From Alexander Hamilton to Brigadier General Anthony Wayne, [30 July 1779]
To Brigadier General Anthony Wayne
[West Point, July 30, 1779]
D Sir
Lt Col Williams1 of the Pensylvania line has applied to the General on the subject of the inquiry into his conduct. You may recollect that the proceedings of the Court of Inquiry were ordered to be revised & your evidence together with that of Col Stewart,2 taken. The General would be glad to know whether what you may have to say will be material in the case; because the affair has now lain over so long, that unless there should be something to throw new light upon it, it may be best to publish the report of the court of inquiry in the first instance, without the trouble and delay of a revisal.
I have the honor to be Sir Yr. Most Obed ser
Alex Hamilton Aide De Camp
ALS, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Df, in writing of Richard Kidder Meade, George Washington Papers, Library of Congress.
1. Lieutenant Colonel William Williams, Third Pennsylvania Regiment. For an explanation of the reasons for the inquiry, see Wayne to H, July 31, 1779.
2. Colonel Walter Stewart, Second Pennsylvania Regiment.