From Alexander Hamilton to Tench Coxe, [15 March–April 1792]
To Tench Coxe
[Philadelphia, March-April 15, 1792]
Dr. Sir
Be so good as to inquire of General Irvine1 the character of Mr. O Hara2 as a man of business and Integrity and qualifications as for a Quarter Master. If any one else occurs to you I will thank you to mention him. I have thought much of the affair & of characters supposed to be attainable; I am at a loss to satisfy myself.
Yrs.
A Hamilton
ALS, Papers of Tench Coxe in the Coxe Family Papers at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
1. William Irvine, a native of Ireland, fought throughout the American Revolution and attained the rank of brigadier general. In 1785 he was in charge of the distribution of lands in western Pennsylvania to veterans of the Revolution, and from 1786 to 1788 he was a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress.
2. James O’Hara, a native of Ireland, had served during the American Revolution in the quartermaster’s department. After the war he settled in Pittsburgh, and in 1790 he was contractor for the Army during the campaign of Brigadier General Josiah Harmar against the western Indians. On April 19, 1792, he was appointed quartermaster general of the newly reorganized United States Army. See “An Act for making further and more effectual Provision for the Protection of the Frontiers of the United States” ( 241–43 [March 5, 1792]).
3. Joseph Bowman was employed as a messenger in the office of the auditor of the Treasury Department.
4. John Meyer was a clerk in the Treasury Department.