I am, with all possible esteem and respect, your Excellency’s

most obedient and humble servant,

Th:  Jefferson.

LETTER XXV.—­TO HIS EXCELLENCY GENERAL WASHINGTON, September 26,1780

TO HIS EXCELLENCY GENERAL WASHINGTON.

Richmond, September 26,1780.

Sir,

The enclosed copy of a letter from Lord Cornwallis [See Appendix, note E.] to Colonel Balfour, was sent me by Governor Rutledge:  lest you should not have seen it, I do myself the pleasure of transmitting it, with a letter from General Harrington to General Gates giving information of some late movements of the enemy.

I was honored yesterday with your favor of the 5th instant, on the subject of prisoners, and particularly Lieutenant Governor Hamilton.  You are not unapprized of the influence of this officer with the Indians, his activity and embittered zeal against us.  You also, perhaps, know how precarious is our tenure of the Illinois country, and how critical is the situation of the new counties on the Ohio.  These circumstances determined us to detain Governor Hamilton and Major Hay within our power, when we delivered up the other prisoners.  On a late representation from the people of Kentucky, by a person sent here from that country, and expressions of what they had reason to apprehend from these two prisoners, in the event of their liberation, we assured them they would not be parted with, though we were giving up our other prisoners.  Lieutenant Colonel Dabusson, aid to Baron de Kalb, lately came here on his parole, with an offer from Lord Rawdon, to exchange him for Hamilton.  Colonel Towles is now here with a like proposition for himself, from General Phillips, very strongly urged by the General.  These, and other overtures, do not lessen our opinion of the importance of retaining him; and they have been, and will be, uniformly rejected.  Should the settlement, indeed, of a cartel become impracticable, without the consent of the States to submit their separate prisoners to its obligation, we will give up these two prisoners, as we would any thing, rather than be an obstacle to a general good.  But no other circumstance would, I believe, extract them from us.  These two gentlemen, with a Lieutenant Colonel Elligood, are the only separate prisoners we have retained, and the last, only on his own request, and not because we set any store by him.  There is, indeed, a Lieutenant Governor Rocheblawe of Kaskaskia, who has broken his parole and gone to New York, whom we must shortly trouble your Excellency to demand for us, as soon as we can forward to you the proper documents.  Since the forty prisoners sent to Winchester, as mentioned in my letter of the 9th ultimo, about one hundred and fifty more have been sent thither, some of them taken by us at sea, others sent on by General Gates.