The Virginia Gazette

Mr. PURDIE,

I REMEMBER seeing an account of capt. Cresap's rifle company shooting at a shingle that was held in one of the men's hands, and shot through by his brother.

This was mentioned to be a very extraordinary thing, as indeed it was; but it is no more than what has been frequently done by the Virginia riflemen. I have known many people do it. At the distance of 200 yards, two men have shot into the same hole, in a paper not bigger than a dollar; and this mr. S. Athawes of London can attest, for he saw it done when he was in Frederick county, Virginia, and carried home with him the paper, through which it was but just discernible that two balls had passed. The riflemen now in our regiments declare, that they can hit a man every shot if within 250 yards, and his head if within 150. As some proof of this, I can mention what happened a little while ago on one of the creeks near Williamsburg. A man had got into a canoe, out of a boat, upon seeing the riflemen, and was paddling off, when they hailed him. On his refusing to stop, they fired ahead of him; and the man still continuing his flight (thinking that by this time he had got out of their reach, as he has since confessed) the officer ordered his people to fire at him, which three of them did, when one shot went through the canoe, another through the man's waistcoat, brushing a button on his breast, and the third through his hat, within half an inch of his head. And last summer our riflemen under col. Lewis gave convincing proofs that their dexterity in shooting was not confined to mere butts and marks, or harmless game, but could be applied with incredible truth when aimed at the bravest and most formidable of all enemies ; for in that engagement there were more Indians killed than there were of French and Indians in Braddock's defeat, and more than I ever heard were killed in any engagement during the last war. And although the Indians, according to their manner of fighting, never fire twice from the same tree, and can very seldom be seen in an engagement, and when seen discover but their head and breast, or shoulders, yet great numbers of them were killed and wounded, and it is said that all the dead were found shot through the head or breast. I wish that some abler pen was employed to celebrate the praises of our men in that engagement, and in major M'Donald's. It would then be seen with how much justice they said in their glorious resolves, that they could march and shoot with any troops in the world.