s despatched, and Captain Henry was implored to
desist from entering Williamsburg. The messengers were detained, and he
marched on. The scene resembled that presented by Bacon marching against
Berkley a hundred years before. Dunmore, in the mean time, issued a
proclamation calling upon the people to resist Henry, and planted cannon
at his palace, and ordered up a detachment of marines from the Fowey.
Before daybreak on the fourth of May, Captain Montague, of that ship,
landed the detachment, and addressed a note to President Nelson, saying
that he had received certain information that Lord Dunmore was
threatened with an attack to be made at daybreak on that morning at the
palace, and requesting him to endeavor to prevent any assault upon the
marines, as in case of it he should be compelled to fire upon the town
of York.

Henry, with one hundred and fifty men, halted at Doncastle's Ordinary,
(sixteen miles from Williamsburg,) where Goodall had been ordered to
rejoin him. In the meanwhile the authorities of the town were concerting
measures to prevent the threatened collision. Dunmore denounced Henry as
a rebel and the author of all the disturbances, and poured out a tirade
of profane threats and abuse. Nevertheless, at his instance, Carter
Braxton, son-in-law to Colonel Corbin, repaired to Henry's headquarters
on the third, and interposed his efforts to prevent matters from coming
to extremities. Finding that Henry would not disband without receiving
the powder or its equivalent, he returned to Williamsburg, and procured
from Colonel Corbin, the deputy receiver-general, a bill of exchange for
the amount demanded, and delivering it to Henry at sunrise of Wednesday
the fourth, succeeded in warding off the impending blow.[612:A] In this
pacific course Mr. Braxton coincided with the moderate councils of the
leading men at Williamsburg.

Yorktown and Williamsburg being in commotion at the landing of the
marines, and an attack upon the public treasury being apprehended, Henry
wrote to Nicholas, the treasurer, offering the services of his force to
remove the public treasury to any place in the colony which might be
deemed a safer place of deposite than Williamsburg. The treasurer
replied that he did not apprehend any necessity for such a guard, and
that the people of Williamsburg "were perfectly quiet;" which, however,
could hardly have been the case, because at that time more than a
hundred citizens patroled the streets and g