o dinner, and there was
much talk, with no satisfactory result; whereupon, somewhat chafed, he
required Winslow to answer in writing, yes or no, whether the provincial
officers would obey the commander-in-chief and act in conjunction with
the regulars. Thus forced to choose between acquiescence and flat
mutiny, they declared their submission to his orders, at the same time
asking as a favor that they might be allowed to act independently; to
which Loudon gave for the present an unwilling assent. Shirley, who, in
spite of his removal from command, had the good of the service deeply at
heart, was much troubled at this affair, and wrote strong letters to
Winslow in the interest of harmony.[415]

[Footnote 413: _Order concerning the Rank of Provincial General and
Field Officers in North America. Given at our Court at Kensington, 12
May, 1756._]

[Footnote 414: _Winslow to Shirley, 21 Aug. 1756._]

[Footnote 415: _Correspondence of Loudon, Abercromby, and Shirley, July,
Aug. 1756. Record of Meeting of Provincial Officers, July, 1756. Letter
and Order Books of Winslow._]

Loudon next proceeded to examine the state of the provincial forces, and
sent Lieutenant-Colonel Burton, of the regulars, to observe and report
upon it. Winslow by this time had made a forward movement, and was now
at Lake George with nearly half his command, while the rest were at Fort
Edward under Lyman, or in detachments at Saratoga and the other small
posts below. Burton found Winslow's men encamped with their right on
what are now the grounds of Fort William Henry Hotel, and their left
extending southward between the mountain in their front and the marsh in
their rear. "There are here," he reports, "about twenty-five hundred
men, five hundred of them sick, the greatest part of them what they
call poorly; they bury from five to eight daily, and officers in
proportion; extremely indolent, and dirty to a degree." Then, in
vernacular English, he describes the infectious condition of the fort,
which was full of the sick. "Their camp," he proceeds, "is nastier than
anything I could conceive; their----, kitchens, graves, and places for
slaughtering cattle all mixed through their encampment; a great waste of
provisions, the men having just what they please; no great command kept
up. Colonel Gridley governs the general; not in the least alert; only
one advanced guard of a subaltern and twenty-four men. The cannon and
stores in great confusion." Of the camp a