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On December 9, 1786, officers of Regulator companies in Hampshire County met to organize companies and regiments "in the present movement of the people" to counteract any action by the pro-government militias. A committee of 17 men, including Captain Daniel Shays, was appointed to oversee the plan. Addressed to "the good people of the town of Deerfield," this letter asks that officers call their companies together and get them organized. Deerfield did not support the Regulation, however, and it is probable that this letter was sent to the Hampshire Gazette to promote anti-Regulator sentiment. William Butler began publication of the Hampshire Gazette on September 6, 1786, in Northampton, Massachusetts. The mission of the newspaper was to inform the public about the issues pertaining to the ongoing conflicts. Butler was decidedly on the government side of the issues.