To George Washington from James McHenry, 29 July 1799
From James McHenry
Philad[elphia] 29 July 1799
Dear Sir.
Mr Bordley left the inclosed collection of his works with me with a request that I should forward it to you. There are some useful things in the book, but I believe little of it his own.1
Francis has procured the Sword for our young warrior, and tells me, the helmit will soon be finished, when the whole will be forwarded.2
It appears by a letter from Mr Murray to the Secy of State, that he had received the Secy’s letter advising the appointment of the 3 Commissioners and forwarded or was about to forward to Paris the conditions under which the appointment was made.3 Can any good possibly come out of this business? I fear not. Yours ever & Affly
James McHenry
ALS, DLC:GW.
1. GW wrote John Beale Bordley on 4 Aug.: “Through the medium of the Secretary of War, I have been honoured with your ‘Essays and Notes on Husbandry, and Rural Affairs’ and offer you my sincere thanks for your kindness in sending them. . . . With best respects, in which Mrs. Washington unites, to Mrs. and Miss Bordley and yourself. . .” (quoted in item 375, Parke-Bernet Catalog, 26 Nov. 1952). A copy of Sketches on Rotations of Crops and Other Rural Matters, printed in Philadelphia in 1797 and bound with other pamphlets relating to agriculture, was in GW’s library at the time of his death ( 28).
2. GW wrote McHenry on 14 July about the uniform and other military equipment for George Washington Parke Custis.
3. See the reference to William Vans Murray’s letter to Timothy Pickering in Pickering to GW, 18 July, n.1.