unpleasantness due to difference in
rank. A second decision reached in Williamsburg was one that resounded
along the Atlantic seaboard--to call a conference of the colonial
governors to consider ways, and especially means, of waging the coming
campaign. Alexandria was chosen as a meeting place and the day set was
April 14, 1755.

In the meantime, the English warships _Sea Horse_ and _Nightingale_
under command of Admiral Keppel arrived in Alexandria. Two of His
Majesty's regiments disembarked from the sea-grimed ships and the
Redcoats in formation marched to the "northwest of the town" led by
Colonel Sir Peter Halket and Colonel Dunbar. The humbler citizens had
never seen such a sight; neither had the Redcoats, and up went British
noses for all things Colonial. The regulars promptly dubbed the militia
"Bobtails."

After the exchange of several letters, Colonel Washington "volunteered"
to go unpaid with General Braddock on the campaign, and he came to
Alexandria to attend the governors' conference and whip his militia into
shape. Again he occupied the City Tavern as headquarters.

All at once the town was overrun with governors, His Majesty's royal
representatives. From Williamsburg came Dinwiddie; from Maryland,
Governor Sharpe; from Massachusetts, Governor Shirley; from New York,
Governor De Lancey; and from Pennsylvania, Governor Morris. Neither
dress nor ceremony had yet been curtailed by the drabness of Democracy.
Each governor arrived with a retinue of secretaries, attendants, and
aides; each by coach, decorated in gilded scrolls and colorful arms,
drawn by four to six horses; each governor resplendent in wig and
powder, silken hose, coats of brocade, velvet or broadcloth, waistcoats
of satin or damask, embroidered and braided, shirts of finest linen,
betucked and belaced, and attended by servants in livery as colorful as
their masters. The town was packed. Taverns were full, and private
houses were put at the disposal of these visitors. Dinners and balls
followed the serious councils of the day, which lasted until eleven or
twelve o'clock at night. The market place rang with the continuous
drilling of the Bobtails. Redcoats were everywhere. The ladies of the
town vied with one another in presents of potted woodcock and delicious
cake to the distinguished guests.

It has been one hundred and ninety-four years since the citizens of
Alexandria were treated to the panoply of five of His Majesty's royal
governors