yesterday I was Honor’d with your Letter of the 22d Ulto; in which I am happy my Conduct in appointing Mustermasters, for the Destricts, of wells, Worcester, and Springfield, has meet your Excellencys Approbation.

Any Orders in future your Excellency, may please to Honor me with, wile in this Quarter, Shall be particularly Attended too, and parrtically Complied with, So far as my State of helth will permit; which at present, is Very much impaird, and exceedingly precarous, (God, alone, knows how long it may Continue So) as my want of Sleep, night Sweats, and Violent evacuations by Urin, reather increeses, as the warm weather Comes on, then otherwise. I have for Some Time, been under a Cours of the bark, and am now trying the Cold bath, but as yet, have not reciev’d any benefitt, from either; however am incouraged by my Physicians, who are Sanguine in their Opinions, that a Steady Course Strickly adheard to, and perseveard in, will in Time help me, Taking particular Care, to avoide all Violent heats, & Colds, with useing Very Moderate exercise, Such as rideing a few miles, morning and evening, in A Chase, (it gives me Great pain to ride on horssback) and keeping my mind intirely Calm, & eassy. the Latter I find will be Very Difficult to effect, as my Absence from Camp, at this Stage of the Campaign, wile belonging to the army, is Very Disagreeable to me, and often produces many Very Anxious moments, Least it Should be Constered, into a neglect of duty, or partial indulgence; To prevent which, or any other kind of Censure, as Well as to free the publice from the Unnecessary expence of full pay, to officers who, are not able to do duty. Permit me to Ask the favor of your Excellency, to State my Case, and Transmit with it, a Copy of this, with the inclosed Certificate, To the President of Congress; who, I do, most earnestly request, would be pleasd to Lay them before that Honble Body; and urge the necessity of my being permitted to retire upon the establishment; as from my Very Debillitated State of helth, added, to that, the advance Stage of Life, which I am arrived to, being within a few months, of fifty years of age; there is not the Least proberbility in nature, of my being ever able to do the duty of a Soldier again, and in this Situation, to be Continued on the List, and to be intitled to recive full pay, wile Some other Gentleman must do my duty, is a Consideration, which wounds my feelings as a Soldier exceedingly. I have endeavourd from Time, to Time, to give a True, and impartial Account of the State of my helth, which, I presume will be Confirmd by the inclosed Certificate from two of the ablest and most approved Physicians in the State; which I hope will be Sattisfactory to your Excellency; and have Such Waite, in the minds of the Honable Congress, as to produce my Derangement; which appears to me, is but Just it Should take place; and that it may be don, with the Greatest propriety, without injury to the Service, or giveing [Umbrage] to any individual; especially, when its Considerd, how early I ingaged, and that I have Served my Country, to the best of my abillities, as Long, as nature Could hold out; to the Utter ruin of my fortune, and what is Still Worse, the Total, and erepurable Loss of a Constitution, as Good perhaps as any mans of my age, when I enterd her Service.

At the Same Time, I must Confess, it will be with relucttence That I Leave So Good a Cause, before the work is finish’d and in particular, to Leave your Excellency, whose favors, and Civilities, I have So often experines’d. For which Sir, please to Accept, my most Cordial, and Sincear Thanks, and belive that I am Sir, with every Sentiment of esteem & affection your Excellencys, Most Obdt Hble Sert