I was in the highest hopes you were at or near Georgetown. Mr. Singleton, by whom I wrote, was fully informed of the contents of the letter, and the necessity of its being delivered with all possible dispatch. He had a letter for Col. Lushington, and promised to have it delivered in Georgetown the day following the date of your letter, by 10 o'clock, and yours I expected would have got to you by one in the morning, and you on your march before sunrise. Never did I feel such a vexatious disappointment in all the course of my life. I beg you will make enquiry into the cause of the delay, as you write that mine never got to your hands until this morning.
Somebody deserves nothing short of hanging.
I am afraid you will now arrive too late to be of any service, unless the goods should be got up the rivers, and your force deter the enemy from following them. Since I wrote you, the enemy's intentions have been again confirmed by repeated accounts. I need not urge you to use all possible dispatch in marching to the relief of the place, as your own zeal will stimulate you to do all in your power. I beg you will let me hear from you respecting the progress the enemy has made, and if they have attempted anything, and how far they were successful. If the enemy has not made the descent, you will wait in the neighborhood of Georgetown until you hear further from me.