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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Petition from inhabitants of Carteret County concerning recruitment of troops
Borden, William; Et Al.
November 06, 1780
Volume 15, Pages 146-147

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PETITION OF CERTAIN INHABITANTS OF CARTERET COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA.

Carteret County, Nov. 6th, 1780.

To His Excellency the Governor and the Hon. Council of the State of No. Carolina.

The humble petition of the few remaining Inhabitants of the said County.

Humbly Sheweth:

That for the following reasons they request that their Quota of drafted men may remain in the County.

1st. Nearly all the young and able-bodied men belonging to the said County have gone to Sea, and the remainder being either aged or infirm, when absence from their families would be their total ruin.

2nd. That Beaufort Inlet, being one of the best in the State, it is therefore the most likely to be infested with small Picaroons of the Enemy, and the Petitioners having information of one or more boats fitting out against the town and vicinity of Beaufort, they humbly conceive and request that their number of drafted men may continue in the said County under such rules & regulations as your Excellency & Honors may think proper, and are determined to check the violence of the Enemy, and prevent their depredations on a very extensive part of the Sea Coast which, without such a guard, must fall a prey to those piratical robbers, and afford them a Harbour.

4th. Col. Ward we have begged to present this petition, and desire Your Excellency & Honours may be pleased to refer to him concerning the truth of the above premises, who can give a just information respecting our present situation.

5th. That if our present Quota of Men are taken from us, we shall be entirely disabled to withstand the weakest effort of our Enemy, and left to the mercy of the most trifling plunderers.

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Your Petitioners, relying in the Wisdom and discretion of your Excellency & Honours, thus represent their unhappy Situation, and pray relief, which, if it should meet with your approbation. They, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c.

WILLIAM BORDEN.
ZEPH. PINKHAM.
DIDRICK GIBBLE.
JOHN LOVETT.
MALACHI BELL.
LEWIS WELSH.
ZACHARIAH STARKER.
JAS. PARRATT.
DAVID COOPER.
THOMAS CHADWICK.
JOSEPH BELL.
ROSSILAR SIMPSON.