To George Washington from Peter Hog, 3 February 1756
From Peter Hog
Fort Dinwiddie 3d February 1756
Sir
Incolsed are the pay Rolls for the Months of Decr & January1 you will See I have abt £4 in my hand over the pay Bill But Advanced Serjt McCully a dbloon when he went after the Deserters, the Men grumble to have half their pay Stopt for his Charges, and he thinks hard that he has not his Charges[,] horse hire & the pistole Reward which Last the Men think can only be Stopt In Justice from their pay. he has drawn up his Acct which Comes under Cover, I have paid Serjt Wilper 25/which I think a reasonable Allowance from the fort Cumberland to Winchester[.] You will Observe that I have Expended all the Cash in my hands for the Victualling Accot Except a Smal balla. there is a thousd Wt of pork still Unpaid for besides all the Grain & the barrels making for the Meat, I have Sent Inclosed my Recruiting Accot to Capt. Stewart Amo[un]tg to £21.4.—& have Drawn on You in his favr for sd Sum, I have Deductd Mr Fleming Charge for his Recruits & Wilpers, he has not got any Great Charge agt the Compy as Yet and Majr Lewis Must Regulate his practice on the Expedition. I know the Men pay for their own Nursing[.] Lt McNeil is Expressly ordered out on the Expedition by the Majr also 40 privates 2 Corporals 2 Serjts and all my officers[.]2 I have Left Serjt McCully with 9 Men and a Corporal in the Garison he is Strengthen’d wt. a Militia Capt. & 40 Men they have provisions from our Stores, I am just going to March and am Respectfully, Sir Your Very hume Servt
Petr Hog
P:S. 2 of the Men that were to March are taken Sick.
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. In addition to sergeants John McCully, John David Wilper, and Josias Baker, and 3 corporals, the names of 51 soldiers appear on the payroll of Hog’s company for the month of Dec. 1755 and 52 soldiers are listed on that for Jan. 1756. The December payroll was misdated by Hog Dec. 1756. In the Virginia Regiment the pay for sergeants was £1 10s. 6d., for corporals, £1 3s. 6d., and for the rank and file, 15s. 4d.
2. GW wrote Hog on 10 Jan. that he must “be very Circumspect in employing Mr Fleming as surgeon” at Fort Dinwiddie lest he give him too many opportunities “to enhance a Bill.” Ens. William Fleming was to go along as a surgeon on the Sandy Creek expedition with Captain Hog, and Andrew Lewis had, as Hog reported, “Expressly ordered” John McNeill, his old associate and now Hog’s lieutenant, to go as well.