To James Madison from Nathaniel Gist, 27 January 1790
From Nathaniel Gist
Buckingham, 27th Jany. 1790.
Dear Sir,
I must beg leave to request the favor of you to write to me, soon as convenient, in respect to the business you were good enough to undertake to transact for me in Congress. Should you be at a loss for any information relative to the matter, I shall be obliged to you to apply to the President, who is acquainted with every circumstance: Or if it be necessary for me to attend in New York, you will be pleased to inform me of it. You will observe, sir, that the five thousand dollars which were furnished me by the Board of War in order to defray my expences, on one expedition to the Southern Indians, I returned to the Continental treasury, as will appear by the books in that office. I am, with the greatest respect Sir, Your mo: obt. servt
Nathl. Gist1
RC (DLC). Docketed by JM.
1. Col. Nathaniel Gist (1733–1796), son of the famous colonial scout Christopher Gist, was an officer of the Virginia Continental line during the Revolution. In 1783 he married Judith Cary Bell, daughter of David Bell of Buckingham County. The “business” JM attended to probably related to Gist’s expenses for missions to the Cherokee tribe in 1777 and 1778 (Mark M. Boatner III, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution [New York, 1966], p. 436; , VII [1899–1900], 12–13; , III, 250 n. 7; , X, 228–29, 240–41; XVI, 25; XX, 600–601; XXI, 903; Jean Muir Dorsey and Maxwell Jay Dorsey, Christopher Gist of Maryland and Some of His Descendants, 1676–1957 [Chicago, 1958], pp. 31–39).