GW wrote in his diary that he left to begin his tour of the southern states. Leaving around 11:00 in the morning, he traveled from Philadelphia to Chester, Pa., on roads “exceedingly deep, heavy & cut.” His party lodged at Mary Withy’s inn that night.

GW wrote to George Clendenin, the founder of Kanawha County in present-day W.Va. GW had previously asked him for help in disposing of his lands along the Kanawha River; in this letter, GW asked Clendenin to stop all matters regarding the settlement of these lands, because GW had recently sold his holdings there to John Joseph de Barth of France.