Captain Willis Wilson to Governor Richard Caswell of North Carolina, July 28, 1778

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Newbern 28^th July 1778.

Sir

I left the Caswell¹ at the Bar last Sunday and got to this place yesterday, hoping to see your Excellency in Town. Docter Cooley is desirous to know whether he is to be continued or not in the Caswell, respecting which I will be proud to have orders by return of the bearer²—I have lately been acquainted of M^rs. Wilson being very unwell, chief of my business to this place, was to Obtain leave of absence for a Short time from your Excellency to pay her a Vissit, which I shoud not request on any other acc^t. but the above, I therefore hope to receive permissions from Your Excellency by return.³ M^r. Cheshire,⁴ my Master, is a trusty Gent^n. to whom I shall leave the charge during my absence, which Shall be Short. Shall be proud to know when the paymaster may be expected as I may have my pay Rolls properly made out to the time. Nothing has happen’d at the Bar, worth Notice. I am with great respect [&c.]

Willis Wilson

L, Nc-Ar, Governor’s Papers, State Series 111, Richard Caswell, 3, 1778, April 20–October 17, G.P. 3, p. 132. Addressed: “To/His Excellency Rich^d Caswell Esq^r/Newinton.” Docketed: “Capt Willis Wilson/Newbern 28. July/1778/Answ^d. same day.” On the same sheet appears a second docketing: “Le Meignen/Lieut Capt Cotteneaus/Coms^ry 10. May 1778.” On the same sheet are calculations:
41.12.11
26.14. 1¼
14.18. 9¾
7. 9. 4¾
7. 9. 5

1. Virginia Navy armed galley Caswell.

2. Dr. Samuel Cooley had been a surgeon with the Fifth North Carolina Continental regiment. Caswell informed him on 30 June that he still considered Cooley a surgeon in the Continental service, NCSR 13: 326. But according to the records of the regiment, Cooley retired as surgeon on 1 June 1778; he served with the Caswell “during 1778.” Lawrence E. Babits and Joshua B. Brown, Fortitude and Forbearance: The North Carolina Continental Line in the Revolutionary War, 1775–1783 (Raleigh, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, 2004), p. 144.

3. Wilson appears to have obtained permission to return home. He was back in command of Caswell when he wrote Governor Richard Caswell in Sept. 1778, NCSR 13: 217.

4. John Cheshire served as master and lieutenant in the Virginia Navy before resigning in Sept. 1778. Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh, Revolutionary War Records: Volume 1, Virginia (Washington, D.C.: Lancaster Press, 1936), p. 50.

Document Information

Date

1778 July 28

Volume

Volume 13

Series

American Theater, June 1 to August 15, 1778

Naval Documents of the American Revolution

Captain Willis Wilson to Governor Richard Caswell of North Carolina, July 28, 1778

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