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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Letter from Andrew Lewis to Horatio Gates
Lewis, Andrew, 1720-1781
September 10, 1780
Volume 14, Pages 607-608

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HON. ANDREW LEWIS TO GENERAL GATES.

Richfield, in Botetourt, Sepr. ye 10th, 1780.

Dear General:

After seeing your Letter to Congress, which you left open for ye informn. of our Board, and your subsequent Letter which we were hond. with, I weated,tho'there in readiness to spend sume time at home, untill a full Board were collected, in order to do every thing in our power to strinthen your hands. The particulars of the Resolutions you no doubt have received from ye Governor. The unhappy consequences arising from the dastardly Behaviour of the Militia under your command will be for some time severely felt, and must to you be mortifying indeed, who must in a fewe minutes (had those poltorons behaved like the sons of freemen) obtained a compleat victory and made your self & Country happy. I expect my son Saml. will have the honr. of handing you this Letter, who has orders to deliver to you all the Cattle he can procure by his contracts but what is purchased North of this place & on ye way to Barracks. It was not in the power of the executive of this state to put in to his hands more than £300,000, which sume will not be sufficeant to pay half of the cattle he has contracted for, and this sume is of the New emission of this state, which may be objected too in Carolina. Should this be the case, perhaps you may have it in your power to give him continental Bills in exchange, or fall on sum Method to enable him to obtaine the Cattle he has contracted for. It appears to me evident that our Army, both North & South, must suffer to ye great detriment of the State, unless Congress fall on some other method of supplys than they have leatly observed. The mode of reforming money, and emiting no more then what will redeeme the Continental Bills in circulation at one for forty, may indeed checke Depreciation, but it does not promis a supply to the wants of our suffering Armeys, which ought to be first attended to. Money is what is wanted, & the giving it out with a Nigardly hand will have the greatest tendency to obstruct our massure. I shall at

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all times think my self happy in having it in my power to contribute to ye strinthing your hands.

I am, with great respect,
Your most Obed't H.u.bl. Servt.
ANDW. LEWIS.
The Honble. General Gates.