News of Oswego's being taken is Confirm'd; and I must now press you in the most earnest manner, to lose no time for enabling me to send His Excellency the Right Honble. Earl of Loudoun the Aid of Men with Arms, which I recommended to you in my Speech of the 30th of August in Consequence of His Lordship's Letter to me of the 20th of August a Copy of which the Secretary deliver'd you; As also to send His Lordship a Number of Carriages and Ox Teams.

The Motives, upon which I urg'd to do this in my Speech, are so Strong, that I think I need not add to them; and shall only observe to you here, that it Appears by Governor Hopkins's Letter to me, which I sent yesterday to you, that your Example will in a great measure influence the other Governments concern'd, upon this extraordinary Emergency for His Majestys Service, and the Safety of these Colonies; which I doubt not will have it's just Weight with you, in making you exert yourselves to the utmost upon this Occasion.

I have had the Honour of your Lordship's Letter of the 29th of August,2 to which I shall very soon return a full Answer; in the mean time I beg leave to remark upon the last paragraph of it, wherein your Lordship tells me, that you mean it as a publick Letter to my Government, and insist upon my laying it before them; that otherwise you shall be

1 P. R. O., C. O. 5, 46; 5, 47. Inclosed in Shirley to Fox, Sept. 15. Copies are in the Parkman transcripts in the Mass. Hist. Society and in the Library of Congress.

2 Ante, p. 521.

oblig'd to send them a Copy of it; I should be extremely sorry, My Lord, to have this dispute between your Lordship and me, forc'd on before any of the Colonies; as it appears to me a very improper and unprecedented proceeding, which has not the least tendency to promote his Majesty's Service, but the direct Contrary, especially at this Juncture, by creating parties and Factions in the several Governments, at a time, when they ought to be the most closely united; It would besides, I apprehend be disapprov'd of by his Majesty for us to bring Affairs of this kind under the Examen of any of the Assemblies of the Colonies.

I think it therefore most adviseable to defer a Compliance with your Lordship's Command until I receive your Answer to this Letter; perhaps when your Lordship shall have employ'd a few cool and deliberate thoughts on the Subject you will be convinc'd of the great Impropriety of such a proceeding; It appears to me extremely irregular and ill tim'd; so that if it were not for the Measures, your Lordship seems determin'd to take to bring it before my Assembly, whether I will or not, I should decline a Compliance, even altho' your Lordship should repeat your Commands; Not that I am afraid that I shall not be able to vindicate myself from the Charge brought against me by your Lordship, or that any Impressions to my disadvantage will be left on the Minds of the People of my Government.

These are Matters of small Importance compar'd with that Harmony, which, in order to the promoting his Majesty's Service at this time more than ever, is necessary to be preserv'd thro' all the parts of it, and which, I am fully satisfy'd, a pursuit of your Lordship's Measure would interrupt and lessen; But as I am convinc'd that it will be in your Lordship's power to bring this Affair before my Assembly without my Consent and your Lordship has already furnish'd the Lt. Governor with a Copy of the Letter, I suppose for this purpose (for I can't suppose your Lordship to be so unacquainted with the Nature of Government and the Constitutions in the Colonies, as not to know that in case of my Absence your Letter directed to me would have come to

the Hands of the Lt. Governor and Commander in chief) if your Lordship persist in your demand I will immediately, upon Advice of it, lay the Letter before the Assembly, if then sitting, if not, before the Council, one Branch of it, and I will take Care that it be communicated to the House of Representatives at their next meeting, but your Lordship must allow me, at the same time, to cause to be lay'd before them a full Answer to it, and you will likewise allow that I ought not to be answerable for the Consequences of a measure, which your Lordship has compell'd me to a Compliance with.

The Assembly have still under Consideration the augmenting their Troops in the manner, I recommended to them in my Speech, a Copy of which I sent your Lordship.

If the Information, that the French have quitted Oswego, after having burnt the Forts there, is true; there seems no room to doubt but that almost the whole Force, they had at Oswego, is gone to join their Troops at Crown-point and Tionderoge with a design to attack the provincial Troops at Lake George and Fort Edward; which may be very suddenly expected. If that should be the Case, and the French should prevail, it is difficult to say where their Incursions and Devastations would stop; And your Lordship is the best Judge how greatly the provincial Troops will be expos'd, if the Number of the French Forces are near equal to what they are reported to be, unless they are supported by a Body of his Majesty's British Troops.

Your Lordship is likewise the best Judge, whether it is adviseable with the whole Force, you can muster, of Regulars and provincials for that purpose to make an Attempt upon the French Forts at Tionderoge and Crown point this Year, and must be sensible of what infinite Advantage it would be to his Majesty's Service if a successful Stroke could be made upon them in that Quarter.

I presume only to mention these points for your Lordship's Consideration; being perfectly satisfy'd that your Lordship will pursue the most adviseable Measures at this critical Conjuncture, for the preservation of his Majesty's

Territories, and the Security of these Colonies; in which I wish your Lordship all possible Success.

I have the Honour to be,

My Lord etca.

W. SHIRLEY.

His Excellency the Rt. Honble. Earl of Loudoun etca.

A true Copy

JAMS BRADFORD Secy.

Endorsed:

Copy

Letter from Major General Shirley to His Excellency the Rt. Honble. Earl of Loudoun.

dated Septr. 3d, 1756.

in Majr. Genl. Shirley's Letter of Sepr. 15th, 1756.

WILLIAM SHIRLEY TO THE EARL OF HALIFAX 1

(Triplicate)

MY LORD,

Boston, September 4, 1756.

It is with extreme Concern, I am to acquaint your Lordship, that the Earl of Loudoun in his Letter of the 20th of August2 advises me, that by "Accounts he had received the Night before, the Fort and Garrison at Oswego together with the Naval Armament and Stores were fallen into the hands of the French," which Account his Lordship hath confirmed in his Letter of the 29th of the same Month, a Copy of which is inclosed in my other Pacquet.

As to the Particulars of this unfortunate Affair, further than what is contained in the Earl of Loudoun's last mentioned Letter, we are much in the Dark; some say the Enemy's Forces consisted of about 4000 Regulars and 3500 Canadeans and Indians; But I can scarcely Credit the Ac

1

Original, Massachusetts Manuscripts, Vol. 1, Library of Con2 Ante, p. 523, nôté.

gress.

count; The whole Garrison, I have very good Information, amounted on the 3d of July to about 1400 Troops. all, except five or six in good Health; and the Number of Carpenters and Workmen were about an hundred, and I suppose their Strength was about the same at the time of the Attack. Since this we have had an Account that the Enemy had put the whole Garrison to the Sword except a few Officers, had carryed away the Seamen and Carpenters; burnt all the Works and carried off the Artillery, Stores, and Provisions, of which last there was a very large Quantity; I have Letters from Albany which inform me this Account is generally believ'd there; but a Courier from thence, who has been examined says, that two Indians and two White Men which were sent by Sir William Johnson and Colonel Webb to Oswego to discover the State of things there Report that all the Works are consumed to Ashes, that they saw no more than 400 or 500 dead Bodies in the whole, which lay in and about the old Fort, many with their Heads cut off; so that I hope there may be no more Slain, and that the rest are made Prisoners of War; All the Artillery Stores and Provisions they say were carried away, and the French with their Indians gone off.

If this is true, My Lord, it is highly probable that the Enemy have drawn off all their Forces from that part of the Country, in order to join those at Tionderoge and Crown Point, and to Attack our Forces at Lake George, where if they should prevail it is difficult to say where their Incursions will stop: If such a Blow should be struck there seems but one Way left of retrieving the Losses his Majesty will have sustain'd upon this Continent to the Westward of Nova Scotia, within these two last Years, and but the next Year to do it in. The Period seems now arriv'd for the grand Decision between us and the French concerning the Dominion of this Continent; and they pour their Regular Troops from old France by the Way of Quebec, and probably the Mississippi, so fast into it, that notwithstanding the Difficulties they may find to subsist a great Body of Troops upon it, they will soon in Conjunction with their Indians be too