Saturday, June 10, 1775

Resolved: That it be, and is hereby earnestly recommended to the several colonies of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and the interior towns of Massachusetts bay, that they immediately furnish the American army before Boston with as much powder out of their town, and other publick stocks as they can possibly spare; keeping an 58exact account of the quantities supplied, that it may be again replaced, or paid for by the Continent; this to be effected with the utmost secrecy and dispatch.

That it be recommended to the committees of the several towns and districts in the colonies of the Massachusetts bay, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, and the eastern division of New Jersey, to collect all the salt petre and brimstone in their several towns and districts, and transmit the same, with all possible despatch, to the provincial Convention at New York.

That it be recommended to the provincial Congress of the colony of New York, to have the powder Mills, in that colony, put into such a condition as immediately to manufacture, into gun powder, for the use of the Continent, whatever materials may be procured in the manner above directed.

That it be recommended to the committees of the western division of New Jersey, the colonies of Pensylvania, lower counties on Delaware and Maryland, that they, without delay, collect the salt petre and sulphur in their respective Colonies, and transmit the same to the committee for the city and liberties of Philadelphia; to the end, that those articles may be immediately manufactured into gun powder, for the use of the continent.

That it be recommended to the conventions and committees of the colonies of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, that they, without delay, collect the salt petre and sulphur in their respective colonies, and procure these articles to be manufactured, as soon as possible, into gun powder, for the use of the Continent.

That it be recommended to the several inhabitants of the united colonies, who are possessed of salt petre and sulphur, for their own use, to dispose of them for the purpose of manufacturing gun powder.

That the salt petre and sulphur, collected in consequence of the resolves of Congress for that purpose, be paid for out of the continental fund.

Resolved, That Mr. Paine, Mr. Lee,1 Mr. Franklin, Mr. Schuyler2 and Mr. Johnson,3 be a committee to devise ways and means to introduce the manufacture of salt petre in these colonies.4

Printed in the Journals of the Continental Congress, 2:85–86.

1.

Richard Henry Lee (1732–1794) was active in opposition to the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts and an early advocate of committees for intercolonial correspondence. A member of the Continental Congress from Virginia (1774–1779), Lee was the sponsor of the independence resolu­59tion and became one of the signers of the Declaration. He returned to Congress (1784–1785 and 1787), serving as president in 1784. After the ratification of the Constitution, Lee returned to the federal legislature as a senator and president pro tempore of the Second Congress ( DAB ).

2.

Gen. Philip Schuyler (1733–1804), a veteran of the 1755 Crown Point Expedition and a member of the New York delegation to the Continental Congress, was appointed as one of the four major generals under Washington on June 15, 1775 ( DAB ).

3.

Thomas Johnson (1732–1819) was a member of the Continental Congress from Maryland (1774–1776) and (1777–1779) was governor of that state. After the war, he briefly served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1791–1793) ( DAB ).

4.

Despite RTP’s longstanding interest in the production of saltpetre, this committee apparently did not report back to Congress. A successor committee with an entirely different membership was appointed, Oct. 16, 1775 (Journals of the Continental Congress, 3:296).

after June 10, 1775 1 Sr.,2

The collecting Sulphur from the Ores found among us has been long recommended by the Congress & is become an important object of Attention since the large importation of saltpetre & the encreasing manufacture of it in many Colonies. Pyrites has been found in many Colonies which by burning appears to be rich, but as yet no person that I know of has been able to extract the Sulphur Any other way than by Sublimation the expence of wch. would render it too Costly, being informed by the Delegates of yr Colony that they apprehend you are able to describe the best method of easiest & most practical method of extracting Sulpher I should be much obliged to you if you would favour me with an account of this Matter as soon as you conveniently can.

RTP

Dft. ; addressed to: “John Beal Bordley Esqr., Queen Anns County, Maryland”; endorsed.

1.

On this date Congress appointed RTP to a committee on the manufacture of saltpetre. Even though he begins this letter saying that the collecting of sulphur has been “long recommended,” the content of the letter seems to indicate that he was still undecided about the process.

2.

John Beale Bordley (1727–1804) was a Maryland lawyer and farmer particularly interested in improving the practice of husbandry through crop rotation and the use of imported machinery and seeds ( DAB ).