Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 16 April 1777

Page 1

Philadelphia Ap. 16, 1777

We are waiting with some Impatience to hear of the Arrival of some of the Massachusetts Troops at Head Q--rs [Quarters].

The Lassitude and Torpor, that has seized you our New Englandmen, is to me, very surprizing.

Something will happen I believe, to arrouse them from their Lethargy. If they dont go and crush that little Nest of Hornetts at Newport, I shall think them dead to all Sense of Honour, Virtue, Shame, and Love to their Country.

The continental Troops must all march to Fishkill and Ti [Ticonderoga] . . . . These are the Places to stop the Progress of the Enemy into New England, which I believe is their Intention, notwithstanding all that they give out about coming to Philadelphia. If they come here, they shall get little but bare Walls. And here they will be starved and drubbed.

Cite web page as: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 16 April 1777 [electronic edition]. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society. http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/

Original manuscript: Adams, John. Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 16 April 1777. 1 page. Original manuscript from the Adams Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Source of transcription: Butterfield, L.H., ed. Adams Family Correspondence. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1963.