Guilford County NcArchives Military Records.....Paisley, Colonel John February 5, 1781 Revwar - Letters ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Nancy Poquette npoq@hotmail.com May 26, 2006, 3:14 am From The Papers Of Nathanael Greene, Vol. VII, Page 253: “To the commanding officer of the Guilford Militia. [The commanding officer was Colonel James Martin.] From Light Infantry Camp, ‘25 miles from the Trading Ford,’ NC. 5 February 1781. The enemy are ‘penetrating this country.’ Lord Cornwallis is at the Trading Ford, preparing to cross the Yadkin River. The American army ‘is collecting at this place; and if the militia will turn out and give support to the army, I have not a single doubt but that we shall be able to stop his [Cornwallis’s] progress.’ The officer is to assemble the militia of Guilford and neighboring counties, with six days provisions. He is to order the county commissioners to send provisions to the army, which ‘is entirely without.’ He is also to send to NG the ‘most intelligible’ man he knows who is ‘well acquainted’ with the roads, distances, and the ‘best settlements and plentifullest place for obtaining provisions.’ The officer should reply as soon as possible.” Apparently, the ‘most intelligible man’ that Colonel James Martin knew was his own lieutenant-colonel John Paisley, who prepared the following road instructions for General Nathanael Greene. From The Nathanael Greene Papers in the William L. Clements Library, Univ. of Michigan, Microfilm Reel 5, John Paisley to Nathanael Greene, Road Directions, 1781, dated February 9th: “From Guilford Courthouse to Dix’s Ferry on Dan, 50 miles across the two branches of the Haw River, a tolerable road and good fords.” “From Guilford Courthouse to Boyd’s on Dan lower down, the same road till we cross the two branches of the Haw River, and then takes off the right hand.” “From Guilford Courthouse to Hillsborough, the same road till we pass the two branches of the Haw River and then taking off still further to the right hand.” “The above state of the roads is taken from the information of Col. Paisley, who knows the road to Dix’s to be a good one, but never traveled the other roads. He will return to camp and get perfectly informed by some of his men and return with his intelligence.” File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/guilford/military/revwar/letters/paisley57gmt.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ncfiles/ File size: 2.7 Kb