SHIRLEY WORKS TO REINFORCE BRITISH POSITIONS ON THE FRONTIER AT THE DAWN OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

Autograph document signed by Secretary of the Province Josiah Willard and Governor William Shirley. Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, 8 February 1754. 4 pages, approx. 7 3/4 x 9 3/4 in. 

Orders from Gov. William Shirley to Capt. John North and Lt. Thomas Fletcher, commanders at two nearby forts. Shirley begins by stating he has "received Intelligence that a Considerable Party of French Subjects of the French King, have erected or are now building a Fort and forming a Settlement at a Place between the River Kennebeck and the River Chaudiere." This encroachment into Great Britain's territory went against an agreement Britain and France made at a Congress in Aix-la-Chapelle, "wherein it is mutually stipulated that neither of the said contracting Parties, should make new Settlements upon any part of the Lands in North America now in dispute between the said Nations of Great Britain and France, until the limits claimed by each Party shall be settled and Adjusted by the Commissaries of the said two Crowns." 

Shirley couldn't have the French establishing a fort in British territory. Therefore, he orders North and Fletcher to travel to this alleged fort and to follow these instructions: 

"declare to the Chief Officer there That you are come by Order from me To demand of him By what Right he presumes to erect a Fort or other Buildings upon that Land and to make any Settlement there. And upon his Answer or Refusal to give you a direct Answer, you must further inform the said Officer that you do by my Order and in the name of His Majesty the King of Great Britain require him forthwith to remove with the Soldiers and others under his Command off the same Ground as being within His Majesty’s Jurisdiction and claimed as such by His Majesty’s aforesaid Commissaries." 

At the time of writing, Shirley (1694-1771) was in his second term as the governor of Massachusetts Bay. After spending the first nearly 40 years of his life in England, Shirley came to Boston for work, receiving a position as advocate general in the admiralty court, where he actively sought to prosecute then-Governor Jonathan Belcher. Shirley eventually assumed the governorship in 1741-1749, where he is most remembered for bringing about united action against New France in King George's War and playing a major role in the successful capture of Louisbourg. 

He took a brief intermission to settle some affairs in Europe, then returned to Massachusetts, where he was governor again from 1753-1756. However, Spencer Phips acted as governor while Shirley led a military expedition to reinforce Fort Oswego in the French and Indian War. He additionally became commander-in-chief of North America, in which George Washington served under Shirley's command and the latter advocated for the former to command Fort Cumberland. 

Shirley's role as both governor and commander-in-chief were cut short following a series of poorly organized expeditions, political disputes and differences with Indian agent, Sir William Johnson; Shirley was dismissed from both roles by 1757. He finished his political career as governor of the Bahamas from 1760-1768 before passing away three years later. 

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