To George Washington from Thomas Bryan Martin, 4 January 1756
From Thomas Bryan Martin
Greenway Court. Jany 4: [1756].
Dr Sir.
The Bearer hereof Capt. Bailis is now going up to Joyn the Prince Wm Detatchment, by Order of Colo: Lee he Applyd to me for a discharge which I Refusd, as I daly Expect to hear from you.1 He Informs me that the Men are almost Naked and as the Expence of mentaining them is very great, I think they ought to be discharged, as soon as it can be done with Safty. I am Sir Your very Humbl. Servt
B. Martin
ALS, DLC:GW. Martin mistakenly dated the letter 1755 instead of 1756.
1. In early Oct. 1755, after receiving word of the Indian raids south of the Potomac not far from Fort Cumberland, Thomas, Lord Fairfax, asked Col. Henry Lee, county lieutenant of Prince William, to send 100 militiamen up to Winchester. On 19 Oct. Fairfax reported to Dinwiddie that 256 militiamen from Fairfax, Culpeper, and Prince William counties were in the town. As Martin indicates here, the Prince William contingent was at this time still on the frontier beyond Winchester. John and William Baylis both were captains in the Prince William militia.