Life of Count, Rumford. 143 



his life," went off in this vessel, with as many of the Ran- 

 gers and of deserters in other corps as she would hold. 

 They were to be exchanged, on their convalescence, as 

 prisoners of war. Sir Henry Clinton allowed Simcoe 

 to sail immediately for England on his arrival at New 

 York, and there in December, 1781, the King gave him 

 the same rank in the regular army which he had held 

 as a provincial. Captain Saunders, soon arriving from 

 Charleston, took command of that portion of the corps 

 which reached New York in the Bonetta. 



It was this precious constituency once, as Simcoe 

 insists, constituting the forlorn hope of the British 

 army that formed a part of Colonel Thompson's 

 command. Simcoe's disgust is unconcealed at " the 

 severe mortifications which Captain Saunders and the 

 officers who were with him had to experience " when 

 the following order from the Adjutant-General's of- 

 fice was received. It was reported to Simcoe, with 

 the comments which follow, while he was in Eng- 

 land. 



"ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, March 31, 1783. 



" SIR, Lieutenant-Colonel Thompson having received or- 

 ders to complete the regiment under his command by volunteers 

 from the different provincial corps, and to raise in like manner 

 four additional companies of light infantry for a particular ser- 

 vice, the Commander-in-Chief desires you would give all pos- 

 sible assistance to Lieutenant-Colonel Thompson and those 

 concerned with him in the execution of this business by en- 

 couraging the men belonging to the corps under your command to 

 engage in this service ; and his Excellency directs me to assure 

 you that neither the officers nor others who may remain with 

 you in the corps shall suffer any loss or any injury to their 

 pretensions by the diminution of your numbers arising from the 

 volunteers who may join the corps under the command of 

 Lieutenant-Colonel Thompson. It is to be understood, that, 



