May the God of Armyes, who has raised you up. for this day, be with you; the Eternal God be your refuge, & underneath may be His everlasting arms; may He teach your hands to war and your fingers to fight, & cause you to tread down the enemy: I doubt not but the cause. is God's so far as we can well say any cause of this nature can be; for all that is dear to us in our country, our flourishing, yea, our very subsistence in it, yea, our religion, all lyes at stake. They have first began with us at Canco & Anapolis, as well as their King unjustly proclaimed war against our nation, and it should be our constant cry, Delenda est Carthago, Cape Breton must be destroyed, or we must expect to be destroyed by them. May your army do valiantly and encourage themselves in the Lord, our God; may they be of good courage, & play the men for our people and the cityes of our God, & the Lord do that which seemeth Him good

I am, with my best wishes & most fervent pray", Honble Sr,

Your most obedient, humble servt.

MARBLEHEAD, March 11, 1744.

JOHN BARNARD.

ROBERT AUCHMUTY* TO WILLIAM PEPPERRELL.

DB S, The sincere desire I have that the publick spirit yt animates a gen" of yo' fortune sha meet with equal sucess in an enterprize so worthy of yo' services & y attention of this Province induces me to hint to y" ye merritt of Capt Rhodes who comands a comp3 under y". My knowledge of him has been for many yrs and I

* Judge Auchmuty was of Scottish descent, was educated in Ireland and England, and came over to Massachusetts in early life. Here he obtained distinction as a lawyer, and in 1733 was made Judge of the Court of Admiralty. He died in April, 1750. Gov. Belcher, who disliked him personally, nicknames him "the Irish Judge." See Drake's Biographical Dictionary, p. 42; 6 Mass. Hist. Coll. Vols. vi., vii. passim. — EDS.

assure ya yt by his natural & acquired abilitys y" will discover him strong in judgmt & active in execution. And in this distinguishing light I recomend him to yo* countenance, knowing none under y" will (in my opinion) contribute more to yo' laurels, with which yt y" may be crownd in this expedition is y° unfeigned wishes of, dr brõ,

Y' ever obliged friend & most obed' hum. servt.
ROB AUCHMUTY.

To ye Honble Brig' PEPERILL.

BOSTON, 12th March, 1744.

RICHARD WALDRON TO WILLIAM PEPPERRELL.

HONBLE SIR,I wrote you a line or two last week, hardly expecting an answer by reason of your hurry, and I hoped I should have no opportunity to write you again at Boston; but as I fear you'l hardly get away till Monday (by what I hear of the backwardness of affairs there) I take the freedom of testifying my respect once more, and of tendering you my most ardent wishes for your prosperity, while at the same time I can't but fear the slowness of the preparations will make the expedition considerably out of season, which may bring on inconveniencies not at first expected. As I am not concerned at Court, nor have any hand in the Ministry, I know not whether you have any comissions from our Governor, which I apprehend ought to have bên, nor do I know what correspondents you have here to inform you of our proceedings, and therefore a hint or two of them from me I presume won't be unacceptable. On Tuesday evening sundry officers had their comissions, Mr More is Colonel, Mr Meserve is Lt Colonel, and Mr Gilman Maj, Tufton is a Captain, and my son is Captain-Lieutenant to L' Col° Meserve. Captain John Fernald comands our

guard sloop, armed with carriage guns & swivels. The other officers I don't know, nor are all yet commissionated. The guard sloop and several of the transports are this day gone to the island, and 'tis said all will be ready to sail to-morrow or a Lord's day. The Lord grant you seasonable weather and propitious gales, and may it please Him who overrules all things to crown the enterprize with success. Amen & amen. I am, dear Sir,

Your most affectionate, obliged and obed humble servant.

RICHARD WALDRON.

Hon Gen' PEPPERRELL.

PORTSMO, March 15th, 1744/5.

NATHANIEL SPARHAWK TO WILLIAM PEPPERRELL.

KITTERY, 18th March, 1744.

HON SIR, I wrote you the last post but one, wch went under cover to my partner, and he doubtless dld. it to you. I wonder not that I have no answer, since you were engaged greatly in matters of infinitely greater consequence. As I expect this will be delivered you at sea, you may possibly have leisure enough to read it, and will excuse me, should it give you any interruption, nothing further being proposed by it then to give you a fresh (& the best I am able to present) token of my filial regards and affection towards a parent to whom I can neither express my obligations, much less requite them, nor give more then a shadow of the firm attachment I have to yo' person and interest. I do assure you, Sir, that I constantly bear you on mind with all the duty, love, & respect that the best father can desire or

* Col. Nathaniel Sparhawk was a son of Rev. John Sparhawk, of Bristol, R. I., and was born March 4, 1715. He became a merchant in Boston, and married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Sir William Pepperrell, June 10, 1742. He died at Kittery, Dec. 21, 1776. See Savage's Gen. Dict., vol. iv. p. 144; Coll. Maine Hist. Soc., vol. ix. p. 252. — Eds.

claim from an affectionate and most obedient son; nor am I more sollicitous for the prosperity of my own family (wch I know is closely connected & depends greatly on yo prosperity, favour & patronage) then for the happiness of yours; and I am more especially concerned in regard of yo' present great undertaking, that the Almighty God may preserve you in & quallify you for every thing that may be required from you; that He would give you health, wisdom & courage equal to your enterprises; that you may gain an honourable victory, and be returned in safety, according to yo' wishes, & may have the just applause of all good men for yo* love of vertue, magnanimity, and inviolable attachment to our nation & particularly to New England; and may not only your works praise you, but may yo countrymen, inspired with a sense of yo value universally rise & call you blessed. This letter, I trust, will be the more agreeable as it covers one from yo good lady, my mother Pepperrell. Bettsy begs her father to accept her in joyning wth me in every wish, peice of respect, & duty. Each of our familys (God be thanked) are pretty well. Mr Waldron, the bearer, has in a very complaisant manner taken leave of each of them, wch is a peice of civility that he is singular in, and therefore if his behaviour intitles him likewise, he will have some marks of yo' favour to distinguish him. Pray, Sir, favour me with a line, if an express comes from you, wch will highly honour and particularly gratifye me. I would not presume to add any more. Allow me to finish with my compliments to Coll Waldo & any gen" that may enquire after me, & to assure you that I am sincerely & with all possible defference, Sir,

Y most obt son & devoted humble servant.

Brigadier General PEPPERRELL.

N. SPARHAWK.

BENNING WENTWORTH TO WILLIAM SHIRLEY.*

PORTSMOUTH, March 21st, 1744.

SIR, I was at Newcastle 'till nine last night in order to get our fleet under sail, but the wind failing it could. not be effected. I shall go down at high water, & should the wind offer I shall have them under sail in half an hour. I have order'd the rendezvous at White Head, but lest the wind should take them short it will be proper for one of your sailing vessells to call in at Island Harbour or Country Harbour. Mr Bollum desired that you may be informed that I have ordered frames & boards of 25 feet long & 16 feet wide for our men. I am in great haste, preparing for Capt Durell.

Your Excellency's most hm' servt.

His Ex Gov' SHIRLEY.

B. WENTWORTH.

WILLIAM SHIRLEY TO WILLIAM PEPPERRELL.

BOSTON, March 23, 1744.

SIR, Inclos'd is a list of the several companies form'd into regiments, a copy of weh I desire you would be pleased to order your Secretary to deliver to every Colonel so far as it concerns his particular regiment. You will observe yt I have been oblig'd to assign a company for Colonel Bradstreet after it was form'd wth three commission officers, so yt I could not without hardship destroy any of their commissions, and it is the same case wth Major Ellis's company, wch last commission I was oblig'd

* William Shirley was born in Sussex, England, in 1694, and died in Boston March 24, 1771. In 1731 he came to Boston under the patronage of the Duke of Newcastle; and when Belcher was superseded as Governor of Massachusetts, he was appointed Governor. He was removed in 1757, and was partially compensated by appointment as Governor of the Bahamas. He returned to Massachusetts about a year before his death. See Dictionary of National Biography, vol. lii. pp. 142, 143; 6 Mass. Hist. Coll., vols. vi., vii. passim. - EDS.