March 13, 1775: As Merciful as They are Bold

A report from Boston dated March 13, 1775 described magnanimous treatment shown by American Whigs to Massachusetts Tories.
“We are informed, that through the prudent and spirited behavior of the minute men in and near Petersham, a little inveterate knot of conspirators against the constitution of their country, has been entirely broke up—they were made prisoners in a house they had fortified; and upon their signing an engagement not to act against their country for the future, and to behave themselves peaceably, the WHIGS, who are as merciful, as they are bold and resolved, have forgiven their offences, and promised them favor so long as they keep up to their engagements.”
The Pennsylvania Evening Post (Philadelphia), 23 March 1775

March 11, 2012

In a speech before both houses of the New Jersey legislature on 25 February 1777, Governor William Livingston condemned the cruelty of British soldiers and Hessian mercenaries during their occupation of the state:

They have warred upon decrepid Age; warred upon defenceless Youth.  

Carl E. Prince, editor, The Papers of William Livingston: Volume 1: June 1774-June 1777 (Trenton: New Jersey Historical Commission, 1979), page 255.  Such outrages, Livingston remarked, inspired "Disgust" even among many former-Loyalists (ibid., page 254).

Please consult Taimoor Shah and Graham Bowley, "Army Sergeant Accused of Slaying 16 in Afghan Village," The New York Time, 11 March 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/world/asia/afghanistan-civilians-killed-american-soldier-held.html?_r=1  

March 13, 1776

     In March 1776, the revolutionary Maryland Council of Safety acknowledged a British officer's kindness to American prisoners.
     On March 13, 1776, the Maryland Council of Safety informed the Virginia Committee of activity by the British sloop-of-war Otter under Matthew Squires, captain. "Just before they weighed anchor, a flag came on shore with some prisoners, who said they had been treated with great humanity; and, in return, it was thought proper to compliment the officer with two quarters of beef."

March 3, 1776

On March 3, 1776, Joseph Reed wrote from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to George Washington, "Notwithstanding the act of Parliament for seizing our property, and a thousand other proofs of a bitter and irreconcilable spirit, there is a strange reluctance in the minds of many to cut the knot which ties us to Great Britain, particularly in this Colony and the southward."

March 2, 1776

The New New Jersey Provincial Congress understood that the Continental Congress authorized the seizure of any ships bringing supplies to British forces in America.

Learning that American forces under William Alexander, Lord Sterling, intercepted the British ship Blue Mountain Valley, John H. Dempster, captain, the Provincial Congress resolved on March 2, 1776 "That the Captain and Seamen belonging to said Ship when seized, be suffered [that is, permitted] to go to any place they may think proper, his Majesty's Fleet or Army only excepted.  And this Congress recommend the captors of said Ship to make some gratuity to each of the Seamen taken on board, to enable them to travel to some other parts in pursuit of business."