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To the Honorable the President & Gentlemen & Delegates of the Convention of Virginia
We the Comittee of Accomack County now Setting, having much at heart the good and prosperity of our Unhappy Country rendered so by an unnatural and unjust Procedure of our Mother Country and being earnestly desirous of by all means in Our Power to render ineffectual the pernicious attempts of the Tools of Ministry to enforce their long concerted Scheme of Distroying American Liberty and thereby Smoothing the Way to introduce throughout the British Dominions the Same Despotism under: which the greatest part of the Universe is held Subjected; find ourselves. unhappily oblidged to address you on our present Situation assuring you at the Same time that any Dangers however emminent to which we may be exposed shall never Cause us to turn off our eyes from the Glorious Cause in which we together with the rest of America are embarked of some of which dangers we are so Sensible that it has upon Consideration been our unanimous opinion that it would be unsafe. & imprudent for the Delegates of this County to attend the meeting of the Convention on the first of December while our Bay is in the Possession of our enemies & Swarms w'th their Tenders who we have every Reason to believe will be on the Watch to Seize our Delegates on their Passage, in Consequence we shall be on that Account unrepresented but we hope you will be assured that we have the utmost Confidence. in the Collected Wisdom of the Remaining part of the Colony and shall hold ourselves Sacred bound by their Ordinances.
We beg leave also to express to you that from our [local?] Circumstances we Consider of Selves as much exposed while [at the?] same time we are allmost cut off from all Possibility of [security?] since while the bay is in Possession of the King's Ships they will have it in their Power to intercept any assistance you might be Disported to send us from the Western Shore of this Colony and as to the neighbouring Province of Maryland by [the Regulations?] adopted by their Provincial Convention their Militia are not to march out of that Province and their minute men of the two adjoining Counties Somerset & Worcester from which Counties alone we could have Speedy assistance when formed amount to but two Companies consisting of sixty eight privates each exclusive of Officers.
Let us now turn our view to our internal force and we are
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are under a Necessity of informing you that altho the County almost to a Man are ready to embody themselves as a Militia yet we find [insufferable] Difficulties in forming our Companies of Minute-Men Not one is yet compleated whereas the Necessity is too apparent that we should have a select Number of our Troops better Disciplined than the Militia can possibly be in any short time; One great Objection the Inhabitants have to inlist as Minute-Men arises from the time of Encampment being such that it must unavoidably break in upon their Whole years Business while they are only allowed pay for the actual time of Duty this renders them much more inclinable to enter into the Regular than the Minute Service. We would therefore submit to you wether it might not be attended with more Salutary Effects of a greater Number of regulars should be allowed for this [strike - County] District instead of the Minute Companies before Ordained which Number of regulars we would submit to your Discretion.
We beg leave also to Transmit to you the Depositions of certain inhabitants of Somerset & Worcester Counties who having fled from Maryland with a certain William Bartlet Townsend. on board of the Man of War at Norfolk were lately made Prisoners in this County as they were endeavouring to Effect their Return
We must likewise inform you that Notwithstanding our [illegible] endeavours to procure Arms and Amunition our County [magazine?] is still very Small; we must therefore ask your assurance in that Particular if you find it Practicable by any mode to Supply us therewith.
Southy Simpson Chairman
By Order of the Committee 30th Nov. 1775.
Jno Powell, clk.
