the County Court, or the voluminous correspondence of Governor Dinwiddie, of any effort to bring the perpetrators of the outrage to punishment.
Governor Dinwiddie, wisely or unwisely, precipitated the war between the English and French in America. After it began he threw himself into the fray with great ardor. He was indefatigable in recruiting troops, calling for help from neighboring colonies and England, writing letters, and scolding and blustering. He rivaled Horace Walpole, one of his correspondents, in the number, if not in the elegance, of-his epistles. His voluminous correspondence, published by the Virginia Historical Society, and edited by R. A. Brock, secretary, &c., is full of interest to those who have a taste for such literature. He was too much pressed for time and space to write his words in full, and often it is difficult to read his productions. He set the rules of grammar and spelling at defiance—especially when in a passion he rebuked a military officer, or abused the savages. The latter suffered terribly at his hands, being denounced as "wicked murderers," "insatiate cowards," "villainous," "banditti," "infidels," "vermin." He was economical to the extent of parsimony, demanding an account of every pound of powder or lead he issued to the troops. Without military training or experience he planned campaigns, and undertook to instruct George Washington and Andrew Lewis how to fight the Indians. He was punctilious in etiquette, and informed Washington: "The method that you are to declare war is at the head of your companies, with three vollies of small arms for his Majesty's health and a successful war."
Many of the Governor's letters were addressed to Augusta men, and others relating to events taking place here. We shall refer to some of them.
Writing to the Lords of Trade, July 24, 1754, Governor Dinwiddie gives a highly exaggerated account of the casualties at Fort Necessity. He reports the number of the enemy killed as three hundred, and "of our people," thirty.
He set to work energetically to repair the disaster and to organize another expedition to the Ohio. By his order, Fort Cumberland was built at Wills's creek where the city of Cumberland, Maryland, now stands, and Colonel James Innes was put in command of it. This gentleman was born in Scotland,
