To George Washington from John Hite, 2 July 1758
From John Hite
July 2th 1758
Sir
Our In habitants is all Fled from Messenuting and we are Generally in Great Fair of the Enemy upon us at Some Quarter or other and as we have No other Dependens for any Intilegance But the Ranging Company, and that Being Weakend by Party Stationed at Fort Loudoun I hope therefore you will Think it Reasonably to alter that Property So that Those Rangers May be Restord to their former Duty to the Sattisfaction of our Inhabetants in General.1 I am Sir with Regard your Sincear friend and Hum. Servt
Jno. Hite
ALS, DLC:GW.
John Hite (d. 1790), the eldest son of Jost Hite, lived on Opequon Creek and was the father-in-law of the commander of Fort Loudoun, Lt. Charles Smith.
1. Col. William Byrd wrote Forbes from Winchester on 23 June: “The Indians here behave with the greatest Insolence, I do not know what to think of them. I have just recieved an Account from Massinuttin (a very thick Settlement about 40 Miles from hence) that on tuesday last [27 June] nine People were kill’d & six carried away; I fear the Cherokees did that Misschief. My Indians are very restless . . .” (ViU: Forbes Papers). One of the earliest settlements in the Shenandoah Valley was made by Germans from Pennsylvania at a great bend of the South Branch of the Shenandoah River near Massanutten Gap.