The writings of George Washington; being his correspondence, addresses, messages, and other papers, official and private, selected and published from the original manuscripts; with a life of the author, notes and illustrations. By Jared Sparks.

362 WASHINGTON'S WRITINGS. [AET. 50.
TO CAPTAIN CHARLES ASGILL.
Head-Quarters, 13 November, 1782.
SIR,
It affords me singular pleasure, to have it in my
power to transmit to you the enclosed copy of an act
of Congress, of the 7th instant, by which you are released from the disagreeable circumstances in which
you have so long been. Supposing that you would
wish to go into New York as soon as possible, I also
enclose a passport for that purpose.
Your letter of the 18th of October came regularly
to my hands. I beg you to believe, that my not an-.
swering it sooner, did not proceed from inattention to
you, or a want of feeling for your situation. I daily
expected a determination of your case, and I thought it
better to await that, than to feed you with hopes, that
might, in the end, prove fruitless. You will attribute
my detention of the enclosed letters, which have been
in my hands about a fortnight, to the same cause.
I cannot take leave of you, Sir, without assurinig
you, that, in whatever light my agency in this unpleasing affair may be viewed, I was never influenced,
through the whole of it, by sanguinary motives, but by
what I conceived to be a sense of my duty, which
loudly called upon me to take measures, however disagreeable, to prevent a repetition of those enormities,
which have been the subject of discussion. And that
this important end is likely to be answered, without
the effusion of the blood of an innocent person, is not
ington for the release of her son. It is contained in the Diplomatic
Correspondence, Vol. XI. p. 107. These letters were taken into consideration by Congress, and it was resolved, " that the Commander-in-chief
be and he is hereby directed to set Captain Asgill at liberty." — Journals, J\ovember 7th.