[E] Army Comm^s Office N.York June 11^th 1786 Sir Your letter of the 20^th Alt^o. is received. The attestation of Cap^t Ballard ought to be accompanied with the certificates of the Officers who were knowing to the loss of his papers, and also of some of the Officers of the regiments certifying their knowledge of the accuracy, and integrity with which he conducted the business. I do not require such corroborating evidence from the least supposition that what the Captain has alledged is not just, but from a general rule that in cases of this nature the whole evidence which possibly can be procured ought to come before me, and that the attestation of disinterested evidence always has greater weight than that of a person in his case, let his character be however just and unexceptionable. I have attended to his accounts and find that he is charged with 293[undecipherable] Dollars received by him on the 19^th of April 1779 for 2 Months pay, advanced on account of the Regiment, which sum he ought to have deducted from his next or another payment, but I cannot find that this has been the case, he is therefore accountable for this Sum over and above the regimental pay. I find also that he received from M^r Harrison on the 15^th August 1783, 22.29 5/90 Dollars on account which I suppose ought to be charged to him as it was I believe a personal advance. I have searched the musters and cannot find that Chaves has been contained in the Rolls, and as he has not produced any other evidence of his services I have not attempted his settlement. The certificate of the arrears due to Isaac Nicholson I have committed into the hands of Colonel Blount who will deliver the same to you. [JP] Major Richard Fenner