LANCASTER COUNTY. 415 



-caster, that there were shirts plenty at camp ; I find he 

 was mistaken, for although some hundreds of our poor 

 worthy fellows have not a single rag of a shirt, (but are 

 .obhged to wear their waistcoats next their skins, and to 

 sleep in them at night,) I have not been able to draw a 

 single shirt from the store; for the Avant of which our 

 men are falling sick in numbers every day — contracting 

 uermin, and dying in hospitals, in a condition shocking 

 to humanity, and horrid in idea ; for God's sake procure 

 a quantity for me, if you strip the Dutchmen for them — 

 which I beg your order to camp, together with such other 

 clothing as may be ready, with all possible despatch. 

 Interim, I am your excellency's most obedient 



And very humble servant, 



Ant'v Wayne. 

 To his excellency Thomas Wharton., Esq., Lanca^ster : 



Mountjoy, 27th March, 1776. 

 Dear sir : — It's at last concluded to throw the Pennsyl- 

 Tania troops into one division, after reducing them to ten 

 regiments, which I believe v/ill be as many as we can 

 fill. I have but little hopes of being supplied with many 

 recruits, unless the officers in the back counties meet with 

 more success than those in Philadelphia and Chester ; an 

 officer from the latter came in yesterday, after being out 

 five weeks, without a single recruit. 



J would beg leave to suggest the expediency of em- 

 ploying a greater number of officers on that business in 

 Berks, Lancaster, York and Cumberland counties, as the 

 most likely places to meet with success. I fear all our 

 exertions in this way will fall far short of our wishes, and 

 .that nothing but a draft will be adequate to the business. 

 It's rumored that the enemy have evacuated Rhode 

 Island, and are drawing all their force to one focus. If 

 this should be the case, as we have grounds to think it is, 



