506 Journal and Correspondence.

May 27

I beg leave to inform your Excellency & Council that you have the
warm Acknowledgment of the Commander in Chief for your Ex-
ertions in forwarding Supplies, and it is greatly owing to you that I
was able to feed the Army with Bread thro the Winter, and be
assured I am happy of having an Opportunity in all Companies of
declaring how much the United States are indebted to you for the
Supplies render'd

May 28
Red Book
No. 26
Letter No. 12

[Luke Marbury, Nat. Ramsey, Edwd Tillard, Aa Giles, Jno
Eccleston, Long Island, to His Excellency Thomas Sim Lee
Esqr.]

May it please your Excellency We the field Officers belonging to
the State of Maryland, Prisoners on Long Island in behalf of the
whole of the Captive Officers from that State, beg leave to Express
our Gratefull sence of the Humane, and Generous Attention, paid
to our distressed Situation, by that Legislature, at the Head of which
you preside; an intimation whereof we have lately received by Lieu^t
Col^o Ramsey. In Consequence of some enquiries made by him in
New York antecedent to his going out on Parole, we as well as he,
conceived an Idea, that a pass port could be Obtained, and Liberty
granted for a flag to Come round to New York with Produce, which
might be sold in that Market, in order to raise money to discharge
our Board, and Other Contnngent expences; But upon our Making
a Regular Application on that Subject to the proper Authority, we
have received through the Commissary General of Prisoners, an
Answer in the Negative, a Copy whereof we beg leave to inclose
you. We therefore earnestly entreat that your Excellency may be
pleased (agreable to the powers with which you are invested) as
soon as possible, to transmit us a Supply in Specie. We esteem it
unnecessary to mention how pressing our wants are, they are already
known, and we bear them with less regret, as we are Convinced our
Country wish and are taking every Step to relieve them, By the
Answer which we have had the Honour to receive from New York,
your Excellency will perceive the great probability, that the Officers
in stead of receiving billets, will shortly be Obliged to procure and
bargain for their own Boarding; in which case we would beg leave
to Observe, that each Officer being supplied with a few Barrells of

Good flower, and a sufficient Quantity of Bacon Hams, for his own

Consumption, would have a great influence in procureing, and Con-
tinuing him good Quarters, and we Apprehend, that your Excel-
lencys permission together with granting a flag to any small Coast-
ing Vessell for that purpose, agreable to the Liberty in the enclosed
letter expressed, would be Quite Sufficient without any formal pass-
port, we take the liberty of Hinting this Idea, in as much as we pre-
sume a Quantity of those Articles are already provided, and Can