July 1781

We did never concern in the [for]mer Treaty, which has been broken, / but we do in this, and on our account, who are / your Mothers, let it never be broken. You know Women / are always looked upon as nothing; but we are your Mothers / you are our sons. Our cry [is] all for Peace; let it continue / because we are Your Mothers[.] This Peace must last forever. / Let your women’s sons be ours; and let our sons be yours. / Let your women hear our words.

Source: Box 5, Reel 2, Nathanael Greene Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Also: Rhetoric, History, and Women’s Oratorical Education, American Women Learn to Speak, ed. Catherine L. Hobbs, David Gold (New York: Routledge), 2013, p. 19.