George Washington Papers

To George Washington from Robert Dinwiddie, 5 April 1757

From Robert Dinwiddie

Williamsburg Apr. 5th 1757

Sir

I hope by the Time this reaches Your Hands that Govr Sharpe has relieved Fort Cumberland by sending into it a Garison from his Maryland Forces,1 if so, this is to order You immediately to send down to Fredericksburg two hundred Men Officers included to be transported to South Carolina, under the Command of Lieut. Colo. Stephens, Captain Waggoner, Capt. Joshua Lewis, Lieuts. John Blag, John Campbell, Peter Stenburgen, & John Hall, with Serjeants Corporals & Drums; & let me know on return of this Express when they may be at Fredericksburg that I may order a Vessell or Vessells to take them in; I desire You may be as expeditious as possible in ordering them down, for by Letters from the Governor of So. Carolina, I have reason to apprehend the Enemy have a Design to invade that Province by Sea & Land.2 I therefore desire You will use double Diligence in having them ready at Fredericksburg, & write me accordingly, that I may do the Necessary for their Accomodation ⟨to⟩ So. Carolina.

As You will have a Number of Indians at Fort Loudoun, I desire they may be entertain’d with great Civility. & send them out on scalping Parties to such Places You shall see proper, with Such Numbers of Your Men as You can spare, giving Directions to acquire what Intelligence they can procure of the Enemy & their Motions, keep them constantly employ’d in the Service to the best Advantage.

On my Arrival here I found it necessary to call the Assembly to meet me Thursday the 14th Instt so that after You have complied with above Orders, & given proper Directions, You may come down, bringing a distinct List of each Company in the Regiment, with Acct of Arrears due, that Endeavors may be made to have them compleatly paid; & a particular Acct of what may be due to the Men that are to proceed to So. Carolina, that the Money may be ready for them before they leave this Colony3—I expect an exact Obedience to the above Orders, & I remain Sir Your humble Servant

Robt Dinwiddie

I intend Capt. John McNeill to command the 100 Men to be sent to the Cherokee Country to garison the Fort built there—ask him if he can raise that Number of Men in Augusta & the other frontier Counties.

LS, DLC:GW; LB, ViHi: Dinwiddie Papers.

2It was decided at Philadelphia that the reinforcements to be sent to South Carolina would include 400 men from the Virginia Regiment. See GW to Dinwiddie, 2 April 1757, n.2. On 26 May 1757 Dinwiddie wrote Lt. Col. Adam Stephen that he was ordering “two Companies of 100 Men each under your Command to proceed directly from this [Williamsburg] to Hampton, where two Sloops are provided & ready to take on board yr Men to be transported to So. Carolina; and you are to be under the Command and Direction of Lieutt Colo. Bouquet, who is Commander of the Forces in the Southern Collonies on this Continent.” On the same day Dinwiddie wrote Gov. William H. Lyttelton that he was sending him “a Detachmt from our provincial Regimt 200 Men under the Command of Lieut. Colo. Stevens, which are one third of our Regimt, our Quota was to be 400, but at present I cd not possibly send the whole having only 400 Men to protect our extensive frontiers” (ViHi: Dinwiddie Papers). Thomas Waggener, Joshua Lewis, Peter Steenbergen, and John Hall were not among the officers of the Virginia Regiment who sailed for South Carolina at the end of May.

3No such list and accounts for this time have been found.

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