To George Washington from Landon Carter, 25 September 1755
From Landon Carter
Sept. 25 1755
Dr Sir
As I know I shall not be troublesome to you with my little intimacy I have ventured to recommend John Sallard1 to you for a Serjeant he comes by my persuasion and is in Youth and Stature and indeed in Capacity such an one that I cannot be ashamd of[.] His family have been well respected and I shall be pleasd and obligd with any Countenance you shall shew him perhaps he may want a little tutoring but I know he will be docile I shall give you the trouble of a letter more at large and refer all my good wishes to that Serious moment I am Sr Your most Obedt
Landon Carter
ALS, DLC:GW.
Landon Carter (1710–1778) represented Richmond County in the House of Burgesses from 1752 to 1768. A tenacious advocate of the House’s position in the pistole fee dispute, Carter in Aug. 1754 also favored a generous appropriation to check French advances in the Ohio Valley. He tried unsuccessfully to prevent the House from mingling these issues in a single bill. During the Oct. 1754 session of the assembly, Carter supported a poll tax to raise £20,000 for the colony’s defense, but in 1755 he opposed military appropriations requiring further taxation. Moody and eccentric, but influential in the affairs of the House of Burgesses, Carter sought out and largely accepted GW’s account of the Fort Necessity debacle. In 1755–56 Carter defended GW’s conduct as commander of the regiment, lavishing both praise and supportive, if unsolicited, advice on the young colonel (Carter to GW, 7 Oct. 1755, and 21 April 1756).
1. John Sallard (d. 1782) was made a sergeant in Capt. William Peachey’s company and later served in GW’s company when GW took over one of the companies in July 1756. He was made an ensign in the Virginia Regiment in 1758, and by June 1762 he was a lieutenant. The cover indicates that Carter sent the letter to GW by Sallard.