MEMOIR. XIX 



of volunteers which was composed of the 

 principal merchants of the place, it was 

 judged necessary that the chief delin- 

 quents should be tried by a general court 

 martial of militia officers, and I was ap- 

 plied to by the colonel commandant of 

 the militia, who was my particular friend^ 

 to conduct the prosecution as Judge Ad- 

 vocate. I, foolishly enough perhaps, con- 

 sented, and had as my opponents the 

 two principal lawyers in the place, who 

 acted as counsel for the accused. In the 

 course of the trial I suffered considerable 

 obloquy in consequence of their violence ; 

 but the natural firmness of my mind, and 

 a consciousness of doing what appeared to 

 me to be right, enabled me to resist all 

 their attempts to browbeat me; and the 

 sentence given by the court martial was 

 altogether in conformity to my advice. 

 Not long after this, orders were received 

 from the commander-in-chief at New York, 

 to evacuate the garrison. Every thing was 



