108 Letters to the Governor and Council

March 5

vently to embrace the Moment Major Steward will take charge of
him and will take him down myself with the first [boat] that can
be procured. I am inform'd that M^r Dan^l Hughes is the present Com-
missary of Prisoners & his Certificate will be a sufficient indemnifi-
cation for me to Act as I may think proper in future
P. S. the Capt^s name is Whitehead

March 5
Monday
night
ii o'clock
Red Book
No. 27
Letter 54

[Stephen Stewart, West River, to the Council.]

I have yours and shall Do my Indevor to serve the Emportent
Caus but am afraid I shall be able to Do but littel I think I have one
or two vesels In Hering Bay which I will have If they are not Gone
as to Provition I think there is none I have not Bought 1200 lb^s of
Poark this year When I asign^d to have had twenty thousand how
Ever I will Do my Indevor to find the vesels meat provitions that I
Impress I have ben very onwell myself for several Days Past and
My Clarke is Gone on some Business In the lower Countys. I think
Provitions and vesels might be got In Kent County and vesels from
Chester If Proper methods are taken I have an old Sloop of my own
which I would send to you Chearfuly but am fraid she would Drown
some of your Troops

March 6

[Joshua Beall, Lieu^t, Prince G^s C^ty to His Excl^y Tho^s Sim Lee Esq^r.]

I was in hopes Ere this it would have been in my power to have
returned you Rolls of at least two full Companys of Select Militia
from this County. I only on the 4^th instant received a return
from the Upper Battalion of 26 men. This day I received a return
from Coll^l Lyles of the Lower Battalion, of 35 men who had turned
out from 4 of his Companys that met at Piscataway, the other half of
his Battalion were to meet on the Patuxent side of the County, from
whome he had then no return, but Expected he shuld be able to
return a full company from his Battalion From the middle Battalion
I am told only one man turned out. As it would be very inconvenient
to form the men from the Extreme parts of the County into one
Company, I shall try them once more, as a favourable Oppertunity
presents at present from a false alarm we had on Monday last Which
I did not hear of till about 11 oClock that day Capⁿ Wright of the
Militia Company on the other side the Eastern branch came riding
post hast to inform me, that three Ships of force of the Enemie was
then lying off Alex^a That they had sent an Express in the Night
from Alex^r to George Town for Assistance, and that his Company
was then on its March to Hambourghe
I just wrote an Order to Coll^l Lucas with respect to the Stock &
Craft along shore in Case it shuld be an Enemie, took my horse &
rode down to be better informed of the matter; When I got to Mid-
dletons I found the three Vessells of force proved to be three small
Top Sail Scooners that had come round from Baltimore for Tobacco,