the s* directors to issue a writ in nature of a writ of Ad quod damnum to be directed to the sheriff of the s* county commanding him to summon & impanel twelve able & discreet freeholders of the vicinage no ways concerned in interest in the sd lots of land nor related to the owners or proprietors thereof to meet on the sd lots on a certain day to be named in the sd writ not under five nor more than ten days from the date thereof, of which notice shall be given by the sheriff to the proprietors and tenants of the sd lots of land if they be to be found within the county, & if not, then to their agents therein if any they have, which freeholders taking nothing, on pain of being discharged from the inquest & immediately imprisoned by the sheriff, either of meat or drink from any person whatever from the time they come to the sd place until their inquest, seated shall be charged by the sd sheriff impartially & to the best of their skill & judgment to value the sd lots of ground in so many several & distinct parcels as shall be owned & held by several & distinct owners & tenants & according to their respective interests & estates therein, & if the sd valuation cannot be completed in one day then the sd sheriff shall adjourn the sd jurors from day to day until the same be completed; & after such valuation made the sd sheriff shall forthwith return the same under the hands & seals of the sd jurors to the clerk's office of the sd county, and the right & property of the sd owners & tenants in the sd lots of land shall be immediately divested & be transferred to this commonwealth in full & absolute dominion, any want of consent or disability to consent in the sd owners & tenants notwithstanding.

The costs of the sd inquest & the several sums at which the rights of the owners & tenants are valued shall be paid by the Treasurer to the sd owners, tenants & others entitled respectively on warrant from the Auditors.'

And whereas it may be expedient to enlarge the sd town of by laying off a number of lots to be added, thereto, & it may also happen that some of the lands adjacent to the sd town may be more convenient for the public uses; be it therefore enacted that the sd directors cause two hundred additional lots or half acres, with necessary streets to be laid off adjacent to

1 This clause, which is stricken out, follows: "The sd directors shall work at the public expense for the act."

such parts of the sd town as to them shall seem most convenient and they shall also be at liberty to appropriate the six squares aforesd or any part of them either from among the lots now in the sd town, or those to be laid off as before directed, or of the lands adjacent to the sd former or latter lots; and the sd six squares & two hundred lots shall thenceforth be a part of the sd town, and the sd directors shall return into the clerk's office of the sd county of there to be recorded, a full & distinct report under their hands and seals of the lots and squares of land added by them to the sd town or appropriated to the public uses, together with a plan thereof, the rights of the several owners & tenants of the lots of land so to be added to the town & not appropriated to the public uses are nevertheless saved to them.

And be it further enacted that from & after the last day of December which shall be in the year of our Lord 1780 the sd Court of Appeals, High Court of Chancery, General Court & Court of Admiralty shall hold their sessions in the apartments prepared for them by the sd directors in the sd Halls of justice; that the first meeting of general assembly after the same day shall be in the said Capitol, that the clerks of the two houses of Assembly and of the several courts before mentioned, shall previously cause to be removed thither at the public expense the records, papers, and other things belonging to their respective offices, and that the keeper of the public jail shall in like manner cause all prisoners in his custody to be removed to the public jail to be built as before directed, which shall thenceforward be deemed and used as the public jail spoken of by the laws whether heretofore or hereafter passed.

DRAFT OF A BILL FOR RAISING SIX ADDITIONAL BATTALIONS OF INFANTRY ON THE CONTINENTAL

Whereas it has been thought necessary by the American Congress that the armies of the United States should be augmented

On October 15, 1776, the House of Delegates appointed Mr. Treasurer (R. C. Nicholas), Nelson, Bullitt, Jefferson, and Smith to prepare this bill. On

to eighty eight battalions, to be enlisted to serve during the continuance of the present war unless sooner discharged, & that fifteen of the said battalions should be furnished by this Commonwealth; and the said Congress by their resolutions have engaged to give to every noncommissioned officer & private soldier a present bounty of twenty dollars (an annual bounty of a suit of clothes, to consist for the present year of two linen hunting shirts, two pr of overalls, a leathern or woollen waistcoat with sleeves, one pr of breeches, a hat or leathern cap, 2 shirts, 2 pr of hose, & 2 pr of shoes, amounting in the whole to the value of 20 dollars or that sum to be paid to each soldier who shall procure those articles for themselves) & to provide the following portions of lands to be given at the close of the war, or whensoever discharged to the officers and soldiers who shall engage in the said service, or to their representatives if slain by the enemy; to wit, to every noncommissioned officer or soldier one hundred acres, to every ensign one hundred and fifty acres, to every Lieutenant two hundred acres, to every captain three hundred acres, to every Major four hundred acres, to every Lieutt. Colonel four hundred & fifty acres & to every Colonel five hundred acres.

And whereas there are already in the Continental service eight battalions of regulars raised in this Commonwealth who were enlisted to serve for certain terms only, and one other battalion, formerly in the same service & dissolved by the expiration of the time of their enlistment, has been ordered to be reestablished by new levies; which nine battalions are to be taken as part of the fifteen from this commonwealth provided they shall re-enlist for the continuance of the war and there are also in the service of this commonwealth (nine companies of marines &) five companies of land forces stationed at different posts on the river Ohio whom it may be expedient to engage in the six new battalions now necessary to be raised to complete the said number of fifteen battalions.

Oct. 24th, they added to these, Jones, Fleming, Henry, and Read. The bill was reported by Jefferson on Oct. 28th, and read the first time. Read the second time on the following day, and passed on Nov. 2d. This is printed from the original draft in Jefferson's handwriting. The act as adopted is given in Hening, IX, 179.

Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia that it shall & may be lawful for the governor with the advice of his privy council & he & they are hereby required to take such measures as to them shall seem most expedient for engaging the said nine battalions & also so many (of the sd Marines &) of the companies stationed on the Ohio as shall be willing to be of the Armies of the United States on the new establishment before recited; & for that purpose to give recruiting Powers to the officers commanding the same, or to send special Commissioners if that measure shall appear more effectual, or to adopt any other ways or means most likely to procure their speedy enlistment.

['And whereas it will be necessary, in order to augment & form the said Marines into one complete battalion, that an additional company or companies should be raised for that purpose, but the numbers which may be wanting of officers & men being now unknown, the appointing & raising the same cannot be precisely directed, be it therefore enacted that it shall & may be lawful for the governor by warrant under his hand to authorize such of the County committees as he shall think proper to appoint such & so many captains & other inferior officers as may be wanting completely to officer the said battalion, who shall immediately proceed to raise their quotas of men : & in case any officers of the Marines engaging in the sd service shall fail to raise the quota of men hereafter prescribed for his office before the day of next it shall be lawful for the governor with the advice of the privy council either to appoint another in his stead or to continue him as shall appear most likely to expedite the raising his said quota.

And be it farther enacted that the Committees for the counties of Fincastle, Botetourt, East-Augusta, & Hampshire shall each of them appoint one captain, 2 Lieutenants, one Ensign & four

Then follows this clause, which is stricken out: "a committee of three persons shall to be chosen by joint ballot of both houses shall proceed immediately." And Jefferson has written: "Govt. to re-enlist 9 former battalions, marines & Ohio garrisons. T. Nelson, R. H. Lee, etc.”

"Govr. to direct commees shall No. companies to compleat Battalions of marines."-T. J.

sergeants to be added to the officers of the five companies stationed on the Ohio or to such of them as shall be willing to engage as aforesaid in the Continental service & shall with them be formed into one battalion; provided that if all or any of the officers of the sd five companies stationed on the Ohio shall refuse to enter into the sd service it shall be lawful for the Committee of the county from which such officer or officers received his or their appointment to appoint others in their room.] '

Quotas from And for raising the sd six additional battalions be

the several it further enacted that the committee for the district

counties. of West Augusta shall have power to appoint ten captains, twenty Lieutenants & ten Ensigns & the committees for the other counties in this commonwealth to appoint the following officers respectively

to wit, the Commee for the county of

142

100

124

85

46

85

Augusta 1. Captain, 2 Lieutenants, & 1 Ensign & 4 serjeants (abt.

2000) [167] 149

Bedford (abt. 1400) [119] 104

Botetourt I. Captain, 2 Lieutenants, & 1 Ensign & 4 serjeants (abt. 1600)

[126] 119

Brunswick (abt. 1200, [95] 90

Buckingham (600 excluse officers) + 50 [51] 40

Berkeley (abt. 1200 Mr Wood) [95] 90

70. Caroline (983) [77] 72

25.

Charles City (350) [27] 26

58. Charlotte (812 militia) [64] 61

1 The paragraphs in brackets are stricken out.

? In the bill as passed, from one to three officers are assigned to each county, and it is thus apparent that this list was merely an approximation of the probable recruits from each county, the figures to the right having been first written, and then struck out, those to the left representing the ultimate conclusion of the committee.