25

by Major Commandant W. W. Burrows in a letter of March
25, 1800, wherein he was told to "Discharge these men
immediately, give them no more cloaths, and save the
public as much as you can".⁷² On May 1, 1800, Edwards
was ordered to the frigate Chesapeake;⁷³ but apparent-
ly as an officer was more accustomed to giving orders
than taking them. There may have been extenuating
circumstances; at any rate, the indications are that
he remained in Baltimore.

The duel which ended Edwards' life was, accord-
ing to the correspondence now preserved in the archives
of the Marine Corps, the result of a trivial quarrel
between Edwards and Lieutenant Lewis, also of the
Marines, stationed in Baltimore. Edwards, it seems,
was discoursing on the fine appearance of the marines
in his command; Lewis mentioned seeing one of Edwards'
company on sentry duty, without shoes or stockings,
with ragged trousers, flapping hat and rusty musket.
Edwards denied it, to quote Lewis, in a "harsh and
peremptory manner", and challenged Lewis. They met,
and Edwards was shot in the thigh.

Major Commandant Burrows wrote a kind, solicitous
letter to Edwards, commending his bravery in the en-
gagement, but could not resist the reproof, "I must

72 U. S. Marine corps. Correspondence.
73 Ibid.