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[Sharpe to Bouquet.]
Copy of a Letter to Colonel Bouquet. Annapolis 2 Ist April
1764.
Sir
Being favoured with your Letter of the 10th Inst I take the
first Opportunity to inform you that in Consequence of Your
Application I shall send Instructions to Colonel Thomas
Prather who lives near the Mouth of Conegocheague & com-
mands the Militia of Frederick County within this Province to
prevail if possible in case you should apply to him on a
number of Voluntiers from among such Militia to assist in
convoying Provisions & Stores from Maryland to Pittsburg or
to any of the Posts on the Communication, but at the same
time I think it incumbent on me to tell you that I am appre-
hensive he will not succeed with many of them. As the
Assembly during the late War when we had Troops in pay
insisted that none of them should be sent to garrison any post
beyond Fort Frederick I believe it would be difficult on any
occasion to make the Militia march to garrison any Post west-
ward of that place nor do I conceive it would be now possible
under our Militia Law to punish any of them that should
refuse to march even so far unless it could be proved to the
satisfaction of a Jury by whom Offenders under that Law
must be tried that a large Body of Indians was at the time
actually committing hostilities within the Limits of the Pro-
vince for the Lower House of Assembly made some Resolves
in the year 1758 relative to the Law which influenced Juries so
far as to acquit Persons who had been prosecuted for refusing
to march at a time when the Indians were almost every week
cutting off some of our Frontier Inhabitants, That you may
know on what Footing the Militia of this Province is estab-
lished I will send you inclosed a Copy of the Act of Assembly
under which it is regulated & agreeable to which such as serve
in Arms are to be paid when the Assembly shall think fit to
grant Money for that purpose but as there have been very
large arrears due to the Militia ever since the year 1756 they
begin to despair of being ever paid & the Backwardness they
have shewn for some time past is I conceive in a great measure
owing to that Circumstance. The several Companies in
Frederick which you know is the Frontier County amount I
believe to 1500 Men & five Companies of them consist of
People that live westward of Frederick Town. The Field
Officers are Colonel Prather whom I have mentioned two
Lieutenant Colonels & as many Majors who reside in
different parts of the County, but the Officer who lives
farthest westward is Captain Shelby who commanded a Com-
pany of Voluntiers in General Forbes's Expedition & will I am
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Letter Bk. III
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