Battaile Muse (1751–1803) was the son of Col. George Muse (1720–1790) of Caroline County, Va., who served with GW in the Virginia Regiment during the Fort Necessity campaign, and Elizabeth Battaile Muse (d. 1786). Muse had settled in Berkeley County by the early 1780s and was agent for George William Fairfax's Virginia estates after his departure for England. In November 1784 GW committed to Muse's agency the collection of rents from his lands in Berkeley, Frederick, Fauquier, and Loudoun counties. As GW admitted to Muse, his knowledge of the status of his tenants in the area was meager. Not only were rents in arrear, but the terms of the leases frequently had been violated, particularly in the transferring of tenancy. GW allowed Muse a 6 percent commission for collecting the rents. He also apparently allowed him considerable leeway in making decisions concerning the tenants although Muse was to report frequently to GW by letter and to bring his accounts to Mount Vernon at regular intervals. Muse served as GW's land agent until 1791.