WASHINGTON TO FRANCIS HOPKINSON. 
 
 HEAD-QUARTBRS, 21 NOVEMBER, 1777. 
 
 Sir : I am favored with yours of the 14th in- 
 stant, inclosing a letter for the Reverend Mr. 
 Duche. I will endeavour to forward it to him, but 
 I imagine it will never be permitted to reach his 
 hands. I confess to 3'ou, that I was not more sur- 
 prised than concerned, at receiving so extraordi- 
 nary a letter from Mr. Duche, of whom I had en- 
 tertained the most favorable opinion, and I am still 
 willing to suppose, that it was rather dictated by 
 his fears than by his real sentiments; but I very 
 much doubt whether the great numbers of respect- 
 able characters, in the state and array, on whom 
 he has bestowed the most unprovoked and unmeri- 
 ted abuse, will ever attribute it to the same cause, 
 or forgive the man, who has artfully endeavoured 
 to engage me to sacrifice them to purchase my own 
 safety. 
 
 I never intended to make the letter more public, 
 than by laying it before Congress. I thought this 
 a duty, which I owed to myself ; for had any acci- 
 dent happened to the army entrusted to my com- 
 mand, and it had ever afterwards appeared, that 
 
 (28) such 
 
29 
 
 such a letter had been written to and received by 
 me, might it not have been said, that I had be- 
 trayed my country? And would not such a corre- 
 spondence, if kept a secret, have given good 
 grounds for the suspicion? I thank you for the 
 favorable sentiments, which you are pleased to 
 express of me, and I hope no act of mine will ever 
 induce you to alter them. I am, &c. 
 
 G? WASHINGTON. 
 
FRANCIS HOPKINSON TO JACOB DUCIIE. 
 
 BORDENTOWN, 14 NOVEMBER, 1777- 
 
 Dear Brother : A letter signed with your name, 
 dated at Philadelphia, on the 8th of October, and 
 addressed to his Excellency General Washington, 
 is handed about the country. Many copies are 
 taken, and I doubt not but it will soon get into 
 the press, and become public throughout the con- 
 tinent. Words cannot express the grief and con- 
 sternation that wounded my soul at the sight of 
 this fatal performance. What infatuation could 
 influence 3'ou to offer to his Excellency an address, 
 filled with gross misrepresentation, illiberal abuse, 
 and sentiments unworthy of a man of character? 
 You have endeavoured to screen your own weak- 
 ness by the most artful glosses, and to apologize to 
 the General for the instability of 3'our temper in a 
 manner, that I am sure cannot be satisfactory to 
 your own conscience. 
 
 I could go through this extraordinary letter, 
 and point out to you truth distorted in every lead- 
 ing part. But the world will doubtless do this 
 with a severity, that must be daggers to the sensi- 
 bilities of your heart. Read that letter over again, 
 
 (30) and 
 
31 
 
 and if possible divest yourself of the fears and 
 influence, whatever they were, that induced you to 
 pen it. Consider its contents with an impartial 
 eye, and reflect on the ideas it will naturally raise 
 in the minds of the multitude. You will then find, 
 that by a vain and weak effort you have attempted 
 the integrity of one, whose virtue is impregnable 
 to the assaults of fear or flattery, whose judgment 
 needed not j'our information, and who, I am sure, 
 would have resigned his charge the moment he 
 found it likely to lead him out of the paths of 
 virtue and honor. You will find that you have 
 drawn upon you the resentment of Congress, the 
 resentment of the army, the resentment of many 
 worthy and noble characters in England, whom 
 you know not, and the resentment of your insulted 
 country. You have ventured to assert many things 
 at large of the affairs of England, France, and 
 America, which are far from being true, and which, 
 from your contracted knowledge in these matters, 
 it is impossible for you to be acquainted with. In 
 the whole of your letter, you have never once 
 recommended yourself to those, whose favor you 
 seem desirous of obtaining, by expatiating on the 
 justice or humanity of their conduct; and at the 
 same time have said every thing that can render 
 you odious to those, on whom the happiness of 
 your future life must depend. 
 
 You presumptuously advise our worthy Gen- 
 eral, 
 
32 
 
 eral, on whom millions depend with implicit con- 
 fidence, to abandon their dearest hopes, and with 
 or without the consent of his constituents to ''ne- 
 gotiate for America at the head of his army.'' 
 Would not the blood of the slain in battle rise 
 against such perfidy? And with whom would you 
 have him negotiate? Are they not those, who, 
 without the sanction of any civil, moral, or re- 
 ligious right, have come three thousand miles 
 to destroy our peace and property, to lay waste 
 your native countr}^ with fire and sword, and 
 cruelly murder its inhabitants? Look for their 
 justice and honor in their several proclamations, 
 and look for their humanity in the jails of New 
 York and Philadelphia, and in your own Pot- 
 ter's Field. The whole force of the reasoning 
 contained in your letter tends to this point; that 
 virtue and honor require us to stand by truth, as 
 long as it can be done with safety, but that her 
 cause may be abandoned on the approach of dan- 
 ger ; or, in other words, that the justice of the 
 American cause ought to be squared by the suc- 
 cess of her arms. 
 
 On the whole, T find it impossible to reconcile 
 the matter and style of this letter with j'our gen- 
 eral conduct, or with the virtues of your heart. I 
 would fain hope, notwithstanding your assertion 
 to the contrary, that you wrote it with a bayonet 
 held to your breast, by order of the unprincipled 
 
 usurpers 
 
33 
 
 usurpers of your native city. But my chief motive 
 for writing to you at this time is to assure you, 
 that I firmly believe that our just defensive war 
 will be crowned with success, and that we shall 
 ere long return to our habitations in Philadelphia. 
 I would, therefore, most earnestly warn you to 
 evade the dismal consequences of your ill-judged 
 address to our beloved General. Do all you can to 
 wipe off, if possible, its unhappy effects. I tremble 
 for you, for my good sister, and her little family. 
 I tremble for your personal safety. Be assured I 
 write this from true brotherly love. Our intimacy 
 has been of a long duration, even from our early 
 youth ; long and uninterrupted, without even a 
 rub in the way ; and so long have the sweetness of 
 your manners, and the integrity of your heart, 
 fixed my affections. 
 
 I am perfectly disposed to attribute this un- 
 fortunate step to the timidity of your temper, the 
 weakness of your nerves, and the undue influence 
 of those about you. But will the world hold you 
 so excused? Will the individuals you have so 
 freely censured and characterized with contempt 
 have this tenderness for you? I fear not. They 
 will only judge of your conduct by its rashness, 
 and proportion their resentment to their sensibility 
 of the wounds you have given. I pray God to in- 
 spire you with some means of extricating yourself 
 from this embarrassing difficulty. For my own 
 
 part, 
 
34 
 
 part, I have well considered the principles on 
 which I took part with my country, and am de- 
 termined to abide by them to the last extremity. 
 I beg my love to my good mother, and my affec- 
 tionate sisters. I often think of them with great 
 pain and anxiety, lest they should suffer from the 
 want of those necessary supplies, that are now 
 cut off. May God preserve them and you in this 
 time of trial. I am, &c. 
 
 FRANCIS HOPKINSON. 
 
DUCHE TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 ASYLUM, LAMBETH, 2 APRII,, 1783. 
 
 Sir : Will your Excellency condescend to ac- 
 cept of a few lines from one, who ever was and 
 wishes still to be your sincere friend, who never 
 intentionally sought to give you a moment's pain, 
 who entertains for you the highest personal respect, 
 and would be happy to be assured under your own 
 hand, that he does not labor under your displeasure, 
 but that you freely forgive what a weak judgment, 
 but a very affectionate heart, once presumed to 
 advise ? Many circumstances, at present unknown 
 to you, conspired to make me deem it my duty to 
 write to you. Ignorance and simplicity saw not 
 the necessity of your divulging the letter. I am 
 convinced, however, that you could not, in your 
 public station, do otherwise. I cannot say a word 
 in vindication of my conduct but this, that I had 
 been for months before distressed with continual 
 apprehension for you and all my friends without 
 the British lines. I looked upon all as gone; or 
 that nothing could save you, but rescinding the 
 Declaration of Independency. Upon this ground 
 alone I presumed to speak ; not to advise an act of 
 (35) base 
 
36 
 
 base treachery, my soul would have recoiled from 
 the thought; not to surrender your army, or betray 
 the righteous cause of your country, but, at the 
 head of the army, supporting and supported by 
 them, to negotiate with Britain for our constitu- 
 tional rights. 
 
 Can you then join with my country in pardon- 
 ing this error of judgment? Will you yet honor 
 me with your great interest and influence, by re- 
 commending, at least expressing your approbation 
 of the repeal of an act, that keeps me in a state of 
 banishment from my native country, from the arms 
 of a dear aged father, and the embraces of a numer- 
 ous circle of valuable and long-loved friends? 
 Your liberal, generous mind, I am persuaded, will 
 never exclude me wholly from your regard for a 
 mere political error ; especially, as you must have 
 heard, that, since the date of that letter, I have led 
 a life of perfect retirement, and since ray arrival in 
 England have devoted myself wholly to the duties 
 of my profession, and confined my acquaintance to 
 a happy circle of literary and religious friends. 
 
 I have written to my father and to many of my 
 friends largely on this subject, requesting them to 
 make such application to the State of Pennsylvania 
 in my behalf, as may be judged necessary and ex- 
 pedient. Should this application be honored with 
 success, I know of nothing that would more efiect- 
 ually satisfy my desires in a matter of such import- 
 ance 
 
37 
 
 ance to myself and my family, as a line or two from 
 your Excellency, expressive of your approbation of 
 my return. Temporal [emoluments are not wanting 
 to induce me to remain for life on this side of the 
 Atlantic. I have been most hospitably received 
 and kindly treated by all ranks of people, and I 
 should be ungrateful not to acknowledge in the 
 strongest terms my obligations to those, who have 
 placed me in the easy and comfortable situation I 
 now enjoy. It is not necessity, therefore, but un- 
 alterable affection to my native country, that urges 
 my return. With every good wish and prayer for 
 your best felicity, and my most hearty congraula- 
 tions on the happy event of peace, I have the honor 
 to be your Excellency's most obedient and humble 
 servant, 
 
 JACOB DUCHE:. 
 
WASHINGTON TO DUCHE. 
 
 HEAD-QUARTERS, lO AUGUST, 1 783. 
 
 Sir : I have received your letter of the 2d of 
 April, and, reflecting on its contents, I cannot but 
 say that I am heartily sorry for the occasion which 
 has produced it. Personal enmity I bear none to 
 any man. So far, therefore, as your return to this 
 country depends on my private voice, it would be 
 given in favor of it with cheerfulness. But, re- 
 moved as I am from the people and policy of the 
 State in which you formerly resided, and to whose 
 determination your case must be submitted, it is my 
 duty, whatever may be my inclination, to leave its 
 decision to its constitutional judges. Should this 
 be agreeable to your wishes, it cannot fail to meet 
 my entire approbation. I am, &c. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 (38) 
 
"ik