I have the honor to be, with all possible esteem and respect, Sir,

your most obedient

and most humble servant,

Th: Jefferson.

LETTER XXVII.--TO GENERAL GATES, October 15, 1780

TO GENERAL GATES.

Richmond, October 15, 1780.

Sir,

I am rendered not a little anxious by the paragraph of yours of the
7th instant, wherein you say, 'It is near a month since I received any
letter from your Excellency; indeed, the receipt of most that I have
written to you, remains unacknowledged.' You ought, within that time, to
have received my letter of September the 3rd, written immediately on my
return to this place, after a fortnight's absence; that of September the
11th, acknowledging the receipt of yours which covered drafts for money;
that of September the 23rd, on the subject of batteaux at Taylor's
Ferry, wagons, maps of Virginia, wintering the French fleet in the
Chesapeake, our new levies, and provisions from our lower counties; and
that of October the 4th, in answer to yours of September the 24th
and 27th. I begin to apprehend treachery in some part of our chain of
expresses, and beg the favor of you, in your next, to mention whether
any, and which of these letters have come to hand. This acknowledges the
receipt of yours of September the 28th, and October the 3rd, 5th, and
7th. The first of these was delivered four or five days ago by Captain
Drew. He will be permitted to return as you desire, as we would fulfil
your wishes in every point in our power, as well as indulge the ardor of
a good officer. Our militia from the western counties are now on their
march to join you. They are fond of the kind of service in which Colonel
Morgan is generally engaged, and are made very happy by being informed
you intend to put them under him. Such as pass by this place, take
muskets in their hands. Those from the,southern counties, beyond the
Blue Ridge, were advised to carry their rifles. For those who carry
neither rifles nor muskets, as well as for our eighteen months men, we
shall send on arms as soon as wagons can be procured. In the mean time,
I had hoped that there were arms for those who should first arrive at
Hillsborough, as by General Steven's return, dated at his departure
thence, there were somewhere between five and eight hundred muskets (I
speak from memory, not having present access to the return) belonging
to this State, either in the hands of the few militia who were there,
or stored. Captain Fauntlero