New York Feb^r 22^d 1788. In reply to your request of the 9^th instant I enclose you a Return of Certificates paid by me commencing with No. 97.56 and ending N^o 94.308, the Certificate I sent to Thomas [undecipherable] you will find to correspond with the Register I am Sir &c Jn. Pierce William Ellery Esq C.L.O. Newport Office L. Army Accounts New York Feb^r 25 1788 Sir The officers of the late 4^th Regiment of L^t Dragoons are daily making application at this office for a Settlement of their Accounts and which I am prevented from doing in consequence of the monies which have been issued to you from the public for the raising of this Regiment, part of which I presume has been advanced to the officers for the raising & equipping of their Troops. I have therefore to request you to come forward with your Accounts at risk ordinary to form a Settlement that I may be enabled to comply with the wishes of the officers — If, Sir, your Vouchers are lost I would suggest the idea of an application to Congress and as there is at present a full representation I presume the present opportunity to be the best that will present itself for some time — Jn Pierce Gen Stephen Moylan New York Feb^r 26 1788 Sir I have agreeably to your request attended to the nature and connexion here of the appointments made to the late Major Elisha Painter by the United States and take the liberty to State my opinion on them for your consideration On the [undecipherable] [undecipherable] of [undecipherable] 1776 he received a regular military commission as a "Major" in the battalion where Col Seth Warner [undecipherable] was "Colonel" which commission must be construed as continuing in full force until revoked by Congress On the 18 of January 1777 the above appointment was revoked but on the 25^th of April following he was reinstated in it and was directed to return to his command in the said regiment as Major thereof unless Gen Washington shall think proper to appoint him to any other office or employment in the army not inferior to his former rank On the 6^th of May 1777 Clement Biddle D.Q.M.G. by command of his excellency Gen Washington certifies or orders that Major [undecipherable] is to [undecipherable] all the artificers &c which I look upon as no new appointment and as not conveying any rank whatever and therefore his commission as Major was no way affected by it — Gen Washington could and often did detach officers from their Regiments on extra duty in the Staff departments, but the execution of which has never been construed as a relinquishment of their appointments or places in their Regiments, they having always returned to their Regiments after they had performed their particular duty and received their promotions in the same manner as if they had never been removed from them The right therefore of Major [undecipherable] to a place in Col Warners regiment ever continued and the appointment of another Major in his place was illegal & directly contradicted by the Resolve of April 25, 1777 From this view of his appointments I consider him as entitled to the same rights and emoluments as if he had actually done duty in the regiment and that all the acts of Congress respecting the regiment affected him and on the contrary he never was affected by any of the acts that [strikethrough: affected] respected the artificers. The arrangement made of Col Seth Warners Regiment on the 7^th of August 1779 by virtue of the several acts of Congress, of