From George Washington to John Robinson, 23 October 1754
To John Robinson
[Williamsburg, 23 October 1754]
To the Speaker of the House of Burgesses.
Sir,
Nothing could have given me, and the Officers under my command, greater satisfaction, than to have received the thanks of the House of Burgesses, in so particular and honourable a manner, for our Behaviour in the late unsuccessful Engagement with the French at the Great-Meadows;1 and we unanimously hope, that our future Conduct in the Service of our Country, may entitle us to a continuance of its approbation. I assure you, Sir, I shall always look upon it as my indispensable duty to endeavour to deserve it.
I was desired, by the Officers of the Virginia Regiment, to offer their grateful thanks for the Honour which has been confered upon them; and hope the enclosed will be indulgently received, and answer their, and the intended purpose of, Sir, Your most hble Servant,
Go: Washington
Octob. 23, 1754.
LB, DLC:GW. This document and the one following were written by GW in response to the address of the House of Burgesses to GW and his officers transmitted by Speaker John Robinson to GW on 15 Sept. 1754. See the source note to that document. GW arrived in Williamsburg on 21 Oct., and he docketed the Robinson letter “Recd at Wmsburg 23d of Octr.” The entry for 24 Oct. in the Journals of the House of Burgesses described the exchange of addresses. The “Speaker acquainted the House, That . . . he had transmitted” to GW and his fellow officers “the Thanks of this House . . . and that he had received from the said Col. Washington, an Answer as follows,” after which both documents were entered into the journals of the House (, 217–18). The wording of the first of these documents as it appears in the letter book is quite different from the version printed in , but the meaning is essentially the same.