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Cvpjtof a Letter frdm Mrs . AoXfcia , Wife of Mr . Adams , a Member of the American Congress * to the Rev . Mr . Smith , then of Sidmouth , in Devonshire , but a Native of Boston ,
in New England , which place he left at the Commencement of the War , and returned to it at the Peace . ( Communicated by the Rev . Joseph Cornish . }
October 30 , 1 777-Dear Sir , FAVOUR ABLE opportunity A offering by Mr . Austin of writing to you , in cbmpliance with the request of your papa , as well as my
own inclinations , I embrace it . There have been but few opportunities of conveyance either to or from you , and the uncertainty whether a letter would reach you has been the occasion that little else has been wrote than the
place of one ' s abode and their state of health . But whether this meets witli the fate of some others or not , I am determined to congratulate you upon
our present situation . When you left your native land , it was in a state little able to defend itself , to all human appearance , against the force which had invaded it : but Providence has
remarkably smiled upon our virtuous exertions in defence of our injured and oppressed land , and has opened resources for us beyond our most sanguine expectations ; so that we have
been able not only to repel , but conquer the regular troops of Britain , the mercenaries of Germany , the savages of the Wilderness , and the still more cruel parricides of America , with one of the most celebrated British
generals , Burgoyne , at their head . I have the pleasure to inform you , Sir , that the British arms have submitted to American fortitude , courage and bravery , and have received terms , though humiliating to them , the most generous ever granted to an enemy . Their deserts thfcy never can receive in this world , nor we inflict , but must
submit them to that Being who will equally distribute both rewards and punishments , and who hath assured us that he will espouse the cause of the wWow ; the fatherless and the oppressed . ' Cruel have been the depredations of
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these foes of the rights of human na * tore : our commerce has been destroyed , our cities btirnt , our housed plundered , our women sacrificed to brutal lust , our children murdered , tod even the hoary head of age has oftentimes
glutted their savage malice , ' These are indisputable racts / and will , I hope , be recorded by the faithful historian , to the everlasting infarny and disgrace of Britain $ and almost tempt us to imitate the example of the parent of Hannibal , and swear the rising generation to eternal enmity against them .
But as Christians , though we . abhor their deeds , we wish them reformation and repentance . We most sincerely wish for peace upon honourable terms . Heaven is our witness that we do not
rejoice in the effusion of blood , or the carnage of the human species ; but having forced us to draw the sword , we are determined never to sheath it
the slaves of Britons ; and whether it is credited or not , it is a truth for which we have great reason to be thankful , that we are at this day in a much better situation to continue the war for six years to come , than we were to contend for six months in the
commencement of it . We have defended ourselves hitherto against a force which would have shaken any kingdom in Europe , without becoming tributary to any power whatever , and trust we shall continue to , with the blessing of Heaven .
Providence has permitted for wise ends , that every one of the Unitfed States should feel the cruel depredations of the enemy ; that each one should be able to sympathize with the other , and this , so far from weakening , has served to strengthen our bond of
union ; it is a thirteen-fold cord , which all the efforts of our enemies havp not been able to break . Theparticulars of the capture of General Burgoyne and his whole army I leave to be transmitted to you by other hands . I wish I may be able to congratulate you upon a similar account from the Southward ;
but whether I am or not , as the events of war are uncertain , you may rely upon it that the invincible American spirit is as far from being conquered as it was the day the cruel mandates were issued against her . Our cause , Sir , is , I trust , the caiise of truth and justice , and will finally prevail , though
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67 © Letter from Mrs . Adams ' oti the American War , 1777 *
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1822, page 670, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2518/page/14/
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