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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Letter from Francis Gildart Cornett to Abner Nash
Cornett, Francis Gildart
June 09, 1780
Volume 14, Pages 846-847

FRANCIS G. CORNETT TO GOV. ABNER NASH.

June 9th, 1780.

To His Excellency, Gov. Nash.

Sir:

I hope your Excellency will pardon the liberty I have taken in addressing you by letter. Our reasons for refusing our parole offered last night I presume are unknown to you. We therefore judge it right to inform you the first parole General Lincoln gave us bound us to George Town, & we had his Excellency's word that was our station until exchanged. Our next parole, given to Col. White, tho' containing a Clause, (elsewhere,) was backed with his word. Wilmington was our destination, according to the form & tenor of the parole. On arrival there Colonel Young informed us Newbern was to end our fatigues and expences. Your Excellency must be very well aware of the hardships of travelling in this warm Climate, & in the danger, nay evident consequence, that must ensue to an English constitution exposed daily to the heat of Carolina and in the month of June. I will not mention the fate of a gentleman when made a vagabond of. We have been debarred of supplies of either money or cloths, and have been worn out travelling as prisoners. Your Excellency must judge how we mean to travel, & you cannot wonder if it is not an inclination not to be farther distressed unless obliged to it, & even then some provision I should presume will be needed by us. We were taught to hope, upon arriving here your Excellency would have been so kind as to suffer one of us to go on parole in order to facilitate our exchange. Several of your, both Cavalry & infantry

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officers, having now that indulgence, seemed some little claim to beg that favour. We were informed a Cartel would be sent from this place in a short time, which gave us again some hopes your Excellency would allow one of us to go in it for the purpose I mentioned, but of that Indulgence your Excellency is the most proper judge. I have further to add we earnestly hope the behaviour of any part of us last night may be attributed to Ague, as some of us were, I am sorry to say, beyond the sence of acting with propriety.

I am, in the name of us all, &c.,
FRANCIS GILDART CORNETT, B. L.