Providence March 27th. 1778 Sr.,

We did our selves the honor of addressing you on the 13th. Feby. last upon the subject of our proceedings in persuance of the Resolve of Congress of Decr. 12th. for enquiring into the Causes of the failure of the Expedition against Rhode-island; we then informed your Honor that after spending a Week on the business & not being able to finish it we 26 adjourned to the 23d. day of March at which time we have met & have finished the Enquiry in the best manner we found ourselves capable & we hope the manner in wch. we have executed it will give satisfaction to the honble. Congress.

We are very sorry the Execution of this Commission has been so long delayed & we wish to Satisfy the honble. Congress that it has not arisen from a want of due attention in us who were honored with the appointment. The Severity of the Season at which the Enquiry was Appointed, the exceeding badness of the travelling, our previous Engagements in public business of equal great importance were the real Causes.

it gives us much uneasiness to find our selves obliged to perform this business with a bare quorum of the Comsrs. we hoped for the assistance of Mr. Benson on the adjournment, but have not been happy enough even to hear from him on the Subject.

The Ideas we have of augmenting the importance of executing the Commission of Congress

The business of our Commission is a matter of such great Expectation & concern that it was with great reluctance we entered upon it with a bare quorum of the comissrs. & nothing but the Idea of embarrassing the Administration of Congress by neglecting their requisition, & the danger of having this matter too far postponed or totally neglected, induced us to undertake it. We hoped for the assistance of Mr. Benson on the adjournment, but have not been happy enough even to hear from him on the Subject.

In persuance of this business we have attended to the questions pointed out in our Comissn. & have proposed them to every person whom we could judge capable of answering them & we have proposed some other questions which we thought tended to throw light on the Subject, we have also collected all the proceedings & determinations of all Councils of War & the opinions of each member of such Council & other papers respecting the matter which have come within Our knowledge, we have also procured a Copy of the Enquiry made by Committees from the N. England States into the Causes of the failure of the sd. Expedition, all which we herewith transmitt.

In the Execution of this business certain Expences have arisen, some of which the honble. vizt. Waiter, Expresses procured by our Order by the Sherriff, Wood & Candles. The honble. the Council of the State of Rhodisland proposed advancing an acct. of the United States but it was thought more convenient the Accounts should be paid by Mr. Tillinghast Continental Agent after they had been examined & allowed by the honble. 27 Council of War, & accordingly We drew an order of Mr. Tillinghast for that purpose as also for 28 dollars for the Clerks & also for 200 dollars for the actual Expences of the three Comssrs. on their first meeting & we have proceeded in the Same manner for the Expences of this meeting, being 32 dollars for the clerks & 78 dollars for the actuall Expences of the Cmssrs. & stated the same in acct. to Mr. Tillinghast, as the honble. Congress had given no direction for the payment of these Expences we thought the method we have taken would be most satisfactory & hope it will prove so.

We are with great Respect your hons. most hble. Srvts. R.T.P. O.E. H.M.

Copy

Dft. in RTP’s hand; internal address: “To the honble. Henry Laurens President of the Congress—York Town.” The RC (Papers of the Continental Congress, National Archives, item 78) of this letter is in a clerical hand and signed by Paine, Ellsworth, and Marchant. It is printed in Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774–1789, 9:345–346.

Providence March 27th. 1778 My dear Sir,

With assiduous & plodding Industry we have at last got thrô the Examn. into the causes of the failure of the Rhodisland Expedition, as we were not called upon to give any Opinion So we have not presumed it—by the Course of the Examinn. it appears that Several persons have endeavored to thrô the blame on Brigar. Palmer, but a little attention will Shew he was not the cause of the failure but that it arose from the following Causes among others; vizt. the want of a proper naval Command to Embark transport & debark the Troops, a business wch. no military officer as such has anything to do with— 2dly. the want of Tents or Sufficient covering for the Troops within convenient distance so as to be able to collect them in convenient season, this was one grand & fatal Cause— 3dly. the Expedition falling so late in the Year as to be distressed with a most rainy Season, which obliged the Troops to take Cover for wch. they were obliged to Scatter 20 miles long & 7 or 8 wide, the collecting them together from So great a distance was exceedingly harrassing to the Troops, had a tendency to discourage them & unfit them to proceed immediately 28 on such an Expedition— 4thly. a want of Confidence in the Officers one to another & of the men to all of them wch. took place by degrees soon after the whole Army was formed, notwithstanding all which it is genrally supposed that had they gone on with any Spirit they must have carried the point. Genl. Palmer has introduced a State of facts & observations by way of Defence, it affects him exceedingly to think his Character is attacked; I can but hope from the knowledge I have of his early constant & very great political merit that he may not be thought blame worthy. I believe it is genrally thought that one Cause of the failure was a want of Abilities for Such an Undertaking where they Should have been, rather than real cause of blame any where; Genl. as for Genl. Palmer it appears plainly that from a zeal to promote the Cause he undertook more than the Strength of his body was equal to wch. might occasioned the appearance of neglect in Some respects—you know him & will make such representation as you think proper upon the whole the Expedition was undertaken I hope the whole will issue to general Satisfaction.

The Regulating bill hangs by the Eye lids in our house, a Cmttee. of the whole of both houses after long Consultation agreed to adopt it by 54 out of 86, I think & it was soon after a Cmttee. was appointed to bring in a bill, but the Small Pox breaking out in Boston & the Court having Sat for a long while they adjourned to April 1st. at Roxbury. Rhodisland & N Hampshire wait to see what we do, Connecticut have passed it I wish to hear what they do to the Southward.

I wrote you in my last that we had recd. of the Continental Agent at Providence our Actual Expenses for the Business of Enquiry & wished to know who is to pay us for our trouble, we have done the same this time & we want to know whether we are to have any allowance for our labour wch. has been very great, we sat day after day from 8 in the morning to 8 or 9 at night, & the neglect of our own affairs has been more damage than any allowance I can Expect, but as this business was not undertaken for the Sake of gain we are very willing to be treated in Such manner as Congress have done in like Cases. I have been 14 days Mr. Elsworth 24 & Mr. Marchant 19 days on the business which may serve as a guide for allowance. Inclosed I send a Virginia six shilling one dollar, wch. pray get chang’d for me. With my best Respects to our brethren

I rest yr. freind. &c., RTP

P:S pray let me hear from you on this Subject.

Dft. ; internal address: “To hono. Elbridge Gerry Esq. at Congress.” Endorsed in another hand: “To Elbridge Gerry—Providence March 27. 1778. On the Causes of the failure of the Rhode Island Expedition.”