mm ■MB LIBRARY OF CONGRESS OOOlQim?? E^9 Book *L4£J BOUNTY LANDS TO THE §TOTT?2ST0 ©STCTCXEKft OF THE LATE WAR, THE SECOND OF INDEPENDENCE, ±ND TO THE WIDOWS AND CHILDREN OF THOSE WHO WERE KILLED IN At I ION, OK WHO DIM* IN SERVICE OR SUBSEQUENT TO THE WAR. —"*«» kew-york: printed by william g rattan, .No. 8, ThamtS'Stieet. 1826. \ TO THL OFFICERS OF THE LATE WAR, fs THE I £2»S©S?2E) @s* BSTD)3HP!SSfJB)!BITCBfc THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS HAD IN REFERENCE TO AN APPLICATION TO Ksa For Lands in remuneration for arduous services, severe sufferings, and consequent losses, are respectfuliy submitted and recom- mended to thsir especial attention, by the committee of correspondence, in the city of New- York, duly appointed by a meeting of officers, held on the 15th September, A. D. 1826. nitw-york: printed by william grattan, No. 8, Thxmcs-sireet. 1826. ! -v . ' t 1 f < . FIRST GENERAL MEETING At a meeting of the officers of the late war, convened by notice in the public papers, at the Broadway-house, in the city of New-York, on the 3d day of January 1826, to take into considera- tion the expediency of presenting a respectful peti- tion to Congress, praying for a grant of public lands, agreeably to rank and former practice, as a reward for their services, sufferings, and losses, during the second war of Independence : Major George Howard, of the 25th regiment, was called to the chair ; and Captain M. Myers, of the 13th regiment, was chosen Secretary. The objects of the meeting being stated in an address from Cap- tain Myers, it was unanimously resolved, that it is expedient to present a respectful memorial to Con- grees, praying for lands, as a reward for past ser- vices, &jc, whereupon Gen. R. Bogardus, Col. Clarkson Crolius, Major George Howard, and Captains M. M. Quackenboss and M. Myers, were chosen a committee to draft and forward a me- morial, with powers to correspond, and to do all things necessary to promote the success of the ap- plication. Col. Crolius was also chosen Treasurer, and the monies collected towards the expenses of establishing the claim, were paid over to him^ and then the meeting adjourned sine die. FIRST IVSEETINCr OP THE The committee appointed by the general meet- ing of the officers of the late war, held on the 3d day of January 1826, met at the house of Capt. M. Myers, on the 8th day of January 1826 ; all present, except Gen. Bogardus. The draft of a petition was read, approved, and adopted, where- upon Major Howard, the chairman, stated that he was willing to proceed on to the city of Washing- ton, with the petition, and would use his best en- deavors to secure success to the application, on being paid part of his expenses : it was therefore resolved, that the members of this committee will advance twenty dollars each, making one hundred dollars, for the above purpose, and Gen. Bogardus being absent, the four members present paid to the treasurer the sum of twenty -five dollars each, to be in part refunded when Gen. Bogardus shall have paid his proportion, and then Major Howard took charge of the petition, and promised to proceed immediately to Washington, and the committee adjourned. Second Meeting of the Committee. At a meeting of the committee, held on the 18th day of February 1826, at the house of Col. Crolius ; all the members present, except Gen. Bogardus. Major Howard reported that he had caused to be presented to Congress, the memorial of the officers as adopted by the committee, and stated tnat the prospects were flattering and pro- mising ; he also reported, that finding that other officers and meetings had appointed Col. Joseph Watson, of Washington city, their agent, to man- age a similar application, he had entrusted the pe- tition to his charge, as general agent, and believing that the success of the application would be promoted by adding the names of Col. J. Watson, Col Joseph L. Smith, Col. Gilbert C. Russell, and Col. James R. Mullany to the committee, their names had been so affixed to the petition, ap- prizing the committee, that Col. Watson, from his situation at Washington, and from his talents and zeal in the cause, had been and will continue to be of great service in forwarding the claim, where- upon, Resolved, That the committee highly approve of all that Major Howard, our chairman, has done whilst at Washington. Major Howard presented his bill of expenses, amounting to one hundred and six dollars and twenty-five cents, on which, having received from the committee one hundred dollars, Resolved, That the balance be paid by the treasurer. Resolved also, That the thanks of the committee be tendered to Major Howard, for his diligence and assiduity in going to Washington with ihe memorial of the officers, and for his strict atten- tion to the business whilst there ; and then the committee adjourned. A 2 SECOND GENERAL MEETING. At a meeting of the officers of the late war, held on tbe 15th day of September 1826, at the Shakspeare Tavern, in the City of New- York, on the special call of the Chairman, Major Howard took the chair and called the meeting to order, and having, as Chairman of the Committee, made a report of its proceedings to the meeting, he called upon Colonel Watson, the General Agent at the seat of government, who attended the meeting by special invitation, for information as to the pro- ceedings, subsequent to his departure from Wash- ington, whereupon Colonel Watson addressed the meeting, and gave a detailed account of the pro- ceedings before Congress in respect to the claim, especially as to the favorable report of the Se- lect Committee, and, among other things, stated that the Military Committee, to which in the due course of business, the petition was referred, asked and obtained leave to return it to the House without a report, on the special ground that a ma- jority of the Committee were interested in the ap- plication ; It was then referred to the Committee on public lands, from which, on account of the un- usual press of business before that Committee, it was withdrawn by a reference to a Select Com- mittee of seven, at the head of which, was that indefatigable and enlightened member, Colonel Daniel P. Cook. He further stated, that a similar petition had been forwarded and presented to Con- gress, in behalf of a meeting of officers at Albany, of which Col. Elisha Jenkins was Chairman. Captain Myers and Captain Quackenboss then in turn addressed the meeting, and each closed with a request that Colonel Watson would read to the meeting, the statement, made by him to the Select Committee of Congress, at the request of Colonel Cook, the Chairman, in which request the meeting concurring, Colonel Watson read the same, which was highly approved of, and fully sanctioned by the meeting. The following reso- lutions were then offered by Captain Myers, and unanimously adopted, and ordered to be extended on the minutes, viz. 1st. Resolved, That it is expedient that the officers of the late war, whether in or out of ser- vice, co-operate, with all their influence, in the object of the petition heretofore presented to Congress in their behalf: and that it be recom- mended to them to hold meetings at their re- spective posts, or in their respective congressional districts, and to forward to the seat of government concurrent memorials, and letters to members of Congress, and to such distinguished officers as are residents or may be at the seat of government during the next session of Congress. 2d. Resolved, That Col. Crolius, Major Howard, Major G. Smith, Dr Samuel Akerly, Captains Myers and Quackenboss, be a Committee of Cor- respondence, with full powers to address commu- nications to such officers of the late war, whether in or out of service, as they may deem expedient, and conducive to the interest of the whole, re- questing their co-operation, and that similar Com- mittees may be appointed to correspond with this Committee and the agent at the seat of government. 3d. Resolved, That Dr. Samuel Akerly be Sec- retary to the Committee 4th. Resolved, That the above named Committee, be authorized to publish the memorial to Con- gress, the statement laid before the select con>- mittee of Congress at its last session, by the general agent at Washington, Colonel Watson, 8 and such other documents and precedents in sup- port of the claim, as they may deem necessary 5th. Resolved, That Col, Joseph Watson, of the city of Washington, receive the thanks of this meeting, for his services, and be requested to con- tinue his exertions in furtherance of the claim, and to use every fair and honorable means in behalf of all the officers of the late war, to obtain the passage of a law in their favor. 6th. Resolved, That the officers interested in the result of the claim, being all those who served to the close, of the late war, whether of the staffer line, or whether now in or out of the service, be requested to pay into the hands of or remit to Col. Crolius, the Treasurer of this meeting, the sum of five dol- lars, or such sum as they can appropriate towards defraying the expenses of printing, postages, and other necessary incidental charges, and that the Committee of Correspondence be authorized to audit and direct the payment to be made by said Treasurer, of all such necessary and reasonable bills as may be presented. 7th. W 7 hereas, this meeting have understood, that the Hon. George E. Mitchell, and the Hon. Aaron Ward, have evinced much interest in behalf of the application of their late companions in arms — Therefore, ResAved, That this meeting duly appreciate their obligations to them, and that the Chairman and Secretary be requested to address letters to them, express ve of the sense of this meeting, and soliciting a continuance of their aid in furtherance of the prayer of the petition. 8th Resolvid. That from and after the first day of October ensuing, die officers of the late army will meet at the Shakspeare Tavern, corner of Nassau and Fulton streets, on the first Monday in every month, at 8 o'clock P. M. to receive reports and transact such other business as may be brought before them. By order M. MYERS, Secretary. IflEIttORIAIi, To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, in Congress assembled. The Memorial of the undersigned, Committee on be- half of the Officers of the Army of the United States, during the second War of Independence, respectfully represent and sheweth : That the Continental Congress, by its resolu- tions of the sixteenth of September, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six, did provide, That the officers and soldiers of the war of Independ- ence should receive a bounty in land : That many of the States of the Union, viz : Massachusetts, New-York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, following the generous impulse, and appreciating alike the services, sacrifices, and sufferings of the officers and soldiers, did, from time to time, provide liberal bounties in land, for their respective State lines in Continental service. That Congress did, by a resolution of the four- teenth of August, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six, promise a bounty in land, to those who should leave the armies of his Britannic Majesty in America, and should choose to become mem- bers of any of those States : That by resolutions of the twenty-third of April, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, and the seventh of April, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight, Congress did provide, that refugees from Canada and Nova Scotia should receive bounty in land. 10 and has, by various subsequent acts and regula- tions, carried into effect the said laws, so passed by its own body : That by an act of the twenty- fourth of December, one thousand eight hundred and eleven, and the acts supplementary thereto, the same bounty and liberality was extended to the soldiers of the late war, in which the undersigned served : That by the second section of the act of the sixth of February, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, the heirs of volunteer soldiers who were killed in action, or died in actual service of the United States, during the late war, were each promised one hundred and sixty acres of land : That under the provisions of the act of the fifth of March, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, citizens of the United States, who were inhabitants of Canada at the commencement of the late war, and who, during the said war, joined the armies of the United States as volunteers, were promised bounty land in the following proportions, viz : To each colonel, nine hundred and sixty acres ; to each major, eight hundred acres ; to each captain, six hundred and forty acres ; to each subaltern officer, four hundred and eighty acres ; and to the medical and other staff, according to their pay ; and were authorised to iocate their claims, in quarter sections, on any of the unappropriated lands of the Uuited States. The undersigned have in vain sought for rea- sons which should deprive the officers of the second war of Independence of the same munifi- cence which was extended by the United States, and by several of the States, to those of the first. — They held the same stake, they exhibited the same valor and love of liberty, and although they may not as a body, have suffered as much, yet their zeal was not less, nor their exertions less willing. ii If they did not, like the refugees, flee the realms of oppression to share the promised boon, and snatch relief from liberty's rule, they had to pro- tect the tree which their fathers planted, and to resist the gigantic efforts which were made to check its growth, and to re-colonize the soil which imparted luxuriance to its branches. If the sol- diers of the late war, and the heirs of volunteers who were killed, or died, had claims on the boun- ty of the Nation, why have not the officers whose skill and industry, by daily toil and sleepless nights, brought them into the field, and drilied th* m into efficiency, or those who ministered to their wants, or wntched over their health, claims equally strong? If citizens who abandoned the enemy of their country, and arrayed themselves in her ranks, have met favor in your halls, will you be deaf to the appeal of those who sought the enemy on his own soil, foiled the discipline which conquered that first of warriors who sleeps on a distant rock, and who, in risking or surrendering their lives, have added another plume to the cap of Liberty, another leaf to the archives of the nation's fame. The undersigned presume to answer for your honorable body, vou will not. Buoved up by the justice of their claim, and encouraged by the many precedents in their favor, and the further conside- ration that the laws did not allow them to share in the capture of munitions of war, and other valuable public stores, they appeal with confidence to your liberality, and to the gratitude of the na- tion at this auspicious period of their country's his- tory, and pray that lands may be granted to those officers of the late war who served to its close, and to the heirs of those who were killed or d'ed in service, in proportion at least equal to the quanti- *> ties allowed to the Canadian volunteers, and that they be permitted to locate their claims on any of the unappropriated lands of the United States, or to file their warrants in payment of any lands which nave hitherto been purchased from the United States and now remain unpaid for. And vour memorialists further beg leave respect- fully o suggest, that many of the officers of the late army were entitled to promotion long previous to the close of the war ; but, although in many cases they discharged duties in a higher grade than they received pay for, yet in consequence of the nume- rous vacancies not having been filled up by pro- motions, they left the army in many cases in the same grade in which they entered it, arising, in part, from a consolidation of the old peace estab- lishment with the army of twenty-five thousand raised in one thousand eight hundred and twelve, contrary to the expectations of the officers of that armv. And your memorialists conceive, that if the foregoing prayer be granted, it would not be un- reasonable to ask a proportion of laud for each officer according to the grade he of right was en- titled to, had the vacancies been filled up at the close of the laie war. As in duty bound, your memorialists will ever prav. ROBERT BOGARDUS, GEORGE HOWAFD, CLARKSON CROLIUS, M. MYERS, M. M. QUArKENBOSS, J. R MULLANY, JOSEPH L. SMITH, GILBERT C RUSSELL, JOSEPH WATSON, for himself and sundry Officers. January 30, 1826. 13 >*£ g s 5 3 STAT^MrsafT f>V THE GENERAL AGENT TO THE SELECT COMMITTEE OF COJVGRE!?S. Washington City, March 18, 1826. Honorable Daniel P. Cooke, Chairman of the Select Committee, on the petition of the Officers of the Late War. Sir : Such have been the peremptory calls in the more immediate line of my business, that, not- withstanding your polite invitation to submit to the honourable committee over which you preside, my views, as to the claims of the officers who served to the close of the war, emphatically and appropriately termed the second of Independence, I have not until this day, been enabled to enter upon the task, not the less acceptable, on account of the confidence reposed in me by many of my late companions in service, but one, which I feel that I shall not discharge in a manner worthy of the subject, or satisfactory even to my own wishes, I must, therefore, throw myself on their indulgence, and on the ability and disposition of the com- mittee to supply any deficiency of research, or of matter. It will be seen by the preamble of the petition, that the precedents are numerous in sur>- port of the claim, and by the exhibit of allowances hereto annexed, that they were liberal, and that the prayer of the petitioners, aspires but little be- yond the minimum of that liberality, so honorable to, and so magnanimous on the part of the Uuited States, and of the States, respectively, who eager- ly adopted the recommendation of Congress to that effect. If it should be urged) that this bene- ficence was but the consummation of previous pro- mises, it may be asked, whether this was the case B 14 in reference to the grants made under the king's proclamation of 1763? What previous promise was given to Lewis and Clarke ? Had the Ameri- cans, who left the enemy's territories during the late war to join our armies, any such allure to their patriotism ? The grant to Lewis and Clarke, and that to the officers and soldiers under Colonel Rogers Clarke, who marched against the posts of Kaskaskias and Vincennes, (see deed of cession from Virginia to the United States,) establish the fact, that grants of land have been made for ser- vices, in no degree of beiigerant nature, or for such, not incident to an authorised state of warfare. (No. 1.) It may with propriety be questioned whether there is more of policy, of justice, or of benevolence, which are assumed, as leadino mo- tives for the acts of nations, for bestowing lands, for the civilizing of Indians, (see resolutions of the 10th of May, 1785, and 27th July, 1787,) for the encouragement of desertion from the ene- my, (see resolutions of the 14th August. 1776,) or for exploring the wilderness dominion of this nation, than there would be in imparting a boon to those who rallied around their country's stan- dard, when her rights were assailed, or her inde- pendence was to be sustained, or visiting the af- fliction of the widow, or lessening tSie deprivation of the child, with the smiles of voluntary and un- pledged gratitude. To say, in the fulness of stoicism, that the honor of wearing an epaulette, will, as it has, produce more applications for com- missions than can be gratified, is not to prove that s'.;ch an inducement, will, alone, have charms for the experienced and meritorious officer, who. by the solitary exception from olden precedents, (No. 2.) will feel himself treated with cold neglect, or that there are not widows and orphans deprived of the 15 means of support, or or of those of education, by the loss of a husband, or a father, in consequence of disease contracted in the service. But, sir, whatever considerations my own feel- ings may induce me to urge in behalf of the widow, or the orphan, I would only address the policy, and the justice of the nation, in behalf of my fel- low officers — I appeal then, sir, to the grounds on which the officers of the navy were, and are still, allowed to share in the captures they make. The officers of the army claim no loftier motives or in- centives to valor or ardor, to adorn the escutcheon of their country, than the officers of the navy ; yet without the all-powerful hope of gain, coupled with the allure of glory, it is believed when duty called, or fame beckoned, they have not been backward to advance If a ship sinks, or is blown up, in the lap of victory, the officers who reach the enemy's ship as victors, find themselves amply rewarded for their exertions, or the loss of their baggage ; but if an army which may be besieged in a fort, makes a sortie, conquers and takes the whole force of the enemy, and at the moment the commanding officer surrenders his sword, a ball from some ship co-operating with the enemy, shoidd blow up the magazine, and destroy the fort, the officers would not, by existing laws, be en- titled even to pay for their baggage. Ask those who conquered the allied forces of the British and Indians at Browntown, and they will not shrink from a comparison with the navy ; appeal to those who advanced unappalled on the works at York, whilst destruction was lighting its train under them, and they will marvel why the navy should share to their exclusion, in the captures made by (heir valour ; ask those who so repeatedly at Bridge- water, presented the bosom of freeman, to the bay-^ 16 onets which bristled in the gleam of action, and who boldly turned the main battery of the enemy against them, and they will emphatically exclaim, have we neither done nothing to place our claims on a footing with the navy f What, sir, will the defenders of Orleans and Plattsbtirgh say, when they recal to mind the favor the defenders of Fort Bowyer met with in your halls ? The latter in de- fending the fortress destroyed a ship ; each of the former saved a State. Could the prowess of the hero of Oswego have been mora conspicuous if the deck of a frigate had been its theatre ? It was, no doubt, considerations of this kind, that induced the military committee, on the 13th December 1816, to report a bill, granting a bounty in land, to the officers, which was only lost by a slender ma- jority. If enough has been advanced to establish the fact, that it is equally just as expedient, to grant the prayer of the petition in any shape, it remains, 1st. To consider the manner and extent of the grant ; 2d The mode and place of location ; 3d. The influence that such an act of liberal jus- tice will have in the event of another war. as also the consequences, both of an individual and pub- lic nature. 1st. Then as to the manner and extent of the ground. In the bill that I have taken the liberty to sketch, I have assumed the general principle, that all the officers who served to the close of the war, shall receive a bounty in laud in equal quan- tities according to iheir respective grades. But it may be well to inquire, whether it would not be proper to class them according to their term of service, giving to those who served throughout the war, the maximum quantity, and to those who served only from the 4th of July, 1814, the mi- 17 liimum allowance. Tn the event of the death of' the officer, this bill provides that^n?*, the widow, and then the child or children >hall be entitled to the iand, which principle is engrafted in the 2d section of the act of the 5th of March, 1816, rela- tive to the Canadian Volunteers, and in the act of the State of Pennsylvania, granting land to her officers and soldiers. It limits the bounty to those whose situations may most likely be ameliorated by it, being more immediately dependent on the husband or the father. But it is by no means contended that it would not be politic to provide for the representatives in more remote degrees, al- though it is believed that they have not such strong claims on the benevolent liberality of the country. The bill proposes also, to add one quarter section to the absolute grant, on condition that the same shall adjoin the former, and be actually settled within five or ten vears. The effect of this would be, to increase the probability of creating a settle- ment distinguished alike for enterprize and mili- tary experience. 2d. rfs to the mode and place of location : Could the difficulty as to the lands unfit, for culti- vation be overcome, the course most advantngtous to the government would be to designate some two surveys, the one in Michigan, (say on the St. Joseph of Lake Michigan) for the officers north of the Potomac, and the other in Arkansas, (say in the Quapaw purchase) for the officers south of the Potomac, with the right, however, to ocate in either, reserving to the government every al- ternate tract, in such manner that opposite to each tract granted, shall be one of equal size reserved. The next mode would be to increase the surveys to four, one in Illinois, between the mouth of Ver- million river and Lake Michigan, and the other B 2 18 in Florida, between the Appalachicola and Ausilly rivers, without any restriction as to the location. The other method, and that adopted in the bill, is to permit the location on any public lands west of the Mississippi, (as in he case of Lewis and Clarke,) or on any unappropriated lands in In- diana or Michigan, and to receive the warrants in payment of any such public lands at the mini- mum price of the public lands. The warrants issued to the companions of Lewis and Clarke were so received It will be recollected that in the case of the Canadian volunteers, the location could be made wt upon any of the unappropriated lands of the United States, within the Indiana territory." Now, 3d. Jis to the influence that such an act of liberality may have in the event of another war, as also the consequences, both of an individu- al and public nature : In the outset, the regret arises, that the exertions of that soldier's friend, himself a soldier, occupying a prominent rank in the annals of fame, (Col. Johnson) did not succeed in 1816, as then, that sympathy ol feeling always existing between the officers and soldiers, would have induced many of the latter to have joined the officers, in subduing the forests, and increasing the strength and wealth of the country. How far the condition of settlement, as to a portion of the grant, would promote emigration, can best be determined by recurrence to that enterprise which strikes into every avenue which leads to toil and profit. It cannot be doubted that the officer who shall thus improve, will induce others to settle his remaining tract, and that the U. States will derive a consequent appreciation of their lands in the vicinity, beyond the value of all the land with which they may have parted. That such would be 10 the case to a greater extent, were the locations made in alternate tracts, admits not of a question. What has been ibe effect of granting donations to actual settlers in the neighboring province of Up- per Canada? Have not towns sprung up as it by enchantment? lias not that government increased its means of commanding that sinew of war — money? Is there nothing in policy, in regard to a future state of war, that points to the expediency of advancing a cordon of freemen equal numeri- cal, as well as m pecuniary strength ? Settlements beget the necessity of roads ; roads increase the facility of communication ; and can any statesman forget the ruinous expenditures that the want of them created during the late war? The public lands should never be relied upon as a source of immediate revenue ; they may, however, be made instrumental to the same result, by imparting wealth to individuals, by augmenting the perma- nent and available property of die nation, and by creating additional resources, to be drawn upon in any emergency. What resources can be drawn from nature's uncultivated forests. They may impede the march of our armies, and afford an ambush for the savage foe, but they neither im- part strength, nor afford protection to the fron- tiers. It has been truly said that money is the sinew of war; but is not a confidence in the jus- tice, or if you please, in the magnanimity of the government, the nerve of that sinew? When the officer reflects on his impaired constitution and his dreary prospects in future life, let him know, by pa->t acts of liberality, that the days of his toil, and the night: of his vigilance will find a re- ward in the magnanimous gratitude of his country, and he and his children will be found at the post of danger when that country calls. — It will be the 20 strongest tie that can bind him to her service, and his consolation amidst privations, sufferings and disease. He will know that his family will Dot sink into the abyss of penury, as soon as he sinks into the grave, by disease contracted in the discharge of his duty. His imagination will not be turned to this gloomy reverse of the picture. The trumpet of peace will gladden his heart, and however his means of subsistence may have been reduced or his habits injured by the excitements or privations of a camp, his little patrimony will be the stay of bis hope. He will be encouraged to exertion, and will not waste in idleness and de- spair the energies of his mind. Look around in community, sir, and you will find, that in propor- tion to the original number, and making a reason- able allowance for the lapse of time, there are even now more officers of the revolution alive, than of the late war. Of the 29th Regiment of Infantry, I am informed, that there are but 1 3 officers sur- viving. It is true that many of them sought em- ployment in South America and died there in defence of the sacred principles of freedom. But if the principle of the bill is adopted this will necessarily lessen the number to be provided for, as it is reasonable to presume that other regiments have been diminished in like manner Patriotism, sir, ha** its sacred claims on the citizens of every free cou .try, but even patriotism looks to conse- quences ; and a nation should ever seek to create streams tributary to its fountain, the general good. Ours is the only country in which officers are liable to be discharged after a war, without any provision for th<^»n. This though probably unjust, is certainly for the interest of the great mass of the people ; but to check the dis- couraging reflection that the pursuits of arms is 21 not a profession in this country, would it not be just, would it not be wise, and would it not add to the security of the whole, in the day of adver- sity and trial, that the government should be liberal to her disbanded officers, when it can be done without oppressing the citizens ? 1 will in- dulge, sir, no further in the train of reflec ions which press upon my mind, but will commit the fate of my brother officers, and my own, to the wise and liberal considerations of a committee, from whose intelligence and enlarged views we have every thing to hope and nothing to fear. I am, sir, with high considerations of respect, yours and the committees most devoted and obe- dient humble servant, JOSEPH WATSON, Agent. ALLOWANCES UNDER THE SEVERAL RESOLUTIONS AND ACTS REFERRED TO. JVo. 1, King's proclamation of 1 763. Acres. To every officer ranking as a field officer 5,000 every captain 3.000 every subaltern or staff officer 2,000 JVo. 2, Resolutions of the 14th and 27 th Aug. 1776, To a colonel 1,000 a lieutenant colonel 800 a major 600 a captain 400 a lieutenant 300 an ensign 20f> 22 No. 3, Resolutions of the iGth Sept. 1776. To a major general 1,100 a brigadier general 850 a director of hospital , 500 a colonel 500 a chief physician and purveyor-general 450 a lieutenant colonel 450 a physician, surgeon, and apothecary 400 a major 400 a reg. sur., ass. to purv. and apothecary 300 a captain 300 a hospital reg. surgeon's mate 200 a lieutenant 200 an ensign 150 No. 4, Massachusetts. Quantities not ascertained with precision. No. 5, New-York. To a major general 5,500 a brigadier general 4,250 a colonel 2,500 a lieutenant colonel 2,350 a major 2.000 a captain or regimental surgeon 1,500 every subaltern and surgeon's mate 1,000 No. 6, Pennsylvania. To a maior general a brigadier general a colonel a lieutenant colonel surgeons, majors, and chaplains, each a captain a lieutenant No. 7, Maryland. Alike to officers of all grades 2,000 1,500 1,000 750 G00 500 300 200 Pfl 23 No. 8, Virginia. To a major general 15,000 a brigadier general 10,000 a colonel 5.000 a lieutenant colonel 4.500 a major 4.000 a captain 3,000 a subaltern 2,000 By an act of October, 1778, one third was ad- ded to those quantities, and by another act one sixth more. No, 9, Narth- Carolina. To a brigadier general 12,000 a colonel, lieut. coL com't, or chaplain 7,200 a lieutenant colonel, 5,760 a major or surgeon, 4,800 a captain, 3,840 a surgeon's mate, 2,560 a subaltern, 2,500 REDOUT 9F THE SELECT COMMITTEE OF CONGRFSS, FAVORABLE TO THE PRAYER OF THE MEMORIAL, VIZ.: May 17, 1826, Mr. Cook, from the select committee to which was referred the petition of sundry officers of the army of the late war, made the following report : The select committee, to which was referred the pe- tition of sundry officers of the army of the late war, praying a grant of land, in consideration of their sacrifices and services, report : That it is deemed by the committee but fair and reasonable that the merits of their claim 24 should be duly investigated and considered by the House. Their severe and arduous services, in the momentous struggle in which they were en- gaged) entitles their application to (he most libe- ra) consideration that justice and sound policy will allow. With a view, therefore, to bring the subject fairly before the House, and that it may acton the question, unincumbered by detail-;, the committee propose to the House the following resolution : Resolved, That it is expedient to make provi- sion by law for granting to each of the officers of army, who served during the late war, a (:s.r ( :jtity of land according to their rank, as a remunera- tion for their sacrifices, sufferings and faithful services. kJ«?Jr AsJc-'-xt " No. 1. It is believed ;hat in the case of Co- lonel Rogers Clarke, so far from the expedition being authorized, it was undertaken on his own responsibility, with a view to the protection of the frontiers. No- 2. That the government has made grants of land in consideration of services, where no pre- vious promise existed, is also proved by many laws spread on the statute books of the nation, from which may be singled out the cases of a foreigner, who volunteered his services in the attack on Derne, and of Lieutenant Presley, O'Bannon, then of the marine corps, receiving pay, as did the officers of the late war, and between whose case and that of many of them no discrimination can be drawn on the score of the importance or brilliancy of the service. The case of Dorhman, a merchant of Lisbon, who besides pay for his supplies to the 25 government, received also land. The motives which conduced to these grants, apply in the ab- stract to the present claim ; they looked to the importance of inspiring zeal and emulation in the discharge of duties on which the welfare of the nation depended. So also did the act of the Legislature of Penn- sylvania, of the 7th of March, 1781 ; and that of the State of North Carolina, passed in 1782, both being posterior in date to the services they were intended to reward : the first, granted lands to all officeis and soldiers of the Pennsylvania line or of Independent corps (partizans, such as Armand's De haas' &tc.) acknowledged as the quota of Penn- s} r lvania in the federal army, and all officers, being citizens of that state at the time of entering the service, not attached to the line of any other State, who may serve to the close of the war, and all officers, as aforesaid, who have been deranged by the resolutions and arrangements of the army, according to the act of Congress, passed in the month of October, 1 7S0, or who may be at any subsequent period of the war ; also the widows and children of either of such officers or privates as mav have been slain or have died, &tc. in the service, shall be and they are hereby entitled to lands according to pay and rank (See No. 6, of the schedule of allowances). The second act, granted lands to each officer and soldier of the North Carolina line, on the Continental estab- lishment, who should continue to the close of the war, and to such as from wounds or bodily in- firmities shall have been or shall be rendered unfit for service (See No. 9, of the schedule allowances) and as conclusive evidence that the Legislature of North Carolina had fully appreciated and weighed the evil effects on the after prospects and life of the 2G officers, as well as the injustice of suddenly throw- ing them upon the world without resources, the act of 1783 may be appealed to. It provides that all officers who have served with reputation for two years, or have been left out of the line on the redaction of their respective Corps, shall be enti- tled to the same proportion of land as those serving to the end of the war, estimating their time at seven years. Similar provisions have been en- grafted in the laws of Virginia. It is a fact worthy of notice, that in all the laws passed on the subject of Bounty lands for revolutionary services, the soldiers have invariably been coupled with the of- ficers. A different policy seems to have sprung into existence, as if to contrast the liberality of ad- versity with the ill-judged economy of prosperity. The law of 1 S 1 1 first made the distinction — ill- judged economy, for no political axiom can be more sound than that the parcelling out of pro- perty increases the wealth and resources of a na- tion. But for the genius of Jefferson, who saw in the abolition of the barbarous laws of primoge- niture, the dawn of individual prosperity, what would have now been the thraldom in which the many would have been held to the few ? Whilst his name is lisped by infantine lips, let not the influence of his precepts, teaching as they do by example, be lost with the sages and statesmen of the nation. J. W. [The authentic list of the names of the Officers who were hilled or died in service during the late war, exceeding Four Hundred, is omitted for some future report and publication*] i IvW.