I am extreamly concern'd Sir at the calamitous situation of his Majestys depress'd Subjects in the back Settlements of your Province without any prospect of immediate relief from your Government, and the cruel Depopulations daily made in his Territories there, which seem at present to be abandon'd to the Enemy. I do assure you if it was in my power to send You present succour from his Majestys Forces under my Command, I would do it with the greatest pleasure; But the State of those Forces, and the Colonies where they are posted will not admit of my doing it. The three Regiments in Nova Scotia are but barely sufficient with the New England Auxiliaries now there to protect that Province against the Attempts, which may be suddenly made by the French; Sir William Pepperell's and my own Regiments, except a very small Detachment, are posted at Oswego, upon the carrying place of Oneida, and at the German flatts for the protection of the first mention'd important place, and our necessary Magazine of Stores and provisions at the other two, upon the preservation of which all the operations of an early Campaign the next Spring absolutely depend. Of the two British regiments in this City the Effectives fit for duty do not exceed 1050, and 600 of those have held themselves in readiness these two days to March to the Assistance of the Army at Lake George which is alarm'd with Intelligence of a very large body of the Enemy being in Motion to attack it,' and it is necessary the remainder of them should continue here; besides the sending of these regiments or any considerable part of them this Winter to the back parts of your province must inevitably ruin his Majestys Service, for the next Spring.2 1 The critical situation in New York was holding the attention of Colonial governors as far south as Virginia. See Dinwiddie to Shirley, Nov. 12, approving the conduct of the latter, stating the writer's efforts to raise troops in Virginia, inquiring as to the movements of Johnson and the possibility of capturing Crown Point. (Dinwiddie Papers, 2, 262.) 2 In a second letter to Morris of the same date, Shirley continues: "It gives me Pain to See the Distress of mind, which I know so As to my furnishing you with the Kings money, Sir, for defraying Expences, which You take notice of in your Letter is chargeable to the account of your Government, the bare inspection of Sir Thomas Robinson's letter must shew it to be out of my Power, and I can't but hope that your rich populous Government will not continue insensible of the devastations daily made in their Country; but if it was possible that their duty to his Majesty and a sense of the miseries of the people in the exposed parts of the Government should not be sufficient motives to them to protect the people under their Care, yet their own Interest and even preservation as a Government must effectually prevail with them to do it. As to the Provisions, which you mention in your letter to have been purchased by You for General Braddock and to be left in your hands, and which you purpose to use for the people in the back parts of your province, if you will take upon You to have them replaced in the City of New York generous an one as yours must be in upon the Calamitous Situation of the poor People in the back Settlements of your Government, and the daily Devastation and Incroachments made within and upon his Majesty's Territories under your Command, owing to the Obstinacy and perverseness of your Assembly, and to find myself incapable of giving you and the poor expos'd Sufferers the desir'd Assistance. "The only Advice I can give you under these melancholly Circumstances, is to continue to do (as you have hitherto done) every thing in your Power to encourage the People to exert themselves in their own Defence, and to persevere in your Representations to the Assembly of the ruinous State of these People, and the imminent danger there is of great part of the Provinces being suddenly lost to the Enemy, and in your Applications to them [the Assembly] to do their Duty to their King and Country in putting an End to the Miseries and Pain of the poor expos'd Sufferers, and preventing the loss which the Crown is threaten'd with. "This, my Dear Sir, is all you can do at present, and to wait with patience for the Success of your Endeavours, which you should not dispair of." For a review of local conditions in Pennsylvania at this time, see Lincoln, "The Revolutionary Movement in Pennsylvania" (Phila., 1901), pp. 16-22. The need of the colony was seized upon by the people as an opportunity to obtain privileges, and grants of money were withheld. by April next, in such case I shall have no objection to your using them upon the present occasion, otherwise I can't consent to have those provisions diverted from the use of the King's troops. The powder and ordnance Stores in Fort Cumberland are lodged there for his Majesty's service in an Expedition against the French Settlements upon the Ohio, which I hope will be effectually carried on the next Year, so that I can't possibly order any part of them for the use of the Inhabitants of your Government, where I suppose a sufficient Quantity may be had for the present occasion of the exposed Inhabitants.1 I am Sir Your most Obedient Huml. Servant WILLIAM SHIRLEY TO ROBERT HUNTER MORRIS 2 SIR, Albany, Novr 19th, 1755. Upon further Consideration of the expos'd State of his Majesty's Territories in the back Settlements of the Province, 1 Shirley was reluctant at this time to send money, arms, or stores to Pennsylvania. On Nov. 17 the Council of Governors and Commissioners at Albany had recommended an advance by Johnson with his army, the action of the Council had been sent to Johnson, and on the 18th Shirley had written asking what aid he could give for this advance. On Nov. 22 Johnson informed Shirley of the Council at Lake George which opposed the movement against Ticonderoga, and of the reluctance of the soldiers to advance. Not until Dec. 2 did Johnson announce the close of the campaign and formally resign his command, thus justifying the report which Governor Sharpe of Maryland had mentioned to Governor Dinwiddie (Oct. 28) that Johnson would not advance (Johnson Manuscripts, 3, 226, 227, 229, 232, 248, 249, 253, 265). See, however, Shirley to Morris, Nov. 19, following. 2 Printed: 1 Penna. Arch. 2, 502. On Nov. 16, 1755, Morris had written Shirley as follows: "I have the pleasure to acquaint under your Government and present Incursions of the French and Indians into them, together with the distress'd Condition of his Majesty's Subjects Inhabiting there, whom you have represented to be in want of Ammunition requisite for you that the Indians, after having laid waste a considerable extent of country, and drove about a thousand families from their habitations, have retired from our borders, but am afraid they have left us but for a little time and will return with greater numbers and penetrate much further into the Province, as they have hitherto met with no resistance nor do I expect the Assembly will enable me to oppose them in their future operations. "You must be sensible Sir, how necessary it is for his Majesty's Service, and the safety of His Dominions, that the strength of the Colonys should be united against the French, and under such a direction, that it may be employed in the most effectuall manner, for while they remain in this Present disjoynted state, and the several Colonys not only at liberty whether they will act or not, but also in what manner and where they will employ their strength, this must in its consequence weaken any operations that depend in the least upon what they will do. The formation of a union may not therefore be unworthy your consideration, at this time; a war with France seems to be at hand, the scene of which may probably be in America. "The Plan formed at Albany, was upon such Republican Principles, that I do not wonder it was not relished at home, as it seemed calculated to unite the Colonys in such a manner, as to give the Crown little or no influence in their Councils; any new plan must therefore be such as will meet with approbation at home, to which end it should be drawn so as to enable the Government to employ the united force of the Colonys, where and when they may think it necessary, and at the same time to keep them in that Constitutional dependence upon the mother nation, that is so necessary for their mutual Interest and safety. "When these matters are under your consideration, you will turn your thoughts to this Province, situated in the midst of the British Empire, extensive in its bounds, temperate in its climate, and from its produce, trade and number of inhabitants, capable of contributing largely towards the support of the Common cause. But unfortunately, under the Government of a set of men who are or pretend to be principled against defending themselves or their Country. To oblige this Rich and flourishing Province, therefore, to bear its part of the common and necessary Expences of defend defending themselves and the King's Rights against the Enemy, as also of Provisions, and that you have no Expectation of the Assembly in your Government providing the necessary Supplies for them in time, in order to prevent the immediate Depopulations and Incroachments, which threaten his Majesty's said Territories, and relieve his distress'd Subjects there, untill the Assembly of your Province shall make effectual provision for the Defence and protection of both, I inclose you an Order for 50 Barrels of the King's Powder in the Magazine at Fort Cumberland, near Will's Creek, for those purposes, and hereby consent to your Distributing such Quantities of his Majesty's Provisions in your Hands, as shall be necessary for the Support of such of the Inhabitants in the back Settlements as are employ'd in Defence of the King's Lands there, in confidence that your Assembly will soon order the 50 Barrells of Powder and Provisions, which shall be expended in the aforesaid Services to be replac'd in his Majesty's Stores. Mr. Leake, the Commissary General of Provisions here, the Waggon Master, General Scott and Lieut. Leslie, Assistant to the Deputy Quarter Master General, will attend you soon at Philadelphia, and bring two Letters with them to Messrs James Turnass and Richard Vernon, . . . to attend the Settlements of the Accompts of what is due to the Waggoners, &c. I am, Your most Obedient Humble Servant, Honble Robert Hunter Morris, Esqr. ing and securing the whole, seems an object worthy your attention, and I cannot doubt but the several governors that will meet you at New York, will readily joyn you in such representations as you may judge necessary to obtain a thing so just and reasonable in itself." (1 Penna. Arch. 2, 448.) On the 17th a second letter was written, giving an account of an Indian attack since the letter of Nov. 16 (ibid. p. 501). |