of the Council of Maryland, 1777. 227

inlisted in the Continental Marine Service. If you have any
Person under Colour of his being impressed, we require you,
instantly to discharge him, and to forbear from a further Exer-
cise of such an unwarrantable Power. It is the Office of Gov-
ernment to protect every Subject in his Liberty and his Prop-
erty, nor shall we, who are honored by our Country with the
highest Department, be idle Spectators of the Oppression of
any Man in it.
To Cap^t James Nicholson We are &^ca
of the Virginia

C. C.

[Gov. Johnson to Gov. Henry.]

Annapolis 24^th Ap^l 1777.
Sir.
Immediately on my Receipt of your Letter of the 12^th of
March; I laid it before the General Assembly. Agreeing in
Opinion with you that unless we had a Force previously
established on the Eastern Shore, in Case of a Descent, you
could with great Difficulty at best, afford Assistance from the
Western Shore, and persuaded the like Obstructions might
equally disable us from transporting Men across the Bay, I
thought it adviseable a small Regular Force should be estab-
lished in the upper Part of Somerset County, to which the well
affected from all Parts might occasionally resort; That such a
Force would prevent a Junction of the Tories in Sussex, Som-
erset and Worcester, and in some Sort their Intercourse, and
that small Parties, in light Boats, might well take favourable
Opportunities to cross the Bay, when they were sure of join-
ing a Body, as soon as they landed. I communicated my
Idea to some Gentlemen of the Congress, and suggested the
Propriety of having one of the Continental Battalions, raised
in this State, stationed on the Eastern Shore. Our Assembly
viewed the Matter in much the same Light, and made Appli-
cation for a Battalion but before their Resolution reached
Congress, that Honorable Body took up the Subject, and
came to the inclosed Resolution, which I received yesterday,
in Consequence of which, Orders are gone to Col^o Richardson,
who is judged equal, in every Respect, to this Service, and
Measures will soon be taken to embody the 300 Militia as
well as to render the Militia at large eventually serviceable.
I join in Sentiment with you, as to the Utility of stationing
Gallies on the Eastern Shore; some of ours are designed for
that Service, but our utmost Efforts have not yet been effectual
to get any one completely fitted. We have three in the
Water, partly manned, and three others ready, or very nearly
ready, to launch, but have not been able, as yet, to get a Suffi-

35