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Written in May of 1782, this letter makes sure of "unmolested passage" to young William Stoddard Williams. He was traveling between the Massachusetts towns of Deerfield, where he lived with his family, and West Stockbridge, where he was studying medicine with Erastus Sergeant. Massachusetts and the other 12 colonies were at war with Great Britain and a member of the Williams family, many of whom sided with the English, ran the risk of being stopped by patriots. The war was over but there had been no peace treaty yet and peoples' feelings were still divided.