To James Madison from Daniel Parker, 21 September 1813
From Daniel Parker
War Office September 21st. 1813
Communications of which the enclosed are copies have been transmitted to the Secretary of War.1
On examining the memoranda of September 6th. which was sent the same day, it is presumed the Secretary will ask the President to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to make an additional advance for the use of the War Dept. for the month of September.
Fearing the letter of the Secy. of War may not reach the President in time to have the money ordered before the end of the month D. Parker takes the liberty to request the attention of the President of the UStates to Mr. Sheldon’s note of the 16th. a copy of which is enclosed.
Should the President think proper to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to make an additional allowance of Five hundred & twenty eight thousand dollars for the use of the War Dept. for the month of September it would be a great and necessary accommodation.
Nothing of importance has been received at the War Office of late date. Mr. Parker hopes the President will do him the honor to accept the new assurances of his very great respect and regard.
RC and enclosures (DNA: RG 59, ML). For enclosures, see n. 1.
1. Parker enclosed an unsigned note from Treasury Department chief clerk Daniel Sheldon, dated 6 Sept. 1813 (1 p.), stating that the Treasury was presently able to advance $972,284 to the War Department, which would bring the total advanced for September and October 1813 to $3,460,000. The writer stated that if the War Department needed additional funds, “a special order from the President is deemed to be necessary, in conformity to the letter of the Secy. of the Treasury to the Secy. of War, of the 17th. of April last” (for the letter, see Albert Gallatin to JM, 17 Apr. 1813). Below the note, Parker wrote that based on the information it contained, John Armstrong should ask JM to order an additional $528,000 to be provided to the War Department to cover September’s expenditures. He added that according to Sheldon, the money “must be deducted from the subsequent months,” and that less money would be needed after the campaign ended in November.
The second enclosure was a copy of Sheldon’s letter to Parker, 16 Sept. 1813 (2 pp.), in which Sheldon explained that the Treasury was unable to pay a warrant for $100,000 to the paymaster of the Army because the only War Department funds remaining for September, totaling $172,284, had been earmarked for adjusting the department’s accounts at the end of the month. He offered to make the remaining money available immediately if Parker wished but warned that unless JM approved additional funding, “the consequences probably will be, that on the 30th Sept. many of your appropriation accounts will be overdrawn & must be so returned to Congress.”