New York March 6. 1786 Gentlemen Having attended to the Petition of M^r Giles Wolcott, in consequence of directions from your Honorable Board, I am informed that the money which he says appears to have been lost by him on the retreat of our Army from Ticonderoga, cannot with propriety be refunded [strikethrough: to him] by the United States. The witnesses he quotes [strikethrough: there] Col^o Baldwin [strikethrough: and others allowed him and] visited several places, which [strikethrough: however within my knowledge], have been admitted; I proceed on this principle, that the money lost, belonged, was entrusted in their hands for the public service, and was not their own property — appears to be [strikethrough: almost probably to better] which does not letterance in respect to M^r Wolcott. As The Paymaster of his regiment never had [strikethrough: any] he had recruiting monies committed into his hands, could not of the authority to course pay any out— and, I M^r Trumbull the PM^r for the is now to presumed that Department would never have directed the sum of two hundred Dollars to be stopped from his pay, if it had been required for recruiting especially as at the time there was a ballance due to him on this account. I can therefore suppose, that M^r Wolcott labours under a mistake, when he supposes the sum of 200 Dols was stopped improperly from his pay. also There is also appears to be [strikethrough: transmitted] to the mistaken in respect to the sum of 100 Dols which he says he received from late Warner, for recruiting, as has never [strikethrough: neither] charged by Col^o not him Warner with this sum nor from has it [strikethrough: appeared] and from been on his old account will receive his spirits [strikethrough: The] There were indeed monies under have been charged to him by the Col^o & D. which other means which, he acknowledges to have received from Col^o Edwards given him But the principal reason which induces me to believe that it appears by his money and admits to it sworn to by him that this money was his own property is, that [strikethrough: at Ticonderoga] when he says the same was lost, there is no ballance due to him of before the the 6 of July 1777 the time of the retreat, he had [strikethrough: received] the whole amount of the money which had [strikethrough: to him since been obtained] been paid to him for that service, if of course he could not have any of it on his hands— the money therefore which he lost on that day must have been his own, of it had at first as too [strikethrough: appears] been [strikethrough: paid,been] [undecipherable] for recruiting. our supposing reports The Hon^ble the Board of Treasury [signed] [undecipherable] Copy of a letter to the Hon^ble Board of Treasury [undecipherable] 1786