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Subject: 30 JUL 1760 Colonel Montgomery
Resent-Date: Sun, 21 Jun 1998 12:26:13 -0700 (PDT)
Resent-From: SCROOTS-L@rootsweb.com
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 1998 15:25:42 -0400
From: "Steven J. Coker" 
Organization: http://members.tripod.com/~SCROOTS
To: SCROOTS-L@rootsweb.com

Wednesday the 30th Day of July 1760.

"... A Message from the Lieutenant Governor by Mr. Bassnett.

Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen,

According to my Promise in my Answer to your Address relating to the continuance
of His Majesty's Troops in this Province for our better protection, I wrote a
Letter to the Honorable Colonel Montgomery, a Copy whereof

I herewith send you, and that you may be fully acquainted with the Result of my
Application, I communicate to you the following Answer from Colonel Montgomery
to my desire, which was expressed in two Alternatives, to the latter of which
you see he has virtually consented as far as he safely could consistently with
his Orders, by delaying his Embarkation, to give the longer Time for the arrival
of the Advice Boat which was to bring an Answer from General Amherst to my
Letter of the 29th of May last, representing the dangerous Situation of this
Province on account of the Murders committed in the Upper Creeks. Colonel
Montgomery's Words are as follows, vizt.

"As I have always been convinced that you have done every thing in your power to
carry on the Service and as you have upon all Occasions, shewn an Inclination to
give me all the Assistance, I could expect from you, you may be assured that it
would give me a particular pleasure to do any thing in my power at your request.
Besides it is my duty & inclination to contribute to the protection of His
Majesty's Subjects of this Province as far as is consistent with the Orders
which I have received. Our Horses are worn out, & not able to crawl, some fresh
ones must be got, and the others have a little Time to recruit before I can
think of proceeding from this Place. Our List of Sick has increas'd
considerably, our wounded much distressed with a long March, & indeed the
Detachment worn out with fatigue, so that an half of some Days is indispensably
necessary, and of consequence we cannot get down the Country to embark before
the 8th or 10th of August; before that Time you will certainly receive an Answer
to your Letter of the 13th of June to General Amherst, and if his Excellency
upon your Representation, is pleased to order me to continue with the Detachment
in South Carolina, his Commands shall be chearfully obey'd. Tho' it is my
opinion that the Troops can be of no Service till the Heats are over, & as that
is the Case, rather than continue idle here, I shall certainly proceed to the
Northward, if no alteration is made in the Instructions, with which the General
has been pleased to honor me. I have carried General Amherst's Commands into
Execution by going into the Cherokee Country and acting offensively against
those Indians. The Frontier of this Province, by that means has been
considerably extended & of consequence less exposed than formerly. I cannot help
or prevent the fears of the People, but there is no Indian Settlement within 160
Miles of Ninety Six, and if they cannot be guarded against at that distance, one
should imagine that People would be safe no where; for tho' they may send
Scouts, they cannot be very numerous, and as a March of that kind must be
fatiguing even to Indians, those Scouts cannot probably be frequent. But indeed
I have no Orders to continue in this Province till Peace shall be made with the
Cherokees; on the contrary I am directed not to garrison any frontier Fort, and
am expressly commanded not to remain in the Country for any offensive Operation.
Now, Sir, as it was the General's Intention that we should leave the Province
after correcting the Cherokees for the Outrages which they had committed, tho'
they shou'd continue in a State of War, I certainly cannot take upon me to
remain in the Province upon a Supposition that a Creek War may happen. I am not
at liberty as an Officer to judge of Dangers to which the Province may be
possibly exposed in the course of Time, even tho' there was a probability that
the danger was not very distant, while I continue in the Province if it should
be attack'd by a Body of French I should certainly think it my duty to remain
and defend it to the best of my Power, notwithstanding any Orders I may have
received to leave it. But I cannot conceive that my Conduct would be approved
of, if I should continue here upon a supposition that such an Attack may
possibly be made. You seem to wish that we had continued a little longer at Fort
Prince George, it was impossible. We could not have left a sufficient quantity
of Provisions for the Garrison, and our Horses were not able to go to Ninety Six
for a fresh Supply. And if we had delayed our March, we should not have been
able to bring either our Baggage, Sick or Provisions down the Country. But I
really do not apprehend that our staying at this Fort would have been of any use
to the Province; I should have thought it necessary, if the Indians had
attempted to come near our Camp, but not a Man of them appeared during the two
Days we remained there. And the Day their Scouts intended to harass our March,
our Camp was but eleven Miles from Echoé by a short Road which they had to come
over the Mountains. After our flanking Parties had fallen in with them in the
Morning, we made frequent Halts and only march'd about 12 Miles that they might
have time to look at us, and they might be convinced that we held them in
Contempt. From these Circumstances I fancy you need be under no Apprehensions
that they will either say or believe that we were forced from their Mountains,
if they did, their Report would not be believed by their Neighbours, as their
Loss is too considerable to be concealed from them; Some of their chief People
fell upon this last Occasion, for we have great Reason to believe that the young
Warrior of Estatoé and the Man-killer of Nukassee are killed."

Thus far is Colonel Montgomery's Answer, which, tho' it is long, as it is
particular & full I chuse to give in his own Words.
29th July 1760.
               William Bull.

And then the Messenger withdrew.

And Mr. Speaker read the Message to the House.

Read also a Copy of the Lieutenant Governor's Letter to Colonel Montgomery dated
the 12th July 1760.

And then the House adjourned till to-morrow Morning, Ten of the Clock...."

Source:
The Colonial Records of South Carolina
The Journal of the Commons House of Assembly
October 6, 1757-January 24, 1761
Terry W. Lipscomb, Editor
Published by the SC Department of Archives and History
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 51-62239
ISBN: 1-880067-28-5

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