University of Virginia Library

TO JONAS GALUSHA.[61]

Sir I have recd. your letter of the 7th instant
communicating a Resolution of the General Assembly
of Vermont, pledging their co-operation with the
General Govt. & with the Nation, in the present contest
with a Foreign Power. Had this Contest originated
in causes, appealing with a less indiscriminate
force to the common interests & honorable feelings
of every portion of our fellow Citizens, that
respect for the will of the majority, regularly
proclaimed, which is the vital principle of our
free Constitution, would have imposed on all, the
sacred duty which is thus laudably recognised by
the State of Vermont; and the discharge of which
is enforced by the powerful consideration, that
nothing can more contribute to prolong the contest
and embarrass the attainment of its just objects,
than the encouragement afforded to the hopes of
the Enemy, by appearances of discord & discontent
among ourselves.

In doing justice to the patriotism which dictated

the Resolution transmitted, I take a pleasure in
remarking that it is heightened by the particular
exposure of Vermont to the pressure which the war
necessarily brings with it, and in assuring myself
that proportionate exertions of her Citizens will add
new lustre to their character. In the war which
made us an Independent Nation their valor had
a conspicuous share. In a war which maintains
the rights and attributes of Independence
on the Ocean, where they are not less the gift
of nature and of nature's God than on the land,
the same zeal & perseverance may be confidently
expected from the same pride of liberty & love of
Country.

Accept the assurances of my high respect & best
wishes.