History, GA, Continental Congress Georgia To The Honorable the president and the rest of the members of the Continental Congress, now sitting at Philadelphia. The Memorial of sundry Freeman, and inhabitants of the county of Wilkes and State aforesaid. Your Memorial is anxious for the safety of the United States, and willing to contribute all in their power to support and maintenance of civil liberty, beg leave to present their Memorial to your honorable body, which from your known attention to the public peace, and the civil rights of mankind, your Memorialists ??? themselves will meet with your consideration. It is with the highest pleasure and satisfaction your Memorialist are led to mention the great attention your honorable body has already paid to the safety and protection of this infant state, in granting us so many battalions and other forces as appeared necessary for our defense. Your Memorial list are sensible, it was with an intention of our further protection, that your honorable body were induced to raise LACHLAN MCINTOSH, then Colonel of the first Georgia Battalion, to the rank of Brigadier General in the army of the United States, and this with the ??? and approbation of the delegates of this state, them members of your honorable body. But your Memorialist would beg leave to represent that the gentleman delegates were in this instance greatly mistaken, as to the true interest of their country, and that they acted without any advise or instructions from their constituents, who never thought Mr. MCINTOSH capable of discharging so important a trust, or remarkable for his warmth and zeal in the American cause. Your Memorialist cannot but declare that it is with great uneasiness that they see a man without any merit, or experience whatever, raised to the conspicuous a station in the army relatives for the most part are open and avowed enemies to the United States and have caused great just contents in the state by their conduct semicolon your Memorialist would take the liberty of mentioning some of them. The General’s Brother, WILLIAM MCINTOSH, was sometimes since entrusted with the command of the troop of horse, raised for the defense of our frontiers, but resigned his commission on account of the clamours of the people. The men under his command were always uneasy and frequently deserted, so that by some means or other a large tract of country on our southern frontiers was evacuated, and several thousand head of cattle were driven by our enemies across the St. Mary's River into East Florida. Your honorable body are well acquainted with the traitorous conduct of his brother GEORGE MCINTOSH and it is not long since a relation of his one ALEXANDER BAILEY was detected in carrying advises to East Florida and passing to St Augustine to apprise our enemies of an intended attack on that province. The general has also has a nephew of the name of MCINTOSH now among the Indians who has been remarkably active against us and the gentleman who ship’t rice, together with GEORGE MCINTOSH, are connected with the general by the ties of consanguinity as the general abounds with such connections your Memorialist cannot but labor under most alarming apprehensions for the safety of this state, and the dangers to which our inhabitants may be exposed through the perfidy of pretended friends. Page 1 of 3 ** PAGE BREAK ** History, GA, Continental Congress Your Memorialist must also remarked that on several occasions they have observed a great aversion in General MCINTOSH to comply with the request of the executive authority of this state, not mention his recent conduct in refusing to call a council of War at Sunbury, agreeable to their request which in the end was productive of a duel between him and our late president [BUTTON GWINNETT] in which the latter received a mortal wound to the great loss of the public . His behavior with respect to his brother GEORGE MCINTOSH has given us a fresh alarm. Our late assembly ordered that he should be sent to Philadelphia with such evidence as had been procured against him, Mr. MCINTOSH desired a little time to prepare himself with some clothes and other necessaries for the journey, which was granted him through the mediation of the general, his brother, who tampered and made use of every species of low cunning, both with the governor and Council, and even attempted to persuade them they might choose whether they would send his brother to Philadelphia or not. The governor and Council for several weeks past have frequently demanded his body to be delivered to the sheriff best the general by sundry evasions has put it out of the power of the executive authority to comply with the orders of the legislature in sending him to your honorable body, insomuch that we are not without our fears of being under a military government and subject to the dictator dictates of a prejudiced and suspected officer. Your Memorialist must assure your honorable body they have not set forth aught in malice but entirely from motives of self preservation and the good of the American cause. Your Memorialist therefore hope your honorable body will take the premises into consideration and order as soon as possible the removal of General MCINTOSH from among them as your Memorialists are thoroughly convinced, it will lightly discourage our enemies is East Florida in East Florida and be a more deadly stroke to the Toryism in this state than any other can be and Grant the such other relief as your honorable body show seem meet. Dated at Wilkes County 5th day of July 1777. GEORGE BAGLEY HENRY DUKE DEMSY PHILLIPS SOLOMON BARFIELD DAVID ESTES JOHN PHILLIPS RICHARD BESLEY BENJAMIN HALEY JOHN RICHARD SAMUEL BISHOP CHARLES HURD DANIEL PURNET * STEPHEN BISHOP JOHN HERD GEORGE REYNOLDS JAMES BOWIE EDWARD HILL NATHANIEL SMITH SUSON BOWIE * ELIJAH HILL THOMAS SMITH HARRIS BRANTLY JOHN HILL THOMAS SMITH JR JAMES BRANTLY JOSHUA HILL JAMES SWORD THOMAS BRANTLEY DAVID HOLLIMAN JOSEPH WALKER BENJAMIN BRASWELL ABSALOM HOLLIMAN WILLIAM WIGGONS JOHN BURKS * RICHARD HOLLIMAN WILLIAM WIGGAINS WILLIAM BUTLER SAMUEL JONES CULPEPPER WILDER * JOHN CARSON CHARLES JORDAN DRED WILDER JOHN CIMBRY * EDWARD LEEDS JOSEPH WILDER WILLIAM CIMBRY * JOHN LINDSAY WILLIAM WILDER JAMES COOK * JONES MCCLEAN FREDERICK WILLIAMS JOHN COOK JACOB MCCLENDON HENRY WILLIAMS THOMAS COOK EZEKIEL MILLER HENRY WISE * JAMES DAVIS JOSEPH MILLER GEORGE DUGLES JOSHUA MILLER * Spelling, hard to read Page 2 of 3 ** PAGE BREAK ** History, GA, Continental Congress ###### # # ##### ####### # # ##### ####### # # # # ## ## # # # ## # # # # # ## ## # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ###### # # # # #### ##### # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ## ### # # # # # # ###### # # ##### ####### # # ### ##### ####### # # Transcribed from original documents by Brent R. Brian & Martha M. Brian. This document and others can be found on our website: BMGEN We claim COPYLEFT on the documents that we publish that are our original work. COPYLEFT “rules” can be reviewed on the web site: GNU Free Documentation License In short, use what you like. But if you use our stuff, mention us as the source. Brent R. Brian Martha M. Brian BrianMitchellGenealogy@gmail.com Page 3 of 3 ** PAGE BREAK **