declaration:--

"_By the Representatives of the People of the Colony and
Dominion of Virginia, assembled in General Convention_,

"A DECLARATION.

"Whereas Lord Dunmore, by his Proclamation dated on board
the ship 'William,' off Norfolk, the seventh day of
November, 1775, hath offered freedom to such able-bodied
slaves as are willing to join him, and take up arms against
the good people of this Colony, giving thereby encouragement
to a general insurrection, which may induce a necessity of
inflicting the severest punishments upon those unhappy
people, already deluded by his base and insidious arts, and
whereas, by an act of the General Assembly now in force in
this Colony, it is enacted, that all negro or other slaves,
conspiring to rebel or make insurrection, shall suffer
death, and be excluded all benefit of clergy;--we think it
proper to declare, that all slaves who have been or shall be
seduced, by his Lordship's Proclamation, or other arts, to
desert their masters' service, and take up arms against the
inhabitants of this Colony, shall be liable to such
punishment as shall hereafter be directed by the General
Convention. And to the end that all such who have taken this
unlawful and wicked step may return in safety to their duty,
and escape the punishment due to their crimes, we hereby
promise pardon to them, they surrendering themselves to
Colonel William Woodford or any other commander of our
troops, and not appearing in arms after the publication
hereof. And we do further earnestly recommend it to all
humane and benevolent persons in this Colony to explain and
make known this our offer of mercy to those unfortunate
people."[540]

Gen. Washington was not long in observing the effects of the Dunmore
proclamation. He began to fully realize the condition of affairs at
the South, and on Dec. 15 wrote Joseph Reed as follows:--

"If the Virginians are wise, that arch-traitor to the rights
of humanity, Lord Dunmore, should be instantly crushed, if
it takes the force of the whole army to do it; otherwise,
like a snow-ball in rolling, his army will get size, some
through fear, some through promises, and some through
inclination, joining his standard but that which renders the
measure indispensably necessary is the negroes; for, if he