State of Massachusetts Bay Council Chamber Sept’r 11th 1779
Sir,
The Gen’l Assembly having appointed a Committee to inquire into the Conduct of the Officers who were engaged in the late Expedition to Penobscot which inquiry is to commence on the 22nd day of September current
You are therefore hereby directed to attend the said Committee at Faneuil Hall in Boston on the day beforementioned
In the name & behalf of the Council
I am
Sir
Your humble servant
Jer[emiah] Powell President
Dudley Saltonstall Esq.
The committee investigating the result of the Penobscot Expedition consisted of five members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and four members of the Massachusetts Council, none of which had naval experience. Jeremiah Powell, as the longest serving member of the House of Representatives, served as the Committee’s president. Dudley Saltonstall refused to testify in the Massachusetts Committee trial, because the Continental Navy Board, and not the Massachusetts Assembly, had jurisdiction over his action.