le affray, which merely amounted to
a levying of arms against the King; and very possibly, you had had
military affrays before the regular battle of Lexington.

These explanations will, I hope, assure you, Sir, that so far as either
facts or opinions have been truly quoted from me, they have never been
meant to intercept the just fame of Massachusetts, for the promptitude
and perseverance of her early resistance. We willingly cede to her the
laud of having been (although not exclusively) 'the cradle of sound
principles,' and, if some of us believe she has deflected from them in
her course, we retain full confidence in her ultimate return to them.

I will now proceed to your quotation from Mr. Galloway's statement of
what passed in Congress, on their Declaration of Independence; in
which statement there is not one word of truth, and where bearing some
resemblance to truth, it is an entire perversion of it. I do not charge
this on Mr. Galloway himself; his desertion having taken place long
before these measures, he doubtless received his information from some
of the loyal friends whom he left behind him. But as yourself, as
well as others, appear embarrassed by inconsistent accounts of the
proceedings on that memorable occasion, and as those who have endeavored
to restore the truth, have themselves committed some errors, I will give
you some extracts from a written document on that subject; for the
truth of which, I pledge myself to heaven and earth; having, while the
question of Independence was under consideration before Congress, taken
written notes, in my seat, of what was passing, and reduced them to form
on the final conclusion. I have now before me that paper, from which
the following are extracts. 'Friday, June 7th, 1776. The delegates from
Virginia moved, in obedience to instructions from their constituents,
that the Congress should declare that these United Colonies are, and of
right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved
from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political
connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought
to be, totally dissolved; that measures should be immediately taken
for procuring the assistance of foreign powers, and a Confederation
be formed to bind the colonies more closely together. The House being
obliged to attend at that time to some other business, the proposition
was referred to the next day, when the members were ordered to