[Copy] May 7^th 1784, To the President of Congress. Mr Pierce respects [undecipherable] [undecipherable] Philadelphia May 7. 1784 Sir To beg leave to lay before your Excellency and Congress the enclosed representation from H. Wittmore Esquire the Deputy Paymaster for the Main Army, who on the closing of his accounts with the United States falls short the sum of 873 — Dols the [strikethrough: reasons] causes of this failure he sets forth, and I am warranted to believe, from the universal fair character he has sustained, and my own knowledge of his [interlined: that his representation to be true &] integrity, that the loss has not arisen from any remissness in him — and therefore beg leave to request the consideration of Congress in his behalf — His Excellency the President of Congress Dear Sir Enclosed You have my return and the Vouchers for my expenditures for the month of October 1783 — I am happy that all the charges during the course of my business which have been Exhibited against me in Your Accounts have been accurately Credited in mine — The sum of Eight Hundred and Seventy Three Dollars now appears charged as having been lost — I am aware of the propriety of my giving some reasons for presuming to account for Monies in this Manner — I think for my own part, and believe You will acknowledge, that it is not very Extraordinary that in the course of three Years that I have had the Charge of all Monies which have been paid to this Army there should be some [undecipherable] — but When it is considered that in the present Year the Business hath been fifteen times as diffuse and various as it hath ever been before in this or known in the payment of any other Army, it would seem a Miracle if the Monies should be all Critically accounted for — It wounds my feelings that there should be such a deficiency as to compel me to request the public would grant an allowance of it; at the same time I must confess the Sum does not Exceed the fears I had upon the Event of this business — In my Settlement of each Account I never found but in two Instances that I had lost money in my [underline: payments] and one by the bursting pen of the the Military Chest in its transportation in movement of the Army — This was fortunately but 20 Dollars — one of the former a Sheet of 170 Dollars, the other an 8 Dollar Bill — I advertised one of these [undecipherable], but as it was to no purpose, I did not mention the Other. It was impossible for me to conjecture to whom the money was over paid — The other losses must have accumulated from [undecipherable] received from the Bank and from the Multiplying, increasing destruction & delivery of the Vast Multiplicity of orders which were drawn on me by all parts of the Army — They were handed me by almost every Body, at all times and in all places; The occasion of these orders was from this Source — Money not being sent in Regularly from Philadelphia to pay the Army agreeably to the proposed plan, it was principally Negotiated by the Officers and Soldiers, taking up their Weekly pay at the Merchants and Sutlers, giving their Notes for the same as their Regimental Pay money. The Paymasters not being able to discharge them so seasonably as to enable the Merchants to recruit their Store, they were of course all brought to me, which I was at the trouble of receiving and giving my Bills for, as it was a Means of Saving the Expense of transportation of Money, and indeed the only practicable method of paying the Army. I did all in my power to Encourage the Expedient — [undecipherable] please You to figure to Yourself in the time of extreme Poverty of the Army, When Every Shilling was as precious as a Diamond, a number of Paymasters and Officers waiting for their respective pittances — A Group of Merchants Sutlers and Citizens, each with their number of orders all must be settled with, all increasing confusion, and to increase it more the Army being ordered to be paid Weekly, necessitated me to appoint Each Day in the Week for the payment of a certain portion of the troops, no time could be afforded for posting my accounts nor for Selecting and arranging the orders properly for Stoppages, I was Ever sure of paying the Amount of orders though the losing, the miscasting and [strikethrough: very] wrong delivery of them (the Natural Consequence of Unavoidable Hurry) in Stopping was at my own risque — I believe You can conceive of difficulty and Embarrassment over with persons the most Adroit in business and I hope that the business could not have been properly done without the Assistance of four Clerks. I was utterly destitute of any Assistance — and could make no other minutes of Hundreds of orders presented in the Space of a few Hours and in the midst of Stoppings than so much Money, or such a draught on You paid for orders — If the deficiency had been much less, it would have given me pleasure to have Exhibited my Accounts and Closed the business without mentioning the Misfortune — to offer a Revision of it would be as modest in me as depriving and pitifully in a Nation to Excuse. I have therefore taken the liberty to charge the Whole; a trifle among her many losses, extremely inconsiderable for the public to sustain, but as Extremely hard and Impossible for me to bear — And now So clear in my conscience as a Saint in Heaven I lay my hand on my heart and declare to You (as I am Willing at any time to give Oath) that I have never appropriated a penny of Public Monies to the purpose of Speculation though numberless Opportunities have offered my own Sentiments of honor and a regard for Yours have Prevented me — And I solemnly affirm that nothing is Withheld, and that the Account now rendered is Honest, and that I have no other Knowledge of the Moneys than in the Representation given; I could wish to have been less Tedious in this description, but the subject respected me in so Important and Delicate a Manner that I was incapable of Expressing my feelings on it in a narrower Compass — I am Dear Sir with the Greatest Esteem & Affection Your Sincere friend and Ob^t. Ser^t. R. Wittmore [marginalia, partially illegible: to the [undecipherable] carrying my return, representing the business [undecipherable] act of Congress one day] [Copy]