Alexander Hamilton Papers

To Alexander Hamilton from William S. Smith, 23 December 1799

From William S. Smith

Union Brigade [Scotch Plains, New Jersey] December 23, 1799. “In your Letter of the 17th.1 you mention your intention of retaining Capt Church with you,2 to this I cannot with propriety object, but I can with propriety say, the Regt. feel his loss, & I, particularly regret his absence, his pointed attention to duty, & his Gentlemanlike deportment has endeared him much to the Corps, I now see no prospect of his ever rejoining it. I shall always however, wish him happy, and a promotion suited to his talents and abilities.…”

ALS, Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress.

1Letter not found.

2In June, 1799, Philip Church, who had been H’s aide-de-camp, went to Albany to join the Twelfth Regiment of Infantry to assist in recruiting. See H to Smith, May 1, 1799; Smith to H, May 3, 1799; Church to H, June 12, 1799.

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