1. Stevens, a New York merchant and director of the New-York Insurance Company, served throughout the American Revolution and held the rank of lieutenant colonel at the end of the war. In 1800 he was an agent of the War Department in New York and a major general in the New York Artillery.

How, who wrote the draft of this letter, was a resident of Trenton, New Jersey. He became H’s secretary on July 11, 1799. See H to Caleb Swan, October 14, 1799. During the undeclared war with France he was also a second lieutenant in the Eleventh Regiment of Infantry. See H to James McHenry, first letter of July 17, 1799.

2. While H served as inspector general of the United States Army during the undeclared war with France, his headquarters were located at 36 Greenwich Street. See H to Stevens, September 26, 1799; H to James Read, November 22, 1799.

3. All members of the Additional Army, including H, had to be discharged by June 15, 1800, in accordance with Section 2 of “An Act supplementary to the act to suspend part of an act, intituled ‘An act to augment the Army of the United States, and for other purposes’” (2 Stat. description begins The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, II (Boston, 1850). description ends 85–86 [May 14, 1800]). For the text of this section, see H to Nathan Rice, May 13, 1800, note 1.

4. On July 9, 1800, Philip Church wrote to Stevens: “On General Hamilton’s return to this City from the Eastward he wrote to you requesting that measures might be taken for the letting of the Office, so that unnecessary expence might be saved to the Public. As that letter may possibly have miscarried The General has desired me to write to [you] informing you of such a letter having been written” (ADf, Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress).

Church, the son of John B. Church and Angelica Schuyler Church, was Elizabeth Hamilton’s nephew. A captain in the Twelfth Regiment of Infantry, he served as H’s aide-de-camp during the undeclared war with France.