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with you upon. I shall not be unmindful, when I see the General of what you mention relating to Niagara; for such a further division as this proposal will cause in the French forces may as greatly serve our proposed Expedition as it may the success of any other operation we propose for his Majestys Service on the other parts of the Continent.

But what I have greatly at heart and that which is the principal reason for my hastening away this Express to you, is the engaging every warriour of the Six Nations that you can by any means bring into the Expedition. The manner of doing it whether by an advance as a present, to each man, or to any or all of their Chiefs, or by promising wages or rewards for their services I must leave to you who are so well acquainted with their dispositions, but let them be secured at all events. I have by recommendation obtained a Vote of the Assembly of this Province, copy of which I shall inclose to you, engaging for their part of the expense you may find necessary in this affair, and you need not doubt their complyance; and I shall also send a Copy to each of the other Governments who I am satisfied will make no difficulty of their Parts also, for no one branch of the Charges that must attend this Expedition can be more necessary. At all events I cant think it possible that the Ministry will not esteem this important service of yours at a very high rate, and not only defray all necessary expence, if there was a possibility of any difficulty in the Colony Government doing it, which I can't conceive there will, but make you a suitable recompence over and above what the Govts. concerned may do, or what they will come more readily into.

I shall leave such directions for prosecuting the affair during my absence as that it may be as little retarded as possible and I expect to return to give the necessary Orders before the time when it shall be requisite to begin the march. I am,

Col. William Johnson.

Sir Yours

WILLIAM SHIRLEY.

WILLIAM SHIRLEY TO ISRAEL WILLIAMS 1

SIR,

Boston, March 29th, 1755.

I am now Setting out on my Journey to meet with General Braddock and must intreat your favour and assistance in settling the Officers for a Regiment to go against Crown point, the Regiment to Consist of 500 Men with ten Captains ten Lieutenants and ten Ensigns including field Officers: it will be a great pleasure to me to have Majr. Ephraim Williams to engage as one, I can't be content without having the Officers of one Regiment from your parts; Major Hawley is coming up to settle the Affair with you, who will bring all Necessary Papers with him.

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The inclos'd copy of the Vote of the Assembly of this Province will inform you how far they have acceded to the intended Expedition to Crown point and I have the pleasure further to inform you that the Assembly of New York have passed a Vote for the raising of 800 men for the same service. provided General Braddock shall approve of the Expedition.

1

Original, Mass. Hist. Society, Col. Israel Williams Manuscripts, 71 D, 121.

2 Original, Mass. Arch., Col. Ser. 54, 405. On April 6 Shirley had written directing that the General Court remain in session until his return, ibid. 54, 403.

As I think there is not the least room to doubt of that, I look upon the general concurrence of all the Colonies propos'd to be concerned in this important Enterprize, except that of the New Jersies (the result of whose determination is not yet known but may be hoped will be favourable to the general cause) to be a most encouraging Circumstance: Nothing is now wanting but that the several governments should proceed with the utmost Vigour and Dispatch in their respective preparations to carry the Expedition into Execution which I cant doubt of in the Gentlemen of the Committee of War of my town during my absence.

I thought proper to apprize you of the proceedings [of] the Govts. of New York and Pensilvania and am in some hopes that the Express may bring you an acct. of the determination of the Govt. of the New Jersies from Mr. Oliver as he passes thro it.

Mr. Partridge I am informed by Mr. Franklin of this place, hath sent him a letter dated 4th February at London in which he says they had a certain Acct. there that six French Men of Warr were sailed from Brest, with 9000 Troops, destin'd as is suppos'd for some port of North America. If this article of News is well founded, it should quicken our proceedings. The Advices say that the British Squadron designed to watch their motions would be fitted out by the 22d of February.

As I cant possibly find time to write to Colonel Monckton, I must desire you will communicate this last paragraph to him and beg of him to take the first opportunity of acquainting Govr. Lawrence with it.

You will be pleased to communicate the whole letter to the Council and forward a copy of it to Govr. Wentworth and Govr. Greene as soon as possible. I have transmitted one myself to Govr. Fitch.

I am,
Sir,

Your most assur'd Friend

and Servant,

Honble Josiah Willard Esqr.

W. SHIRLEY.

P.S. Upon considering the circumstance of New York's making the raising of their 800 men depend upon General Braddock's approbation more attentively, I don't think we can absolutely depend upon having the benefit of them, tho I doubt not of this approbation of the Expedition to Crown point so that the Govts. of New England should not in the least slacken as to the augmentation of their respective quotas.

Mr. Franklin hath desir'd me to give directions concerning the species of provisions and would have the 10,000 Pensilvania currency, voted for the use of the Expedition, layed out in and where I would have them sent etc. I therefore desire you to transmit to me the desire of the Committee of Warr upon these heads without the least delay, that I may give the orders at my return to this place as is expected.1

WILLIAM SHIRLEY TO WILLIAM JOHNSON [Commission]2

By His Excellency William Shirley Esqr. Captain General and Commander in Chief in and over his Majesty's Province of the Massachusets Bay in New England, and the Lands and Territories thereon depending; Vice Admiral of same, and Colonel in his Majesty's Army.

TO WILLIAM JOHNSON Esqr. Greeting.

Whereas by my Messages on the thirteenth and fifteenth Days of last February to his Majestys Council and the House

1 The Governor incloses in this letter a copy of the resolve of the Pennsylvania Assembly, Apr. 2, 1755, appropriating 15,000 pounds for the king's use, 5000 of which is to repay expense incurred in victualing the troops in Virginia, the remainder to be expended under direction of a committee named in the resolution for purchasing and forwarding provisions requested by the Government of Massachusetts Bay. As to the expenditure of this appropriation, see Franklin to Shirley of May 22, post, p. 171.

2 Johnson Manuscripts, New York State Library, 1, 153.

of Representatives for the aforesaid Province in Great and General Court assembled, recommending to them to make Provision for carrying on an Attempt, in conjunction with some of his Majesty's other Neighbouring Governments to erect a Strong Fortress upon an Eminence near to the French Fort at Crown point, and other Services in the said Messages express'd; In answer to which the said two Houses of the aforesaid Assembly by their Message to me on the eighteenth of the same February among other things therein contained desir'd me forthwith to make the necessary preparations for such an Expedition; to appoint and Commissionate a General Officer to command the same, to advise his Majestys other Governments therein after mention'd of the said Design, and in such Manner as I should think most effectual to urge them to join therein, and to raise their Respective Proportions of Men as follows vizt. New Hampshire Six Hundred, Connecticutt One Thousand, Rhode Island four hundred, New York Eight Hundred, or such larger Proportions as each of the said Governments should think proper, and to cause twelve Hundred Men to be inlisted for the Service of the said Expedition, as the proportion of the Province of the Massachusets Bay, as soon as it should appear that the Three Thousand Men propos'd to be rais'd by the before mention'd Colonies of New Hampshire, Connecticutt, Rhode Island and New York, should be agreed to be rais'd;

And Whereas in Consequence of my aforesaid Messages recommending the said Expedition, and of the Resolves of the Assembly of the Province of the Massachusets Bay thereupon, (Copies of both which I transmitted to the before mention'd four Neighbouring Governments together with a Letter to each of them, urging them to join in the same, as propos'd by the Assembly of the Massachusets Bay), and nominating you to be the Commander in chief of the Provincial Forces to be employ'd in the said Expedition, The Governments of New York, New Hampshire, Connecticutt and Rhode Island have agreed to raise in the whole Two Thousand Nine hundred Men for his Majesty's Service in

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