Letter signed : Philadelphia, to Major Gen. [Nathanael] Greene, 1781 Sept. 21.

Telling him that his last two letters have been referred to committees; sending a copy of an act of Congress "respecting retaliation for the unexampled cruelties of the enemy"; informing him that the fleets of the Comte de Barras and the Comte de Grasse have joined and that two British ships, the "Ruby" and the "Rainbow," have been captured; reporting that they have not heard "that Admiral [Robert] Digby is arrived, nor that Sir Henry Clinton has sailed"; predicting that Lord Cornwallis will "make a vigorous, nay a desperate, resistance, not only for the sake of preserving his military character, but with a view to have some chance for relief"; commenting on the superiority of the French fleet; noting that in case General [Henry] Clinton makes an attempt on Philadelphia, Congress has called on "the States of Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New-Jersey for a large body of militias" and has detained General [Arthur] St. Clair "in the neighbourhood of this City"; saying that "it is certain that the Spaniards have blockaded" Minorca, and adding that he wishes it had been Jamaica.