To Alexander Hamilton from James McHenry, 19 March 1800
From James McHenry
[Philadelphia] 19 March 1800
Dear Sir
I received last night your letter inclosing the draught of a bill relative to the articles of war.1
I made out two draughts of bills for the military academy, one on the most enlarged plan with limitations which ensured against any extension beyond the Fundamental School and school of Engineers and Artillerists until an appropriation for the purpose. The committee have preferred the other bill and I fear Congress will do nothing on the subject.2 Whatever respects the army is in some way or other counteracted.
I have not answered to your public letter of the 13 in my letter of this date. Wherefore? Mr. Simmons3 has refused three different accounts of extra allowance to officers beyond their emoluments.4 One, an allowance for Gen. Macphersons table on the late expedition.5 Another, an allowance to a Surgeon of a Regiment for attendance on the Indians at the Treaty of Greenville, and since the Indians frequenting Detroit.6 Lastly, the expences incurred by an Indian agent in the execution of his trusts in the Indian nation.7
He considers that no allowance by my authority or any authority short of Congress can be made by an officer beyond the emoluments fixed to his office by law.8
This is I believe a new doctrine. Will you turn the subject in your mind and give me your ideas.
I shall as soon as possible bring the matter before the President and must request you to wait the decision before I answer to these claims which you have referred to me requiring my interference and sanction.
Yours truely & affly
Js MH
Mr Wolcot to whom the inclosed papers have been referred by the President has handed them to me.9 The insubordination of the proceeding of the Accountant is very great, and the irregularity in that of the President to be regretted. I mean however to submit to him any ideas upon my power—as derived from the constitution of the Department, and the powers of the President combined with the annual appropriation expressly granted to meet such cases; and as the question respects most sensibly the army I must again request your matured opinion in the form of a letter to the President. Send me the papers enclosed after you have read them, and made your notes.
Yours
Js MH
ALS, Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress; ADfS, James McHenry Papers, Library of Congress.
2. “19th March, 1800, A Bill for Establishing a Military Academy, and for better organizing the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers” (printed document, Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress).
On March 19, 1800, Harrison Gray Otis reported this bill to the House for the Committee on Defense. The bill was then referred to the Committee of the Whole House, which voted on April 28 to postpone consideration of the bill until the “first Monday in December next” (, X, 634, 690).
For H’s draft of this bill, see H to McHenry, first letter of March 9, 1800.
For McHenry’s views on the subject of this bill, see his report to John Adams, January 5, 1800 (, Military Affairs, I, 133–41), and his report to Otis, January 31, 1800 (, Military Affairs, I, 142–44).
3. William Simmons, the accountant for the War Department.
4. For H’s earlier views on this subject, see H to McHenry, November 30, 1798. For McHenry’s regulations respecting extra allowances, see the enclosure to McHenry to H, April 22, 1799. See also “General Orders,” June 1, 1799.
5. For William Macpherson’s service during Fries’s Rebellion, see Macpherson to H, March 25, 1799. For the difficulties over Macpherson’s accounts, see McHenry to Simmons, January 24, February 7, 1800 (copies, enclosed in McHenry to Adams, April 2, 1800 [copy, in McHenry’s handwriting, James McHenry Papers, Library of Congress; ADfS, James McHenry Papers, Library of Congress; ADfS, letterpress copy, James McHenry Papers, Library of Congress]); Simmons to Macpherson, January 29, 1800; Simmons to McHenry, February 5, 8, 1800 (LC, RG 217, General Accounting Office, Letter Books, Letter Book F, Accountant’s Office, May 16, 1799–February 27, 1800, National Archives).
6. Charles Brown, a surgeon’s mate in the First Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers, had submitted a bill for “attendance on sick Indians in the Western country from the 4th November 1794 to the 5 July 1799 including an extra charge … for attending the Indians during the Treaty at Grenville, within the same period …” (Simmons to McHenry, February 6, 1800 [LC, RG 217, General Accounting Office, Letter Books, Letter Book F, Accountant’s Office, May 16, 1799–February 27, 1800, National Archives]). See also McHenry to Simmons, December 12, 1799; Brown to McHenry, December 9, 1799 (copies, enclosed in McHenry to Adams, April 2, 1800 [copy, in McHenry’s handwriting, James McHenry Papers, Library of Congress; ADfS, James McHenry Papers, Library of Congress; ADfS, letterpress copy, James McHenry Papers, Library of Congress]). For Simmons’s reports on Brown’s claims, see Simmons to McHenry, March 8, 27, 1800 (LC, RG 217, Records of the General Accounting Office, Department of War Accountant’s Office, Report Book C, May, 1799–December, 1801, National Archives).
7. Silas Dinsmoor. See Dinsmoor to McHenry, December 21, 1799; McHenry to Simmons, February 28, 1800 (copies, enclosed in McHenry to Adams, April 2, 1800 [copy, in McHenry’s handwriting, James McHenry Papers, Library of Congress; ADfS, James McHenry Papers, Library of Congress; ADfS, letterpress copy, James McHenry Papers, Library of Congress]; Simmons to Adams, March 13, 1800 (LC, RG 217, General Accounting Office, Letter Books, Letter Book G, Accountant’s Office, February 28, 1800–June 11, 1801, National Archives). For Simmons’s report on Dinsmoor’s claim, see Simmons to McHenry, March 12, 1800 (LC, RG 217, Records of the General Accounting Office, Department of War Accountant’s Office, Report Book C, May, 1799–December 1801, National Archives).
8. On February 8, 1800, Simmons wrote to McHenry: “I … am of opinion that no additional allowance to what is pointed out by Law, or established regulations for the settlement of accounts in this Office as the emoluments of an officer can without the interference of the authority which fixed those emoluments be increased. Under this impression I do not consider myself authorized to admit the extra charges … without the interference of Congress” (LC, RG 217, General Accounting Office, Letter Books, Letter Book G, Accountant’s Office, February 28, 1800–June 11, 1801, National Archives).
9. Adams to Oliver Wolcott, Jr., March 17, 1800 (LC, Adams Family Papers, deposited in the Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston). Simmons had sent the enclosures to Adams in a letter dated March 15, 1800, in which he wrote: “In obedience to your request of yesterday in consequence of my verbal communication to you on the subject of allowances made by the Secretary of War, I do myself the honor to hand you herewith copies of the letters of The Secretary & my Reports on the claims of sundry persons whose accounts have been lately under consideration, the allowance of which I am of opinion is inadmissible upon any other principles than those pointed out in my said Reports. As this opinion is opposite to that of The Secretary of War, who deems the authority vested in him competent to their allowance I have taken the liberty to enclose to you Sir, for perusal, and request a decision thereon, which shall govern me in those cases, as well as others which may occur of a like nature.
“List of papers referred to in the preceeding Letter.