GW in Alexandria, Va., where he spent the day “Under Arms” and chaired the Committee of Fairfax County in the evening.  As chairman, he directed proceedings to the Virginia Gazette for publication. The resolutions, which appeared in the issue for 2 Feb., deemed it “indispensably necessary” for the county to provide ammunition for a voluntary militia. The funds for the ammunition would come from a tax of three shillings per person in the county. The committee also resolved to create a voluntary county militia consisting of men ages sixteen to fifty. The militia was meant to provide the colonies with their own system of defense and security so that it was unnecessary for Great Britain to keep a standing army in the colonies and impose taxes for its support.

Thomas Johnson wrote GW from Annapolis, Md., to aid Normand Bruce in completing and disseminating a pamphlet intended to promote the manufacture of coarse linens that used hemp rather than flax.  Bruce, who lived in Frederick County and owned mill, visited Mount Vernon on 30 January.