From George Washington to Joshua Lewis, 24 October 1757
To Joshua Lewis
[c.24 October 1757]
Sir
I am strongly importun’d by Capn Swearengen to place a small Command at Strouds Fort1 if you think it for the Interest of the Service & can possibly spare the Men yr complying Wt. these requests will be agreeable to me I’m still off opinion that Dividg yr Command into small Parties will be better than Keepg any No. of them together—I send you this Inclos’d to Cap⟨n⟩ Swearengen who I have Directed to consult wt. you on the Subject.2
ADf, DLC:GW. GW wrote this undated draft of a letter to Joshua Lewis (unnamed) along with his speech to the Cherokee (see GW to Dinwiddie, 24 Oct.) on the verso of a letter to him from Lewis Stephens, 20 Sept. 1757.
1. Stroud’s fort may have been the new house of John Stroud (Strode) built to replace one burned in 1756 in an Indian raid. Stroud’s house was 3 miles from Martinsburg near Evans’s fort. GW, however, may have been referring to some other house belonging to one of several Strouds who had land in the area.
2. This may have been the letter from Atty. Gen. Peyton Randolph to Thomas Swearingen enclosed in Dinwiddie to GW, 19 Oct., and received by GW on 24 Oct. 1757.