Title: From Alexander Hamilton to James McHenry, 7 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: McHenry, James

Sir,
N York April 7th. 1800

I shall doublly bear in mind the Intimation of Mrs. Adams—and shall take great pleasure in fulfilling her wish if there shall be occurrences which shall render it not incompatible with the good of the Service.
On the disposition of the troops for the ensuring summer I shall ere long make you an official communication.
Secy. of War


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Oliver Wolcott, Junior, 7 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Wolcott, Oliver

Dr. Sir
New York April 7. 1800

I thank you for the disposition shown to accommodate Mr. Robertson. When I saw him some days ago, he hoped that the matter would be placed upon the footing which was indicated.
I would readily comply with the wish of Mr. Evans was I sure that it would not be a breach of propriety towards Mr. Madison. But if my memory does not deceive me there was a sort of understanding between us that there should be no disclosure but by mutual consent. You will be sensible that I ought to be peculiarly circumspect with regard to this Gentleman.
Adieu—Very truly Yrs

A Hamilton
O. Wolcott Esq


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 8 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth

Sir
New York April 8th.1800

I have received your letter of the twenty fourth of March. You will find its general object anticipated by mine of the 17th. of the same month, a copy of which is enclosed. I do not think it advisable materially to vary the plan indicated in that letter, as it is desirable that the troops for reinforcing General Wilkinson Should avail themselves of the Situation of the rivers in the Spring, for the purpose of repairing to their destination. But it appears to me nevertheless expedient that Lt. Newman’s detachment should proceed to Pittsburgh, and that instead of it an equal number of Brock’s command should be retained for the fourth Regiment. As to Lt. Claiborne’s detachment, it will be best to send it by water to reinforce the Batalion of the fourth in Georgia. Not being apprised of the position of Lt. Lewis’s recruits, I leave it to your discretion to incorporate them with the fourth Regiment or to send them to Pittsburgh and reserve an equal number of Brock’s command for the fourth Regiment. The Officers of any of the parties who do not belong to the fourth Regiment, are of course, to be separated, and ordered to Pittsburgh. You will be pleased therefore to give effect to the plan already indicated with these alterations.
The deficiency in the fourth Regiment can be supplied by recruits to be hereafter enlisted.
A substitute for Lt. Newmann’s Detachment as a guard to the prisoners at Frederick town must be found. Though the place be within my particular district yet the corps under my immediate command are so very remote from it, that I see nothing better than for you to furnish the requisite number from the troops at Harper’s ferry to be from time to time relieved.
The course you have taken in respect to Taylor’s company is perfectly proper, and conformable with the principle of the general plan. You will have seen that Spark’s company, as to the men, is also to be added to the fourth. The full complement for the lower parts of the Mississippi is already there. With the truest Esteem & regard I am Sir
Yr. ob. Servt.
General Pinckney


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Nathan Rice, 8 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Rice, Nathan

Sir
N York April 8th 1800

The Deputy Pay Master General, in a conversation which I have just had with him, stated to me that altho near three thousand dollars were due to the fourteenth regiment on the thirty first of October, yet pay and muster rolls were not received by him untill the close of January when no time was lost in taking the necessary measures for a settlement. He further states to me that pay and muster rolls were not received for the months of November and December till a few days ago. Of course the troops have had no pay for five months past. Discontent among the men is a natural effect of such delays. The commanding officer should be particularly careful to prevent them. I would thank you to inform me what has been the cause of delay, in sending the necessary vouchers to the D P M General.
Col Rice


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Aaron Ogden, 9 April 1800
From: Ogden, Aaron
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Sir
Elizabeth Town [New Jersey] April 9. 1800

I believe, there can be no doubt, but a fair construction of the 6th. Section of the “act for the better organizing of the troops of the United States” will warrant the appointment of officers from the line to act as assistants, to the principals of the Quarter-Master Generals department, in the several military districts; and that from this source, gentlemen of more respectability and more competent knowledge, may be obtained, at far less expence, than from any other.
To say nothing of the extensive correspondence, which must result from the great number of distinct objects, to which the attention of the department, must necessarily be called; I submit, with great deference, whether The receiving, arranging and consolidating very numerous returns, and transmitting them, as well to the Commanding General, as to the principal office of the department, at the seat of government. The keeping of exact accounts of all articles purchased and distributed, of all monies received and disbursed, and the making of proper entries in the books which must be opened, with all those various heads, and that unavoidable minuteness and particularity, which the nature of the business, and the mode of settling accounts, must necessarily require—The securing of a faithful discharge of the trusts which, of course, must be reposed in such an assistant, by the tie of military honor, and reputation, and the high responsibility which, by the articles of war, is attached to fraudulent conduct. The opportunity of leaving the attention and time of the principal Officer of the department, within the district, as free as circumstances may admit, to persue the more important and scientific parts of his duties and ready at all times, (without any thing being neglected) to discharge such functions and promptness. It is submitted, I say, with much deference, whether these considerations be not sufficient, to induce your concurrence in an opinion, in favor of the expedience of the allowance of an Officer from the line, for an assistant in the district assigned me.
Should I be so fortunate, as to have your approbation, I think, it is in my power to nominate a subaltern, who will be entirely competent to the services required, if the time of any one person, be sufficient therefor; which however, I at present, very much doubt but, should experiment shew the necessity of still further assistance, I shall in such case, only expect, an Office Clerk or Clerks, in the ordinary way.
The objection, arising from any disinclination, to fill up the station in the line, which might be thus left destitute, will not, I hope, be thought insurmountable, when it is considered, that there will be left, an entire sufficiency of Officers for the command of the men, which have been enlisted.
I have the honor to be,   with the most perfect respect. Your mo. ob. servant

Aaron Ogden.
Major General Alexander Hamilton.


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 10 April 1800
From: Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Dear Sir
Cantonment at Harpers Ferry [Virginia]April 10th: 1800

In pursuance of your general orders of the 28th: of March, I have designated Major William D. Beall of the 9th: Regiment, to act as Deputy Adjutant General. This is the officer I recommended to you by the last post, to be Deputy Inspector-General; when you know him, I am convinced you will be pleased with him. I shall postpone designating the other officers to receive the returns, till I am joined by the 10th: Regiment, and if you permit it, the Seventh.
I will be obliged to you to enable me to answer without delay, the enclosed letter from Col Parker; the fifer mentioned therein is of very great service in instructing the others.
I remain with great regard and esteem   Your most obedt. Servt

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Honble Major General Hamilton.


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 11 April 1800
From: Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Sir.
Cantonment at Harpers Ferry [Virginia]April 11th 1800.

I duly received your favour of the 27th Ultimo. The enclosed copy of a letter from me to Coll. Josiah Parker of Congress will shew you the present situation of Capt. Blackburn. From his (Coll. P’s) letter you will find an application made to me relative to Capn. Sparkes and my reference to you.
I remain with great respect & esteem   your most obedt. Servt.

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Honble Major Genl. Hamilton.


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from James McHenry, 14 April 1800
From: McHenry, James
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Philad. 14th April. 1800
private
Dear Sir,
I understood from you some time since, that you had directed the suspension of the recruiting service for the 12 new regiments, and ordered all recruits and officers thereto belonging to their respective Regiments. Col Moore, I find, has not yet received these orders, and it would appear that some of the Regiments Southerly are still recruiting. I mention this to bring the ⟨subject⟩ to your recollection, in case any circumstance may have suspended your orders.
Yours truely & affy.

James McHenry

Have you thought of the remaining subject or a bill therefor of my report?

Majr. Gen. Hamilton.


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 14 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth

Sir
N Y. April 14th. 1800

I have received your letter of the third instant with its enclosure.
The arrangement of which you have sent me a copy perfectly agrees with my instructions. Previously to the receipt of your letter of the third instant, I had written one to you on the eighth, a duplicate of which is enclosed. The supplementary instructions contained in this will be observed except in one particular. As the detachments of Lieutenants Lewis and Claiborne will make up the deficiency in the fourth regiment it will not be necessary to retain any part of the troops under the command of Captain Brock in place of Lt Newman’s detachment.
I thank you for your observations relative to the step, and shall rely greatly on your judgment and accuracy in establishing the foundation of the system which I am preparing.
Major Beall will be appointed Deputy Inspector General in your district.
I shall write to the Scty. of War on the subject of funds for your Quarter Master, in aid of any application which you may have made to him.
With great respect & esteem   I am Sir   Yr Obed ser.
G. Pinckney


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Nathan Rice, 14 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Rice, Nathan

Sir
New York April 14th 1800

I have received your letter of the 3rd. instant with the inclosures respecting Henry Collins. It has been my rule to grant those Soldiers a discharge who may have been inlisted under the age of eighteen, and who at the time of the application for their discharge have not attained that Age. Should you on further examination find Collins to be thus situated, you will cause him to be discharged taking from him the public clothing & endeavouring if practicable to obtain the reimbursement of the bounty paid him.
Lieutt. Winter Church alluded to in my letter 17 March belongs to your regiment which by mistake was denominated the 15.
with true consideration   I am Sir   Your obed Servt:
Colonel Rice


Title: General Orders, 15 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander,Ellery, Abraham R.
To:

New York 15th April 1800
Major William Dent Beall of the ninth Regiment of Infantry having been appointed Deputy Inspector General for the District under the Command of Major General Pinkney he is to be respected and obeyed accordingly

Abraham R ElleryAsst Adjt General


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from William North, [15 April 1800]
From: North, William
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Sir,
[New York, April 15, 1800]

The General order of the 11th of March last a copy of which as far as it related to the recruiting service is enclosed, was sent immediately to General Pinckney, & it was supposed it would have been distributed by his order to those whom it might concern without his command. Lt Colo Comd Moore is understood to be under the Command of Maj Gen Pinckney, as are the Regts of which the Secretary at War writes. The returns of those Officers, are received through Gen Pinckney.
I am with the greatest Respect   Sir Your Obt Ser

W NorthAdj Gen
April 15 1800


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Aaron Ogden, 15 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Ogden, Aaron

Sir
New York April 15th. 1800

In compliance with your request I proceed to draw an outline of the duties which as Deputy Quarter [Master] General of the Troops within my immediate command you will have to perform.
The duties of the Department of Quarter Master General as they have been understood in our service are subdivided into two principle branches, one of which has been denominated Military the other Civil—the first relating to the positions and movements of an army the other to its supply.
The first branch embraces chiefly 1 the choice and distribution of ground for the quartering and encampment of troops whether with a view to any enemy or to the exercise and accommodation of troops and the disposition of them in matters or rank according to the established order of battle. 2 The regulation of marches as to routes halting grounds, transportation, and the carrying distance of baggage and Stores.
In the execution of this branch a knowlege of the Country which is at any time the scene of Operations is indispensable. For this purpose good maps are to be procured or made. These are to serve for the information of the Commanding General as well as for that of the chief of the Quarter Masters Department. When a position is to be taken or has been taken, the surrounding country as well as the immediate ground is to be carefully reconnoitered with the approaches to & outlets from it.
A careful eye must be had to all intermediate ground best fitted for posts either to attack or defend to the facilities for or difficulties of opening new routes—to all the circumstances which may serve as obstacles against the attack of an enemy or as aids in offending and annoying him. Maps are to be made which shall present the military points—mountains morasses defiles and the other circumstances above alluded to.
The Second branch embraces chiefly the providing of quarters, grounds for incampments, the means of transportation by land or water, Tents and articles of camp Equipage—Forage fewel Straw and stationary and the superintendence of the distribution & issuing of these Articles. The business of guides and expresses is also an appendage of this Department. And sometimes the management of intelligence is confided to it.
It is to be understood that according to our present system, there are two officers at the seat of Government—A Purveyor of supplies & a Superintendant of Military stores.
Of the former (who is Tench Francis Esquire) it is the duty under the Direction of the Secy. of War to procure all supplies for the army which are not of necessity to be procured in the field, or at particular military stations.
Of the latter (who is Samuel Hodgson Esquire) it is the duty to receive and cause to be issued all military supplies to keep accounts of the issues and to call to account all who are charged with making them in detail.
The Department of War has likewise certain Agents at particular places who execute occasional services and in many instances have been employed to procure and to furnish supplies. Of these Agents the following are known to me—E. Stevens Esq. N. Y.—Jona. Jackson Masstts. Archd. Crary R. Island. Jacob Sheaffe N. Hampshire. Jedh. Huntington Connecticut. Elijah Paine Vermont. Jas. McRea N. Car. Edd. Carrington, Virginia. You are informed that John Wilkins Esq. as Quarter Master General is particularly attached to the Western Army under General Wilkinson. James Miller Esquire is his assistant at the seat of Government and the person there with whom you are ordinarily to correspond.

There are also as you know contractors at different places, who besides the business of supplying provisions, have been and in part still are charged with procuring articles requisite in the Quarter Masters Department for which they are allowed a Commission.
Of the aid of these different descriptions of persons you must avail yourself in the execution of your Office.
It is my wish that the actual procuring of supplies and especially the disbursement of money for them should be separated from the Quarter Master General and his immediate assistants and that his province should be to direct what is to be procured relatively to the objects of his Department in addition to the articles which are provided and furnished through the Officers at the seat of Government, and to superintend the persons who procure the objects & make the expenditures. It seems to me more advisable that he should direct and watch over those who are to provide and pay, than that he should himself be charged with this species of service and responsibility. This separation will enable him to attend better to his military Duties—will make him a check rather than an Agent in money transactions—and will save him from the jealousy and clamour inseparable from those who are entrusted with them.
It will be a part of your duty to make from time to time Reports & Estimates of articles, which are necessary to be provided in your department; in order that after they shall have been examined by me, they may be submitted to the Secretary of War, or other proper Officer at the seat of Government.
You are to take care that all Quarter Masters Articles required for the Troops under my immediate command are duely furnished upon proper Returns. You are also to see that all General Orders, as it respects the Officers of your Department, are punctually executed.
When you deem it necessary you may address yourself immediately to the Secretary of War upon matters within the sphere of your Office.
Colo. Ogden


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Charles Carroll of Carrollton, 18 April 1800
From: Carroll, Charles (of Carrollton)
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Dear Sir
Annapolis 18th April 1800

I am obliged to you & Mr. Church for your polite attention in giving me the information contained in your letter of the 25th. past, not that I am anyways interested in the sale of Mr. Sterretts land, for until the receipt of yr. letter I did not even know that he possessed any land in that part of the country, & of course was never in treaty with his trustees about it. I hope Mr. Church will secure the repayment of his large claim, tho’ it must be the work of time, should he purchase the tract for $92,000.
We have strange reports circulated among us respecting the prevalence of Jacobinical principles in your State; it is asserted with confidence by the antifederal party here, that all your electors will vote for Mr. Jefferson as President; if such an event should really happen, it is probable he will be chosen; of such a choice the consequences to this country may be dreadful. Mr. Jefferson is too theoretical & fanciful a statesman to direct with steadiness & prudence the affairs of this extensive & growing confederacy; he might safely try his experiments, without much inconvenience, in the little Republick of St. Marino, but his fantastic trickes would dissolve this Union. Perhaps the miseries of France & more especially the Government of Buonaparte may have weaned him from his predilection for revolutions. I once saw a letter of his, in which among several others was contained this strange sentiment “that to preserve the liberties of a people, a revolution once in a century was necessary.” A man of this way of thinking, surely may be said to be fond of revolutions; yet possibly were he the chief Magistrate he might not wish for a revolution during his presidency.
I beg my respects to Mrs. Hamilton & to be kindly remembered to General Schuyler. I am with very great regard & esteem
Dear Sir   Yr. most hum. Servt.

Ch. Carroll of Carrollton


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from John Wilkins, Junior, 18 April 1800
From: Wilkins, John, Jr.
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Sir
Pittsburgh 18th. April 1800

When I received orders that the Garrison at Fort Wayne was to be reduced to one Company, I directed the Qr. Master at Detroit, to remove the surplus Teams & Quarter Master Stores from the former to the latter Post, and to discharge the Assistant Quarter Master at Fort Wayne. On mentioning it to Colo. Hamtramck, he observed that it was improper in me to do it without the orders of the Commanding Officer—which induced me to countermand the directions I had given, not that my opinion of the propriety of my removing them was changed, but that it was my duty to submit to his determination as my superior Officer. The Colo. informed me he would write to you on the subject, which is the reason of my troubling you with the motives which influence my opinion.
The practice has hitherto been in this country, when Stores were required at any Post for the Quarter Master General, to draw them for its supply from any place where he had them Deposited. The Commanding Officer has ordered the supplies, the Quarter Master General has seen that they were provided. If he had them Deposited at any Post convenient to where the supplies were required, he drew them from that Deposite, if not, he purchased. The Quarter Master General must have Stores deposited some where, no place more safe than in a Fort. When he wants Stores for any part of the Army, he draws on this deposite. It is very different when stores have been issued exclusively for a Garrison in which case the Quarter Master General has no power over them.
When orders are issued for reducing a Post, it is certainly necessary that the Quarter Master General should attend to the reduction of the expences within his Department. When the Garrison at Fort Wayne was to be considerably diminshed I considered it no longer necessary to keep a Quarter Master, a number of Teames and a surplus quantity of Quarter Master Stores, and therefore gave directions, that the commanding Officer should be furnished with what Stores he thought requisite, taking his receipt for them, remove a part of the Teames and the surplus Quarter Master Stores, by this means lessening his expences, as the Garrison was lessened.
Colo. Hamtramck objected to the alteration in the Quarter Master Department at Fort Wayne, as being done without his consent or approbation. I acted on the order for reducing the Post. Responsibility must rest somewhere. If the responsibility is not with the Quarter Master General, there ought to be an order that no Stores are to be removed from a place of Deposite, without the orders of the Commanding Officer of the District, and whenever such order is issued it ought to specify the Stores that are to be removed, and the alterations which are to take place in the Quarter Master Department.
I have the Honour to be Sir   with great respect   your obedt. Servt.

Jno. Wilkins, Jr
Major General HamiltonNew York


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to James McHenry, 19 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: McHenry, James

Sir,
N. Y. April 19th. 1800

I have the honor to send you enclosed, for your information, a Copy of a letter which I have written to Colonel Ogden.
With
Dep. Qr. Master’s Duty
Secy. of War


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 19 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth

Sir,
N. Y. April 19, 1800

I send you enclosed for your information a Copy of a letter which I have written to the Deputy Qr. Master General within my district— Sketching the outlines of the duty of that Officer.
With
Genl. Pinckney


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 21 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth

Sir,
N York April 21st. 1800

I have received your two letters of the tenth and eleventh instant.
You will have been informed by the General order, before this, of the appointment of Major Beall as Deputy Inspector General.
I consider it as entirely within your competency to order the seventh regiment as well as the tenth or any other annexed to your command to repair to your Head Quarters wherever they may be.
I do not think it proper that men of colour should be enlisted, but it is certainly proper in itself that persons who can be useful in instructing others should be retained, on a special compensation, for the purpose. However I have written on the subject to the S of War, the strictness sometimes excessive of the Accounting officers rendering me very anxious in authorizing expenses out of the regular course.
Your remarks relative to the case of Captain Sparks perfectly conform to some that I have made in reply to a similar application. However disposed I might have been to satisfy the request of Governor Sevier yet I could not think it proper to depart from the general rule which has been established.
G. Pinckney


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Nathan Rice, 21 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Rice, Nathan

Sir
N Y. April 21. 1800

The resignation of Captain Babbit is accepted, and his pay and emoluments will cease on the fifteenth of May next. You will inform him accordingly.
Col. Rice


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Charles Wilkes, 22 April 1800
From: Wilkes, Charles
To: Hamilton, Alexander

[New York] Tuesday Morning 22nd. April 1800
Alexander Hamilton Esqe.
Dear sir
Mr Robert C Johnson placed in your hands some time ago, some papers relative to lands in Tioga county & on the seneca lake, for the purpose I believe of having your opinion relative to the title. Among them were some conveyances from Watson & Greenleaf. I am concerned, with two other friends, in some part of these lands with Mr Johnson, and we were very desirous, for particular purposes, to get these papers. Mr Johnson informed us that he had or would apply to you for them. He has since left town & we understand from him that he has not obtained them. There is no objection on his part to our having them, on the contrary it is entirely his wish. If you see no impropriety in it, I should esteem it a great favor if you would let me have them, and I will undertake to return them to you if necessary. I beg you to excuse my giving you this trouble & to believe me with great esteem
Your obliged & obed

Chas Wilkes.

P.S. Will you permit me to remind you of the renewal of your notes? Your account, by the former ones being charged, is now overdrawn $5300.


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from William North, 23 April 1800
From: North, William
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Sir
Adjutant Generals Office [New York]April 23d 1800.

As an order has been Issued, directing A return of Arms, accoutrements &c &c wanting to complete the Corps which are to take the field, to be made to the Depty Qtr Master Genl; it appeared to me proper that a regulation respecting the number & quantity of the articles allowed or to be allowed to a Regt should be formed & Issued. I Know of no regulation respecting the Tents & some Other articles of camp equipage either formerly or at present, & without one is published there will be no uniformity in the demands; neither with respect to tents will there be any in the encampment, some Officers will think they ought to have more others will be content with less.
The Clothing to be furnished to the Troops is regulated by Law—but it is only from orders Issuing from the commander in Chief that Soldiers can know what they are allowed by the Government, in this view, perhaps it would be proper to add provisions to the list.
The Stationary has been reduced in the list, as low as it was thought would any way answer.
Soldiers ought certainly to be furnished with Straw, a bed sack can be easily carried by one of the men belonging to the tent, & a soldier would have no objection to pay a small matter for an article which would add so much to his comfort & render his situation so much more decent.
The forage to be allowed is as little as a horse can well do with—the calculation respecting it is

14
lb dw hay
@ 8/ per lb
1
}
1. 10.½pr day

& 24
oats
@ 3/ pr bush
9

7
lb Straw
say
 1.½

30 days is 56/3 pr horse—if a Brig Gen is supposed to keep two horses—The Article & price being as above, the public will save about a dollar a month—if the articles are higher they will pay some thing more than is now allowed Viz 16 dolls pr month, & so of other officers in proportion. There certainly ought to be fixed quantity of food for a horse, & it should be at the Option of the Officer to take it in kind or money. Officers may be placed in a situation where they can not feed their horses for double what is allowed them in money & it must be supposed to be the intention of government that they should be in a Situation at all times to do the duty required of them. The Whole is respectfully Submitted.
I am Sir   Your Obedt Huble Sert

W NorthAdjt Gen


Title: Enclosure: [Regulations Concerning Military Clothing and Equipment], [23 April 1800]
From: North, William
To: Hamilton, Alexander

The establishment with respect to Officers, nonComd Officers, Musicians, & Privates is designated by Law; and Instructions have been given respecting this point. If a Corps has not the Officers & men that the Law by which it was raised or exists, intended it should have, the deficiency must be noted in the wanting to complete.
The Wanting to Complete with respect to Clothing Arms accoutrements &c &c does not go to the whole number which should form the Corps if it was complete—but to those only who are actually in the Corps—it is the nonComd Officers & men who belong to the Reg~ or Corps, not those who do not, nor perhaps ever will, who are to be supplied. The strange calculations which have appeared in some of the Inspection returns has rendered this explanation necessary.
Each Officer, whether he serves on horseback or foot, whether he belongs to the military or Civil Staff of the Army, is to wear a sword. The Platoon Officers of Infantry are also to carry espontoons, which, as they will be furnished by the United States, are to be accounted for in the Inspection returns with the other articles of public property. Cadets, Sergeants Major, Quarter Master sergeants, Senior & Junior Musicians are to be furnished with a Sword, Sword belt, & Scabbard each. Cadets, Serjeants major, Qtr master serjeants, Sergeants, Corporals, Artifficers & privates are each to carry a Musket, with bayonet, bayonet belt & scabbord, cartridge box & belt, 3 spare flints, a Screw driver, a gun worm, a brush & picker, to be attached to the cartridge box belt, a Knapsack, haversack, a Canteen.
Each Musician is to be furnished with a Knapsack a haversack, & a Canteen—each Drummer with a drum, with sling, or Carriage, & sticks complete & Drum Case, each fifer with a fife & fife case sling or carriage complete.
Each Non Commissioned Officer, including cadets, musician artificer & private, is allowed Yearly a hat, a Cockaid with an eagle, 1 Coat, 1 Vest, 2 pairs of woolen, 2 pair of linen overalls, 4 pairs shoes, 4 Shirts, 4 pair of Socks, 1 Blanket, one stock & clasp, & one pair of buckles.
To every Lt. Col. Comdr. of a Reg. there is allowed one large Marquee and one small tent for his attendants.
To each Major is allowed a marquee of a smaller size.
To each captain Commanding a Company a wall tent.
To the Lieutenants in a Company a wall tent.
To the Adjutant a wall tent.
To the Paymaster a wall tent.
To the Qtr Master a wall tent.
To the Surgeon of a Reg~ a wall tent.
To each mate belonging to a Regt. a wall tent.
To the Serg Major & Qtr. Master of each batalln a common tent.
To every two cadets, a common tent.
To the Senior musicians a common tent.
To the 1st and 2nd Serg of a Company a common tent.
To the other sergts of a Company a common tent.

To the Corporals of a Company a common tent.
To every five private soldiers including artificers or Musicians a common tent.
& to every tent a Sett of tent poles & pins & pin bag.
To each Reg~ a prison tent.
To each Battalion a regimental Colour is allowed.
To each Battalion twelve camp Colours.
To each Marquee and tent a camp kettle with a case & wooden bowl. To every Non Commissioned Officer musician & Private a trencher or wooden plate.
To every tent occupied by private soldiers a spade and an axe each with a sling, to every section of a Company a pick axe with a sling.
On a march, the spade, axe, pick axe, camp kettle, bowls & trencher and tent pins are to be carried by the soldiers & not on the waggons.
To each Lt. Colo Comdd a Reg~ & each Major Comdg. a battalion, To each pay master, Qtr Master and adjutant, and to each Capt. or Officer commanding a Company an Orderly book, a book containing the articles of war, a book containing the regulations for the army, and an account book. To each surgeon & mate an account book. To each adjutant & Serg~ Major a book for details, & to each non Comd Officer & Private a small book.
To each Qtr M Sergeant a book for rects and deliveries to the battaln.
To each Field & Staff Officer, to the Officers of a company, & to the non Comd Staff of a Batallion half a quire of paper pr month. To each Quarter Master for the use of the reg ~ two papers of Ink powder, one hundred quills & ¼ lb wafers pr month and no other articles of Stationary.
Straw
To every non Commissioned Officer & Musician, artificer and private Soldier there is allowed a bundle of Straw weighing twenty pounds, every ten days whether in Camp or Quarters. Bed sacks will be provided by the Commanding Officers of Companies at the expense of the Soldiers for whose use they are furnished.
When forage is furnished by the public a ration shall consist of fourteen pounds of old hay, or 21 lt of New hay, eight quarts of oats, & Seven pounds of Straw.


Title: Jeremiah Olney to Alexander Hamilton and Oliver Wolcott, Junior, 23 April 1800
From: Olney, Jeremiah
To: Hamilton, Alexander,Wolcott, Oliver, Jr.

Dr. Sir
Providence the 23 Apl. 1800.

Permit me to recommend to your Civilities the Reverend Doctr. Enos Hitchcock, who is appointed a Deligate from this State Society to attend the Meeting of the Genl. Cincinnati to be held at Philadelphia on the first Monday in May next. He is a Gentleman of real merit—possessing all the requisites to render an acquaintance with him Valuable, and is a genuine Federalist—well attached to the Constitution and Government of the United States.
Yours with Sincere Esteem

Jereh. Olney
Maj. Genl. Hamilton N. York& Oliver Wolcott Esqe. Philadelph.


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Nathan Rice, 24 April 1800
From: Rice, Nathan
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Sir
Oxford [Massachusetts] April 24 1800

Colonel Peck the Martial at Providence hath applyed to me for a guard to take charge of some French Prisoners there. I have also received an application from Major Jackson of the 2d Regiment of Arts. & Engineers at Fort Wolcott to relieve a detachment of his men doing that duty, intimating, as he had other duty for them, a doubt of the propriety of their doing such duty. As by a late general order all the officers & men of the twelve new regiments were directed to join their respective corps, and not having received any instructions to detach any men from this post, I doubted my autherity to comply with the request.
With the utmost consideration   I am Sir your Obt Servt

N: Rice L Colo.command 14 Reg.
General Hamilton


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Alexander Richards, [24 April 1800]
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Richards, Alexander

Sir
[New York, April 24, 1800]

You will deliver the bearer a Cord of Wood for my use.
Yr humble serv

A HamiltonM G
New York April 241800

Mr. Alexander Richards Contractor


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Timothy Pickering, 25 April 1800
From: Pickering, Timothy
To: Hamilton, Alexander

[Philadelphia, April 25, 1800. Pickering’s endorsement on Hamilton’s letter to him dated April 24–25, 1800, reads: “answd. 25th.” Letter not found.]


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Nathan Rice, 25 April 1800
From: Rice, Nathan
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Oxford [Massachusetts] April 25. 1800
Sir
I have communicated to Lieut Flagg this day your information that the President had accepted his resignation.
There are a number of Soldiers in my regiment subject to fits, and are thereby rendered unfit for service. My Surgeon is of opinion they are incurable. Many of them are so sollicitous to obtain a discharge, they would gladly procure a man in their room. Would it not be adviseable to discharge them on these Terms?
On enquiry for the cause of the delay in forwarding the Muster & Pay rolls for my regiment to the 31st. of Octr. I find the different & various instructions receivd. from the pay Master Generals office in part the cause—but more, the neglect & inaccuracies of the officers of companies in making them out. After they were completed, I waited for orders, to make out the rolls for Novr. & Decer. some time, but not receiving any—they were made for those months seperately—& previously to their being forwarded, the Pay Master Genl. directed them made for both months—this caused delay. The Jany. rolls are forwarded. Those for February are completed—& those for March ordered to be made. Regularity in future shall be observed.

The Deputy Pay Master General has informed me that by information from you, the Secretary of War, & the Comptroller of the Treasury—the certificate of the Secretary of war will be necessary to Substantiate the claim of double rations, by the commanding officer of a Seperate Post. By the fourth Section of the act of Congress passd. the 3d of March 1797 and the construction of that act, by the Depy. Pay M General, I considered Myself entitled thereto, or I should not certainly have charged them, altho I have most zealously supported an œconomical Systim since I have been in Service—yet my extra expences, as the principal officer at this post, urges me to Request your influence and Support in this claim.
With the most perfect esteem   I am Sir your Ob Servant
N Rice Lt Colo Command& Commanding officerof the Brigade at Oxford
Major General Hamilton


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to James McHenry, 28 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: McHenry, James

N Y. April 28th. 1800
Sir
A letter just received from General Wilkinson contains the following—“I beg you to bear in mind that my continuance here will depend much on the Secretary of the navy, for I can not in prudence hazard my family on the gulph without a convoy which he has engaged to me for the tenth or twentieth of the ensuing month.”
I beg you to confer with the S of the navy without delay, in order that it may be ascertained whether any measures will be taken relative to a convoy, and if any, how soon they will be taken.
S of War


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to James McHenry, 29 April 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: McHenry, James

N Y. April 29th. 1800
Sir
Enclosed are copies of a letter from G North of the fifteenth instant, and of the General order of the eleventh of March. From these it would appear that the continuance of the recruiting service in the corps under the command of General Pinckney has proceeded from some misapprehension of my intentions. I have written however to the General on the subject mentioning that it was expected he would forward the order to the different corps in his district.
S of War


Title: General Orders, [April–May 1800]
From: Hamilton, Alexander,North, William
To:

[New York, April–May, 1800]
The duties and functions of Inspectors.
The Brigade Inspector is to inspect and muster the different Corps and Regiments in his Brigade once in every month and at such other times as may be directed.
At each inspection and muster he must actually see, as well every man who may be returned on parade, as also every man who may be returned Sick, confined or on guard, in or near the Camp or quarters. He will also make a list of the name of every man whom he may deem unfit for service setting forth the Corps or Company & Regiment to which he may belong, his age the time he may have served, and may yet have to serve and the reason in full why he ought to be discharged. He must likewise actually examine into the actual State of the clothing arms, amunition, Camp Equipage and stores—into the manner in which the several Books and Rolls are kept, into the situation of the Camp or quarters, in respect to order, regularity and cleanness, and into the general appearance, discipline, and police of each corps or Regiment. He must demand such further returns or explanations as may be necessary for complete information in respect to every matter and thing, which may be subject to his inspection and examination. He will on the back of each inspection return enter fully and faithfully his remarks respecting each particular object of his attention. The remarks on the Company returns will relate particularly to each company and those on the Regimental returns generally to the Regiment. Immediately after each general Inspection, he will forward the return which he has received together with his observations and remarks to the office of the Adjutant General or the principal officer of that department within the district to which they may belong, as the case may require or he may be specially directed. He will also at each muster, sign three muster Rolls of each respective company or Corps, which must correspond with Inspection Return, which Rolls, when signed must be delivered to the Paymaster of the Regiment or corps, or forwarded to the Deputy Paymaster General agreeably to such orders as have been or may be given respecting this Duty. He will receive from the adjutants and those officiating as such, in Seperate the regular returns of their respective Regiments or Corps, and from these form the Brigade returns, taking care that they agree with the last returns respectively. The Brigade returns must be signed by himself and the Brigadier General, and ordinarily delivered to the Division Inspector, the Deputy Adjutant General of the District or the adjutant General o’cording to local circumstances and as the case may require. He must receive through the Division Inspector or the Deputy Adjutant General or from the Adjutant General, as the case may be, all General and Division orders, which together with the orders and the details for the Brigade he will communicate to the adjutants and those who officiate as such in the respective corps of the Brigade each day at an orderly hour. He will receive at the Brigade parade from the adjutants and those officiating as such and there carefully examine all details which may be ordered from the different regiments and Corps, and if any of those detailed do not appear in every respect dressed and equipped agreeably to orders and the existing Rules and Regulations, such must be refused and others demanded that the deficiency may be immediately Supplied, and having formed these details—those for the division parade are to be led by him and there delivered to the Division Inspector to whom he is accountable for their appearance and every thing which concerns their number and fitness for the duty to be performed. The Brigade inspector is to attend at all Brigade parades, and must observe whether the troops are formed agreeably to the regulations, and must report to the commanding officer all deficiencies irregularities or deviations with respect to the exercise and manœuvers of the troops. It will be his duty to report in writing to his Brigadier every disorder, irregularity or deviation from the Rules & Regulations which he may at any time observe in regard to the general duties and police of the Brigade and which are not placed under the immediate superintendance of the Brigade Quarter-Masters, provided the same have not been duly rectified upon notice being given thereof to the Adjutant or proper officer of the corps where they may exist.
When a Brigade is formed in order of Battle or on a March the inspectors place is with the commanding Officer whose orders he is to execute, and when the troops are encamped, he is to see that the orders in respect to the defence of the camp be punctually executed.
The Division Inspectors are to a Division what the Brigade Inspectors are to a Brigade, and are to execute their functions in like manner. They attend the inspection of the Brigades in their Division with the Brigade Inspectors and, in their absence, inspect and muster them. They receive through the Adjutant General or Deputy Adjutant General of the district as the case may be all General orders which, with the Division orders and necessary details they communicate to the Brigade Inspectors—receive all returns from them and make returns of the Division, lead the guards and detachments destined to the grand parade, see that the regulations are complied with and in general attend to the discipline and police of the whole Division.
Wm NorthAdjt Genl & Asst Insp. General


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Louis Le Guen, 1 May 1800
From: Guen, Louis Le
To: Hamilton, Alexander

General Hamilton
Newyork 1er. May. 1800.
Cher Général
Lame Encorre Emue de Vos Procedés Généreux et Pleim de reconnoissance, je me Vois forcée D’executer ce que Vous m’avés Présent hier, En me Bornant a Vous remettre Cy-Joint La Modique Somme de Quinze Cents Dollars. Veuillés done Bien L’agreer, Et En meme Temps récevoir Lassurance, que Personne au Monde ne Vous Est plus respectueusement attachée, et Plus disposée que je ne Le Suis á Saisir toutes les occasions de Vous En témoigner toute ma Gratitude. Veuillés donc Cher General, Les faires naitre, et aussy d’Estre Bien Convincus de La Sinceritée de mes Sentiments, qui dureront autant que mon Exsistance.
Je Vous remet aussy inclus, Le Billet de Mrs church et Ludlow Sur Le dos du quel, Mon recus de 20 milles dollars que Ses Messieurs Mont rémis a Compte du Montant des 40 Milles. Veuillés Bien En Estre Dépositaire.

Aussy Cy Joint un ⟨-⟩ Compte de ce que Jai Payée á Monr. Burr, Compris Les Interets á 7.⅌% Sur Divers Sommes que Je lui ai Avancée, qui Ensemble Montent á $ 4196. 66/100. Veuillés Je Vous Pris avoir la Bontée, de regler avec Lui Ce Compte de Maniere á Ce quil puissent Estre Satisfait; il ma Promis Pour demain de régler avec Moy, pour la Somme qu’il me doie de 13200 Echue Le 15. du mois Dernier, affaire Seulle qui me retiens issy.
J’ay L’honneur D’Estre aves un respectueux Attachement Cher Général Votre trés humble Et tout devouée Serviteur L. Le Guen


Title: Enclosure: [Account with Le Guen], April 1800
From:
To:

April 1800.

Compte a Monrs Burr Pour Onoraire jusqua Ce jour
$2500.

Plus fait Compte de Son ordre a Mr. Green
250.

Compte D’Interet

Sur Dollars 11200 ce que jai avancée En trois

Sommes differentes et divers Epoques depuis Le

Mois de Juillet et Aout 1798 au 15 avril 1799

Pour 8 mois a raison de 7⅌%
522.66/100

Interet d’un An Sur Cette de 13200 dollars
 924.

Dollars
4196.66/100


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from John J. U. Rivardi, 1 May 1800
From: Rivardi, John J. U.
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Niagara [New York] May 1, 1800. “I am this moment honored with your letter of the 21st. of March.… About a year ago, The Tuscororas came to me, complaining of one of their horses having been killed.… I made in their presence imediate inquiries.… circumstances induced me To believe that Some Settlers of The landing place had been guilty of that offense. The Chiefs appeared To concur in the Same opinion & I wrote imediately To Mr. Chapin, informing him of the transaction & requesting him if possible To grant Some compensation—he answered that he could not do it without proofs of the fact having been perpetrated by white men.… Since that time the Indians mentioned that three of their horses instead of one were missing.… I repeated in vain my inquiries & had fences erected To Separate the ground adjacent to the Fort from the woods.… I am informed that the Chiefs of the Nation are now at Buffaloe Creek—but I Shall have them convened the moment they return To their Village. In The mean Time, I will Take man by man in garrison & by promises or threats exact whatever may have remained hidden respecting that transaction. My exertions To please the Indians have been So Uniform that I am confident the complaints were not Sanctioned by the heads of the Village.… They always expressed great attachment to me & manifested their concern when they understood that I might change Station. I Shall Strictly obey the orders contained in your letter.…”


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Nathan Rice, 2 May 1800
From: Rice, Nathan
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Oxford [Massachusetts] May 2d. 1800
Sir
I feel very forcibly the justice of your reprimand for the neglect, which has taken place in the Pay and Quarter Masters’ departments at this Post. Neither the Colonel, Pay, or Quarter Master, of the 15th. Regiment, is yet on the ground; And but few of the Stores in those departments, belonging to that Regt. have been brought to this post. No Field Officer of the 16th. Regiment is yet here. Nor hath the pay or quarter master thereof, as they inform me, sufficient Documents to determine what articles of cloathing are on hand. The Quarter Master hath not yet, even recivd into his possession, or receipted for, the Articles in his department. The distance of the recruiting posts, from this place the non attendance of the officers—their inexperience, and want of attention; and punctuality hath thrown a most unpleasant burthen on me. I have indea⟨voured⟩ to act in every department. My Pay Master hath handed me the enclosed letter as his apology. I will try to introduce greater punctuality. I find it exceedingly difficult to convince the officers of the necessity of attention to this point.

I am sorry to have occasion to communicate the arrest of an officer of the 16th Regt. Lieut Danforth, on charges exhibited by Lieut Lovett of the same Regiment, which I enclose. Altho I have heretofore directed a general Court Martial to be holden yet from your suggestion of the propriety thereof I sollicit your orders in the present instance. And
am with great respect   Your Obt Servt
N: Rice L ColoCommand 14th Reg& Commandg officerat Oxford
Genl Hamilton

Sir
The pay & Qr Master of the 16th. Regt. have just handed me the inclosed as apologies for their negle[c]t. They are confirmatory of my Observations.
N: Rice
Since Sealing this Letter—application has been made to me not to forward the arrest of Mr. Danforth untill next mail. I have consented and hope such an adjustment of the dispute will take place as will render a Court Martial unnecessary. I will communicate pr next mail & am with respect &c
N: Rice


Title: Enclosure: Robert Duncan, Jr., to Nathan Rice, 1 May 1800
From: Duncan, Robert, Jr.
To: Rice, Nathan

Oxford [Massachusetts] May 1st. 1800
Sir
To remove the imputation cast upon the Pay Master of your Regiment, by Genl Hamiltons letter of the 23d Ulto. I beg leave to offer the following reasons for the supposed neglect. When the troops were ordered to this place, it was not thought adviseable to transport all the Clothing of the Regiment, especially that part which was out of season, as sufficient supply has always been Kept on hand, to satisfy the Demands, much expence of transportation would be saved (twas thought) by this mode. I found it impossible to make a just return of articles on hand, untill I could obtain from Boston an account of every article lodged in store there. That I have now procured, & have forwarded to Benjamin Williamson Esq Dy P M Genl. a Return of Clothing on hand, the present date. I hope the above will be receivd. as a sufficient excuse by Gen Hamilton & you for the delay which has unavoidably insued.
I am Sir with Respect   yr hhble Servt:
Robert Duncan JunrPay master 14th Regt.
Colo Nathan RiceCommandant BrigadeOxford


Title: Enclosure: Jesse Lull to Nathan Rice, [2 May 1800]
From: Lull, Jesse
To: Rice, Nathan

[Oxford, Massachusetts, May 2, 1800]
As a very considerable part of the Stores belonging to my department have been consigned to, and (I conclude) receipted for, by the Commandant of the 16th Regt—he not being present, & I not having the Necessary information of what had been recd. by him, has rendered it impossible for me to comply with the order for making out a return of the Stores of my department on hand.
I am sir with high consideration your most obedt humble Sevt.
Jesse Lull Qr. Master 16th Regt.
N. Rice Esq

Oxford May 2d 1800


Title: Introductory Note: To Theodore Sedgwick, [4 May 1800]
From:
To:

[New York, May 4, 1800]
Introductory Note
The letter printed below is one of many which Hamilton and his correspondents wrote concerning Federalist prospects in the presidential campaign of 1800. These letters present several problems for the modern reader. In the first place, the electoral process in 1800 was so complicated that it appeared either through design or inadvertence to make the selection of the President as difficult as possible. Secondly, many Ultra or High Federalists, including Hamilton, were conducting a campaign within a campaign through their efforts to secure more electoral votes for Charles Cotesworth Pinckney than for John Adams. Finally, it is difficult, and probably impossible, to determine popular interest in an election in which most voters did not vote directly for the electors, in which the candidates did not publicly campaign for votes, and in which only a few newspapers bothered to report campaign news or election results.
The Constitution was responsible for much of the confusion concerning the procedure for choosing the President and Vice President. Article II, Section I, provides: “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
“The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed.…”
By 1800 most states had entrusted the choice of presidential electors to their respective legislatures, but some states still used popular statewide or district elections. The method used by each state in 1800 is indicated in the following table:
Methods of Choosing Presidential Electors in 1800

State
Number ofelectoralvotes
Method usedfor choosingelectors

New Hampshire
6
legislative

Vermont
4
legislative

Massachusetts
16
legislative

Rhode Island
4
general ticket

Connecticut
9
legislative

New York
12
legislative

New Jersey
7
legislative

Pennsylvania
15
legislative

Delaware
3
legislative

Maryland
10
district

Virginia
21
general ticket

North Carolina
12
district

South Carolina
8
legislative

Georgia
4
legislative

Kentucky
4
district

Tennessee
3
legislative and district

Although each elector had two votes, Article II made no distinction between a vote for President and a vote for Vice President. As a result, it was possible (as indeed happened after 1796) for the President and Vice President to belong to different parties. Nor did the electors in a party necessarily agree on which of their candidates should be President and which should be Vice President. The only way that an elector could indicate a preference for one of two candidates was to throw away his second vote on a candidate who had no chance of winning. In 1800 one Rhode Island elector used this device by casting one vote for Adams and throwing away his other vote on John Jay.
The timing of the electoral process was spelled out by “An Act relative to the Election of a President and Vice President of the United States, and declaring the Officer who shall act as President in case of Vacancies in the offices both of President and Vice President.” This act provided that “the electors shall be appointed … within thirty-four days preceding the first Wednesday in December” [in this instance, December 3, 1800], that “the electors shall meet and give their votes on the said first Wednesday in December, at such place in each state as shall be directed, by the legislature thereof,” that “certificates of all the electors of all the votes by them given … [shall be] deliver[ed] to the President of the Senate, at the seat of Government, before the first Wednesday in January,” and that “on the second Wednesday in February … the votes [shall be] counted” in a joint session of Congress. In short, if the election was closely contested, the electorate had to wait from the first Wednesday in December, when the electoral votes were theoretically cast, until the second Wednesday in February, when they were counted, to learn who had won the election.
In contrast to the present practice, no two states held their elections on the same day. Thus, it was obvious as early as May, 1800, that New York would select twelve Republican electors, but in many states the results were not known until December. For example, as late as December 20, 1800, the [Philadelphia] Aurora. General Advertiser had no information on the outcome of the elections in Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and the results it reported for Rhode Island were incorrect.
The confusion created by the electoral system was compounded for the Federalists by the rivalry within the party between Adams’s supporters, or “Adamites,” and the Ultra or High Federalists, who thought that Pinckney should be the party’s first choice. At a caucus held in Philadelphia on May 3, 1800, the Federalist members of Congress agreed to support Adams and Pinckney equally in the election. But support for Adams was by no means unanimous. For many years Hamilton had been disenchanted with Adams, and in May, 1800, he specifically stated his doubts concerning Adams’s fitness for the presidency. Moreover, during his trip to New England in June, he made no attempt to conceal his preference for Pinckney over Adams. This campaign within a campaign complicated the election even in states where Federalists knew their party would receive all the electoral votes. For instance, in Federalist Massachusetts, many “Adamites,” fearful that Pinckney would win the election, threatened to withhold votes from him in order to ensure Adams’s reelection. To prevent Pinckney from losing these votes, the Federalist-controlled legislature changed from the district to the legislative method of choosing electors. On June 12, 1800, Fisher Ames wrote to Chauncey Goodrich: “You will know that this State is to choose electors by the Legislature; that this was intended, and was expected to secure a unanimous vote for Adams and Gen. Pinckney.…”
In assessing party strength and determining party strategy during the campaign, Federalist leaders generally agreed that New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Delaware would cast all their electoral votes for Adams and Pinckney. New Jersey should probably be added to such a list despite the concern of many Federalists that the intensive Republican campaign in that state would be successful. In some of the Federalist states—particularly Massachusetts and Connecticut—leaders were not sure if Adams or Pinckney would be the first choice of all the electors. But such doubts aside, these states were Federalist strongholds from the beginning to the end of the campaign, and according to these calculations, Adams and Pinckney could count on forty-five electoral votes each.
The Federalist leaders were equally convinced that Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia would cast all their electoral votes for the Thomas Jefferson-Aaron Burr ticket. New York was added to this list following the Republican victories in that state in May, 1800. These five states assured the Republicans of forty-four votes for each of their candidates.
The doubtful states—or more accurately, those states in which Federalist leaders suspected that two parties would split the electoral vote—included Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Therefore, from the Federalists’ standpoint, the result of the election depended on the ability of their candidates to obtain a majority of the votes cast by the forty-nine electors in these states.
Although Adams’s candidacy in Rhode Island was never in doubt, Hamilton’s fear that Pinckney would lose votes in that state was well-founded. Arthur Fenner, governor of Rhode Island and a candidate on the Republican ticket of electors, told Hamilton in June, 1800, that he intended to support Adams and Jefferson, and he reiterated this point to Burr in September. Fenner, however, withdrew from the Republican ticket, and four Federalist electors were chosen in a statewide election. When the Rhode Island ballots were counted in the House of Representatives, it was discovered that one Federalist elector had voted for Jay rather than Pinckney.
In 1796 Pennsylvania had cast fourteen votes for Jefferson and one for Adams. In 1800 the Federalists were convinced that they could improve on this record, but the situation was complicated by a dispute between the Pennsylvania House and Senate concerning the method for choosing electors. The Federalist majority in the Senate favored the district system of choosing electors, but the Republican-controlled House preferred a general election. Because neither party would compromise, the legislature adjourned in January, 1800, without an electoral law. On July 24, 1800, Thomas FitzSimons, a Federalist and former member of the House of Representatives, wrote to Oliver Wolcott, Jr: “… In this state we shall either have no electors, or they will be hostile. It is a determined point not to call together the old legislature after the new election; it is just possible if they are immediately called, to give them time to choose by joint vote. If the governor believes the return favourable to his views, he may and I doubt not but that he will make the attempt, if otherwise, he will avoid that measure.”
In the new Pennsylvania legislature elected on October 14, 1800, the Republicans increased their majority in the House, while the Federalists maintained a small majority in the Senate. At a special session of the legislature, convened on November 5, 1800, both parties agreed to compromise to ensure Pennsylvania’s participation in the election. On December 1, 1800, the legislature passed a law which provided for the selection by both houses of fifteen electors by joint ballot from eight candidates nominated by the Senate and eight by the Assembly. In accordance with this act, the legislature selected eight Republicans, who voted for Jefferson and Burr, and seven Federalists, who voted for Adams and Pinckney.
In 1796 Maryland’s ten electors had cast seven votes for Adams, four for Jefferson, and scattered nine votes among three other candidates. In 1800 the Federalists hoped to improve their chances by shifting from a system of elections by districts to the selection of electors by the state legislature, which they controlled. On August 28, 1800, Robert G. Harper, who was campaigning for the Federalists in Maryland, wrote to Harrison Gray Otis: “… This measure is now the point of contest in a popular election. The mass of the people is well disposed … but they are incon[cei]veably attached to what they call the privilege of voting for the electors in districts.” In the election for the state legislature, which was held on October 6, 1800, the Republicans gained a majority of seats,forcing the Federalists to abandon their plans. On November 10, 1800, Maryland voters chose five Federalist and five Republican electors, who met in Annapolis and cast five votes for Adams and Pinckney and five for Jefferson and Burr.
In North Carolina, where Adams had received only one of the twelve electoral votes in 1796, Federalist leaders predicted that he would obtain as many as five votes in 1800. Actually, the only question in North Carolina was the margin of Jefferson’s victory. In 1800 he and Burr received eight electoral votes and Adams and Pinckney four.
If any state can be said to be crucial in a presidential campaign (and this is at best a doubtful assumption), South Carolina was such a state in 1800. Hamilton and many of his correspondents hoped that the electoral vote in South Carolina would give both their party and Pinckney the presidency. Their optimism was based at least in part on the results of the 1796 election in which the state’s electors cast eight votes for Jefferson and eight for Thomas Pinckney, a Federalist and native son, who was Charles Cotesworth Pinckney’s brother. All Federalists hoped that history would repeat itself and the divided vote would lead to Jefferson’s defeat. On May 7, 1800, Timothy Pickering wrote to William Loughton Smith: “The only chance of a federal President will be by General C. C. Pinckney. It is proposed to run him with Mr. Adams; and as So. Carolina & part of North Carolina will vote for him, if the New England States also keep him on their votes, Mr. Pinckney will be elected. The Carolinians it is supposed will vote for Mr. Jefferson as well as Gen. Pinckney.” On September 26, 1800, Theodore Sedgwick wrote to Rufus King to explain the agreement made by Federalists in Philadelphia at the party caucus in May: “… At the time we agreed on Mr. Pinckney as a candidate, which was at a meeting of the whole federal party in Congress, we had every assurance which could be given by the members from S. Carolina, that whatever might be the character of their electors, such was the popularity of General Pinckney, that all the votes of that state would be given to him—if federal of course for Adams & Pinckney, if antifederal for Pinckney & Jefferson.”

As a result of the election on October 15, 1800, the Republicans held a small majority in the South Carolina legislature, which on December 2 chose eight Republican electors who voted for Jefferson and Burr. According to rumors which some Federalists later circulated, the Republican electors had been willing to vote for Jefferson and Pinckney, but Pinckney refused to sanction the agreement. Whether or not either party in South Carolina proposed such a compromise was a subject of controversy among contemporaries, and since 1800 historians have not been able to agree about the matter.
The following table indicates how each state finally cast its electoral votes in the election of 1800:
Electoral Votes—1800

States
ThomasJefferson
AaronBurr
JohnAdams
CharlesCotesworthPinckney
JohnJay

New Hampshire
—
—
6
6

Massachusetts
—
—
16
16

Rhode Island
—
—
4
3
1

Connecticut
—
—
9
9

Vermont
—
—
4
4

New York
12
12

New Jersey
—
—
7
7

Pennsylvania
8
8
7
7

Delaware
—
—
3
3

Maryland
5
5
5
5

Virginia
21
21

Kentucky
4
4

North Carolina
8
8
4
4

Tennessee
3
3

South Carolina
8
8

Georgia
 4
 4

73
73
65
64
1


Title: Election by the Adjourned General Meeting of the Society of the Cincinnati, 5 May 1800
From: Society of the Cincinnati
To:

Philadelphia, May 5, 1800. “On Motion, The meeting proceeded to the election of a President General to supply the vacancy occasioned by the death of General Washington, when Major General Alexander Hamilton was unanimously chosen President General.…”


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from James McHenry, 5 May 1800
From: McHenry, James
To: Hamilton, Alexander

private
War Department5 May 1800
Dear Sir
I enclose you two letters from E. B. Dayton to his brother the senator. It would seem, from the representations made to me, and these letters, that the demands of Col. Smith greatly distract the contractor; that he is kept in a state of uncertainty how long any orders requiring the issue of fresh or salt provisions is to be continued, that consequently it is out of his power to make arrangements for the supplies; and that provisions have been rejected, to his loss, contrary to the contract.
Let me request your serious attention to these complaints. It is pretty evident, that men who wish in future to enter into contracts, will keep in view these difficulties, and provide against their operation by a correspondent increase in the price of the rations.
You will be pleased to return me the letters.
Yours truely
James McHenry
Gen. Alexr. Hamilton


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to James McHenry, 5 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: McHenry, James

New York May 5. 1800
Sir
I have given orders to the two Brigades under the command of Colonels Smith and Rice to prepare for encamping. Returns of the articles wanting for this purpose have been called for and will soon be completed. It is hoped that Mr Hodgsdon will be provided for meeting the requisition of the Deputy Quarter Master General without delay.
It is now time to decide what shall be the disposition of these troops during the Summer. If there had been fortifications to be executed my plan was to draw them toward the place or places of those fortifications where they could assist without prejudice to their exercise and instruction. But I am not aware of any of sufficient consequence to render the measure more than an ostensible one; yet even in this view I may be eligible. And perhaps it may be done so as to unite considerations of œconomy.
Rhode Island seems to be the point where most is doing in the way of fortification and it has always appeared to me one which ought to be occupied by very regular and strong works; as it is one which could be seized and maintained by a maritime enemy without difficulty and would be a very commanding station from which to annoy us as well as a very convenient and safe refuge for the fleets of a hostile power.
The troops being in the vicinity to afford their labour, a small fund could be made to go much farther in the erection of works than it otherwise would.
Will it not then be expedient to unite the two Brigades at R[h]ode Island and to employ them in the way which has been mentioned?
If this shall be thought advisable some measures ought to be taken beforehand as to the price of the ration for the United Corps and as to supplies generally.
Let me request your ideas on the subject as soon as may be.
I repeat that I am not yet furnished with copies of the contracts for the present year. I am even ignorant of the contractors names unless they be the same as last year. Tis indispensable that I should not remain longer without information on this head.
With great respect & estm. I have the honor to be Sir Yr. ob svt
The Secy of War


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to James McHenry, 5 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: McHenry, James

New York May 5. 1800
Sir
I have the honor to transmit you the copy of a letter of the 4th instant from Col Taylor. It presents a picture of which the similitude has too frequently come under my observation.
I must be permitted to observe that nothing can be more injurious to the service than that pecuniary embarrassment should be occasioned to officers, in reference to services duly performed and expenditures regularly made, by reason either of the want of a proper distribution & definition of the duties of the respective officers of the War Department or by misapprehensions among themselves as to the boundaries of their powers and duties. It presents an image of defeat of system calculated to inspire sentiments very different from those of confidence and respect. And it is attended with serious inconveniences to officers, who are kept out of compensations and reimbursements very essential to their accommodation. Besides that it interferes with the settlement of their accounts in every case in which for want of funds applicable to the special objects, there has been necessity for the temporary transfer of funds which had other destinations.

The call upon the Officers to refund as mentioned by Col Taylor is a violent measure. It is in most instances impracticable for them to comply; and surely an interior arrangement in the modes of accounting ought to have obviated such a requisition. It is in my knowlege, as formerly a member of the Administration, that there was often a necessity for accomodations of this kind and that they were practiced. Nor can the public business proceed without them.
It is a delicate matter in my station to animadvert upon the conduct of officers in the civil departments of Government—yet there are occasions in which it is proper to wave a sample of this sort and to state the tendency of their conduct towards the service. Yielding to a sense of duty, I do not hesitate to say that in my opinion the Accountant displays very often a spirit which if not designed certainly tends to injure the service and to sour and dissatisfy all who are parts of or connected with the army. I know that officer to be capable diligent and honest—but he is certainly not as accommodating as the complicated exigencies of Military service require and he rigidly adheres to rules which if universally applied are incompatible with practice. This disposition must either be corrected or our military affairs must always be in disorder—the Public will be burthened with a large additional expence as an indemnification for the evils of the Accountant’s Rigour and general dissatisfaction will prevail.
The Pay Master General is charged by law [with] certain definite objects—the pay arrears of Pay subsistence & forage of the troops. These are regulated by law and involve the exercise of little or no discretion. The Accountant has a more extensive authority embracing among other things the expences of the recruiting service and all incidental and contingent expences of the Department. Where cases occur relatively to his duties which are within the specific provisions of the law or within the established regulations of the head of the Department founded upon the general provisions of the law or the nature of his office, the Accountant is to adjust them of course. Where matters are presented, not comprehended in the one or the other and which must be governed by Descretion, these are to be reported by him to the Secretary of War for his instruction; and in these cases the Accountant is to obey that instruction leaving the responsibility to rest upon the Superior.

I premise this view of the scheme of the Department as preliminary to a proposition which I shall submit.
It seems to me that it will be expedient to extend the functions of the Pay Master General and his subordinates to some objects not now understood to come within their sphere—namely 1   extra compensations to Officers for extra services 2   their travelling expences when detached 2   the expences of apprehending deserters 3 Postage and stationary when paid for by officers of the line. And lastly the affair of bounty money and the contingent expences of the recruiting service.
In order to defray such expences in the first instance, let the Regimental Pay Masters and persons acting as such be furnished with small sums as a fund for contingencies. Out of this fund let them defray those expences and let the accounts be settled provisorily by the Pay Master General under the eventual controul of the Accountant.
For this purpose it ought to be understood that if in any instance an officer receives more than he ought to have it shall be a charge against his pay but shall be no obstacle to the settlement of the accounts of the Pay Masters—except where they may be chargable with wilful default or gross carelessness.
The accounts for these supernumerary objects may be rendered and settled distinctly from those provided for by law; and perhaps an additional compensation may be made to the Pay Master General.
This plan I think would remove some obstacles & give some facilities which would be convenient to the service.
But whatever may be the plan pursued it is of primary importance that some arrangement shall be devised which shall provide for a speedy adjustment of similar matters and prevent the disgusting altercations and delays which now continually insue. I entreat your prompt and careful attention to the subject and that you will immediately give in the particular case such orders as will remove the difficulty represented by Col Taylor.
With great respect & esteem &
The Secy of War


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to William Miller, 5 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Miller, William

NYork May 5th. 1800
Sir:
Enclosed is a letter I have received from Benjamin Wells formerly an Excise officer in the Western parts of Pennsylvania. I would be much obliged to you if you would state to me the items in the charges to which Mr Wells refers, and the reasoning of the Treasury on the subject.
W Miller Esqr. Commr of the Revenue


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Vicomte de Noailles, 5 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Noailles, Vicomte de

N. Y. May 5th. 1800
Dr. Sir
I observe that the French Regulations as well as those of several other countries adopt a fixed measure for the pace (pas) without regard to the velocity, which in the French code is two feet French. As the measures differ in different European establishments, I have been causing experiments to be made in order to discover if practicable, a standard in nature relatively to the medium sise of a man.
In the course of these experiments it appears that tho’ two feet is about the natural length of the cadenced step, say 75 in a minute, of a body of men, yet they naturally increase the length of the step with its velocity. This has led me to some new reflections on the point and as I respect European precedents in a Science which has been so much Studied and practiced, I am desirous of knowing what reasoning has led to the adopting of a determinate length for all the direct steps without regard to the velocity, that is to say the same for the quick and quickest.
Nobody can better enlighten me on this subject than yourself, and I rely on your friendly disposition. I therefore do not hesitate to request that you will, as soon as may be, let me hear from you on the point—and as particularly as may be convenient.
Yrs. with
Genl. De Noailles


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Nathan Rice, 5 May 1800
From: Rice, Nathan
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Oxford [Massachusetts] May 5th. 1800
Sir
By the regulations for the recruiting service the Soldiers were not allowed to possess any articles of clothing except those furnished by Government. Those not being all of the best quality, when received; can not reasonably be supposed to be at this time in the most perfect order. The appearance of my Regiment in this respect, altho not greatly inferior to others, makes but a shabby figure. If the new clothing is not to be issued to any untill the expiration of a year from the time of their enlistment—the Regiment never can appear handsomely clad. Would it not be ultimately Oeconomy and promote the good of the service to issue to a regiment at one time even before the expiration of the year—at least a part thereof say Hat, Coat, vest, 1 pr. linnen overalls—those to be worn only when on duty as guards or for exercise. It would excite the ambition of officers and men. Should the old clothes be wholly worn out before new ones are issued, the latter can have no relief, when men are ordered in fatigues. I would therefore submit to your consideration whether it will not be best to issue before the expiration of the first year.
With the highest consideration   I am Sir yr. Obedt Servant
N Rice Lt. Colo. Commandt.
Genl. Hamilton


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Nathan Rice, 5 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Rice, Nathan

N Y May 5th. 1800
Sir
I have received your letter of the twenty first of April.
I intend to make it a general rule that discharges of soldiers be founded on the certificate of the Inspector and Surgeon approved by the Commanding officer. When the cases you speak of come to me in that form I shall be ready to act upon them.
The subject of double rations has been so often matter of communication with the S of War that it is perfectly exhausted. I shall however send that part of your letter which relates to it to the Secretary that he may do in the case what shall seem to him proper.
With &c
P. S. I have recd. yr. letter contg. observations relative to the Step, and am obliged by the attention you have paid to my request. I wish you to continue your experiments, and if you have not pendulums to provide yourself with them, as I wish to arrive at as much accuracy as possible.

Col. Rice


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Theodore Sedgwick, 5 May 1800
From: Sedgwick, Theodore
To: Hamilton, Alexander

[Philadelphia, May 5, 1800. On May 8, 1800, Hamilton wrote to Sedgwick: “I thank you … for your letter of the 5th instant.” Letter not found.]


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Nathan Rice, 6 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Rice, Nathan

N York May 6th. 1800
Sir
I have received your letter of the twenty fourth of April.
At present things will continue as they are, a guard continuing to be furnished from the Artillerists at New Port. It is not improbable that the brigade under your command will be removed to Rhode Island before long. In that case the Artillerists will be releived agreeably to Major Jackson’s request.
With great consideration   I am Sir   Yr obt ser
Col. Rice


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Chevalier de Colbert, 7 May 1800
From: Colbert, Chevalier de
To: Hamilton, Alexander

London, May 7, 1800. Congratulates Hamilton on his appointment by President Adams as commanding officer of the United States Army to replace George Washington. Reiterates his love for Catherine Church.


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to John F. Hamtramck, 7 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Hamtramck, John F.

N. York May 7th. 1800
Sir
In consequence of a communication, from General Wilkinson, it is fixed that the assembling of the reserved Corps on the lower parts of the Ohio shall be deferred until Autumn. You will make your arrangements accordingly. The troops arriving at Pittsburgh from this quarter are to be retained there, in order to be instructed and fitted for active service till further order.
With gr
Col: Hamtramck


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Theodore Sedgwick, 7 May 1800
From: Sedgwick, Theodore
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Phila. 7. May 1800
Dear sir,
I have this moment recd. yours of the 4th. I have already detailed to you what was done on saturday evening. On this subject our friend Dexter is not perfectly right. I have had a conversation with him this morning. The view he takes of the subject is this—He says that however those who have an opportunity of personal observation may esteem the cha⟨ra⟩cter of Mr. Adams, as he is viewed by the great majority of ⟨Fe⟩deralists, he is the most popular man in the U.S. and ⟨d⟩eemed best qualified to perform the duties of President. That should an agreement to support, equally him and General Pinkney ultimate in the election of the latter, it will be supposed to result from an insidious intention, in a certain description of man, to displace him from the office of President. That this will crumble the federal party to atoms. He says, indeed, that when it shall be reduced to an absolute certainty that we have no alternative but to pursue this course or submit to the election of Jefferson, he shall not hesitate to adopt the former. That this crisis exists is to my mind absolutely certain. He, however, says that federal electors may be chosen in S. Carolina, that Maryland may give us an unanimous vote, and that several electors may be chosen in New York; and should all these circumstances take place votes may be thrown away in Massa. without endangering the election of Jefferson.
You cannot but perceive the mischievious tendency of these observations from a man of Dexter’s ⟨-⟩ of character. This I expected from Otis but not from him. At any rate we shall have infinite difficulties to contend with. I did not expect to have them either increased ⟨or⟩ multiplied from this quarter; and if possible he must be reclaimed. Every thing I can do shall be attempted. Are you in such habits as to authorise an address to him on the subject? Of course he must not know that I have suggested the idea to you.
Marshall has this morning been nominated as Secy. at War. He was never consulted, and had no information that McHenry was to retire. He will not accept. I hope Carring⟨ton⟩ may be brought in. I have as usual written this in the h⟨ouse.⟩
I am ever yours
Theodore Sedgwick
Genl. Hamilton


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Theodore Sedgwick, 8 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Sedgwick, Theodore

New York May 8. 1800
I thank you My Dear Sir for your letter of the 5th instant which was received yesterday. The measure you mention has been attempted but without much hope of success.
Yet our friends are today in good spirits. The accounts from the Northward, apparently authentic, give us strong hope of still having a majority ⟨in⟩ our Legislature.
But be this as it may, our welfare depends absolutely on a faithful adherence to the plan which has been adopted. New York if fœderal will not go for Mr Adams unless there shall be as firm a pledge as the nature of the thing will admit that Mr. Pinckney will be equally supported in the Northern states.
Yrs. truly
A H
T Sedgwick Esq


Title: Enclosure: Instructions Relative to Certain Objects of Incidental Expenditure, [9 May 1800]
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To:

The following objects of incidental expenditure occur.
1. For travelling expences pursuant to the Regulations of the Department of War of 19 of Decemr. 1798.
The allowance as to servants extends only to Field Officers and the Regimental staff. In computing the days journey, the following example is to govern supposing the whole distance to be Eight hundred Miles.

Distance
Rate
days

200
40
 5

150
30
 5

250
25
10

200
20
10

30

making the whole time for which compensation is to be made Thirty days. On these points some misapprehension has taken place.
2 Travelling expences of Officers commanding Regimental Circles and Districts pursuant to the 15 section of the Recruiting Instructions. Note this does not extend to commanders of subdistricts.
3 The expences of apprehending deserters.
Besides the ten dollars as a reward, the actual expences of effecting the apprehension of the Deserter are to be paid.

4 Fees to Magistrates for the attestations of recruits.
5 Stationary and postage.

The foregoing expences are to be paid by the Regimental Pay Master or persons acting as such out of any funds which may be in their hands.
For No. 1 the voucher must be the certificate of the particular commanding officer by whom the officer claiming was detached and the receipt of the latter.
For No. 2 in the case of the Commandant of a circle or of a District which is not part of a circle, the voucher must be a certificate upon honor of the officer claiming and his receipt—in the case of a commandant of a District which is part of a circle the voucher must be a like certificate of the officer claiming approved by the Commandant of the circle with the receipt of the former.
For No. 4. The certificate upon honor of the officer who may have paid the fees & his receipt.
For No. 5 in cases within the recruiting instructions, the vouchers required by them—in other cases the certificate upon honor of the officer who may have paid the postage and when he has an immediate superior the order of that superior with the receipt of the Claimant.
The accounts for such expenditures must be made out and rendered distinct from those for Pay subsistence &c.


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Vicomte de Noailles, 9 May 1800
From: Noailles, Vicomte de
To: Hamilton, Alexander

le 9. May 1800 Phe.
Mon cher Hamilton
J’ai reçu la lettre dont vous m’avés honore le 5. de ce mois par laquelle vous me damandés si la velocité de la marche dans la tactique françoise n’augmente pas la longueur du pas.
Dans les instructions provisoires de 1776. 1778–1786. de l’infanterie les officiers differoient sur la velocité de la marche dans certaines circonstances. Mais la longueur du pas à toujours été fixée à 2. pieds françois qui peuvent être evalués à 2. pd. 2. pouces Anglois. Cependant dans les observations repetées qui ont eu lieu sur une ligne marchante 1500. toises environ en bataille dans un terrein uni on à remarqué que l’espace etoit divisé par des pas de 2. pieds—2. pouces françois. cela n’a point empéché de fixer dans le reglement définitif de 1791. la longueur du pas à 2. pieds—la mesure du pas ordinaire à 76. par minute celle du pas accelere à 100.
Malgré cette regle generale, la velocité du pas en augmente la longueur dans une marche rapide le corps se portant plus an avant determine par son poids l’éxtention du mouvement de la jambe et le pas est necessairement plus long que dans la marche ordinaire. Mais le principe que le pas doit être de 2. pieds françois est immuable—La mesure ordinaire de 76. par minute et de 100. dans la marche acceleré. Un corps de troupes qui étoit plus vite seroit hors d’état de former une attaque.
Je desire d’avoir satisfait à votre demande et d’avoir repondu a votre confiance vous me trouverés toujours empressé à vous convaincre de mon sincere attachement
Noailles
J’ai reçu vos deux lettres pour M. Morton consul à La havanne.


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Aaron Ogden, 10 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Ogden, Aaron

[New York, May 10, 1800. The dealer’s catalogue description of this letter reads: “Care of the sick after disbanding of the army.” Letter not found.]


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Nathan Rice, 10 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Rice, Nathan

N Y May 10 1800
Sir
The President has accepted the resignation of Captain Thomas Chandler, expressing, at the same time, his regret that circumstances should render it necessary for him to retire from the army.
You will inform Captain Chandler accordingly.
Col. Rice


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Theodore Sedgwick, 10 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Sedgwick, Theodore

New York May 10. 1800
Dr Sir
I am very sorry for the information contained in your letter of the 7th. But I am not intimate enough with Dexter to put myself upon Paper to him. If on his return I can catch him at New York I shall have a particular conversation with him.
He is I am persuded much mistaken as to the opinion entertained of Mr Adams by the Fœderal party. Were I to determine from my own observation I should say, most of the most influential men of that party consider him as a very unfit and incapable character.
For my individual part my mind is made up. I will never more be responsible for him by my direct support—even though the consequence should be the election of Jefferson. If we must have an enemy at the head of the Government, let it be one whom we can oppose & for whom we are not responsible, who will not involve our party in the disgrace of his foolish and bad measures. Under Adams as under Jefferson the government will sink. The party in the hands of whose chief it shall sink will sink with it and the advantage will all be on the side of his adversaries.
Tis a notable expedient for keeping the Fœderal party together to have at the head of it a man who hates and is dispised by those men of it who in time past have been its most efficient supporters.
If the cause is to be sacrificed to a weak and perverse man, I withdraw from the party & act upon my own ground—never certainly against my principles but in pursuance of them in my own way. I am mistaken if others will not do the same.
The only way to prevent a fatal scism in the Fœderal party is to support G Pinckney in good earnest.
If I can be perfectly satisfied that Adams & Pinckney will be upheld in the East with intire good faith, on the ground of conformity I will wherever my influence may extend pursue the same plan. If not I will pursue Mr. Pinkny as my single object.
Adieu Yrs. truly
A H
T Sedgwick E


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Aaron Ogden, 12 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Ogden, Aaron

N Y. May 12. 1800
Sir
I expect to set out for the camp at Scotch Plains on Monday next.
You will provide bricks and materials for erecting at my Quarters a fourneau a machine for culinary purposes, which may be considered as a cube of brick about eight feet long, four feet thick, and four and a half feet high.
I have a waggon which will serve for carrying my baggage, but you will provide two horses for the purpose.
You will also have an oven erected at my quarters.
Col. Ogden D. Q. M General


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from James McHenry, 13 May 1800
From: McHenry, James
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Private
War Department13 May 1800
Dear Sir
I have the honour to communicate to you, that on the 6th instant, I requested of the President of the United States permission to resign the office of Secretary for the Department of war.
To the above request, I added a proposition, that my resignation be considered, as to take place on the 1st of June next, in order that I might be for a short time in a convenient situation, to explain to him, or to my successor, any of the measures taken by me as Secretary of war, that might require elucidation, and also the inducing motives to some of them, which were best known to myself.
The President answered “that my requests were reasonable and readily agreed.”
I am making my arrangments for the removal of myself and family to Baltimore, and shall not continue in an official situation longer (if so long) than the 1st of June.
I have the honour to be with real regard & esteem D Sir   Your ob st.

James McHenry
Major General Alexander Hamilton.


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Aaron Ogden, 13 May 1800
From: Ogden, Aaron
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Elizabeth Town [New Jersey] May 13, 1800. “… I did not return, untill after post hour, from the Cantonment, where I had been to take a house for you, agreeably to your request. I have procured one within a mile, pleasantly situated, in which, you can have three rooms—should it be necessary, besides, to have a dining marquee, I have one at your service, which may possibly answer your purpose, and which I can well spare, as my own hut will furnish accomodations for myself. Will it be necessary for me to procure a situation for the Adjutant General? I take the liberty of enquiring as you spoke only of one house in your letter to me.”


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Nathan Rice, 13 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Rice, Nathan

N Y. May 13. 1800
Sir
I have received your letter of the second instant explaining the causes of the delay in forwarding pay and muster rolls, and rely on your exertions to produce greater regularity in future. When the articles happen not to be in the possession of the officers who are to make the returns it is proper that they should procure the necessary information without delay by applying to those in whose possession the articles may be.
I have received your letter of the fifth instant. The strong probability of a speedy disbandment of the additional regiments which is indicated by certain proceedings of Congress does not permit me to authorize an issue of Clothing before the year has expired without the sanction of the S of War. I have written to him on the subject. When he replies I will inform you of his decision.
The resignation of Dr. Hubbard is accepted. You will inform him accordingly.
Col. Rice


Title: To Alexander Hamilton from Theodore Sedgwick, 13 May 1800
From: Sedgwick, Theodore
To: Hamilton, Alexander

Phila. 13 May 1800
Dear Sir
Yours of the 10th. I recd. yesterday. The events in the executive department you know. Their effects, on the federal party, are such as you can as well determine by reflection, as I could detail. Would to Heaven you was here, but it is too late.
There shall be a meeting of such men who remain here, and who can be perfectly confided in. I will inform you of the result. Every tormenting passion rankles in the bosom of that weak & frantic old man, but I have good reason for beleiving that Pickering & McHenry have been sacraficed as peace offerings. I am, at present, of opinion that no decided measures should be taken till I see you.
Ever & sincerely yours,
Theodore Sedgwick


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to William Vans Murray, 14 May 1800
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Murray, William Vans

[New York, May 14, 1800. The description of this letter reads: “To Mr. Murray. Letter of introduction for Madame de Vaublanc and her daughter.” Letter not found.]


Title: From Alexander Hamilton to Timothy Pickering, [14 May 1800]
From: Hamilton, Alexander
To: Pickering, Timothy

[New York, May 14, 1800]
My Dear Sir
I perceive that you as well as McHenry are quitting the Administration. I am not informed how all this has been, though I conjecture. Allow me to suggest, that you ought to take with you copies and extracts of all such documents as will enable you to explain both Jefferson & Adams. You are aware of a very curious journal of the latter when he was in Europe, a tissue of weakness and vanity.
The time is coming when men of real integrity & energy must unite against all Empirics.
Yrs. truly
A H
T. Pickering Esq.