Written in secretarial hand with the following close of the letter in Shirley's autograph "I am with esteem Sir, your most assured Friend and Humble Servant, W. Shirley."

The letter discusses attempts to raise troops from Connecticut and elsewhere, including the use of impressments, to guard the frontiers, terms of enlistment and pay as well as other military matters during the waning days of the War with France. In addition there is some discussion of sending delegates among the Six Nations: "The sending out Parties of English Men with the Indians of the Six Nations, I strongly recommended to the Court & repeated my instances of the absolute necessity of our maintaining our interest in them in that way. But after all I could prevail nothing."                                                                                                                                                                             

American National Biography, vol. 19, pp., 863-864;  Dictionary of American Biography, vol. ix, pp., 120-122