[Winthrop Sargent] Cincinnati County of Hamilton May the 17^th 1792 [unpaged] my Dear Sir I am extreemely gratified by your friendly private Letter of the 21^st Ult: — To merit and perhaps your approbations and Appitions has been amongst my first and most ardent wishes since I have had the Honour of being known to you — I am indeed I assure you anxiously desirous of Service for the War in this Country, but I have received the most mortifying Proofs that the important Duties to whose your kind Influence has appoin- and me cannot with Honour and Fidelity be Discharged without higher Rank in the Army — I made the Experiment last Campaign, and Proofs presented to the Troops under the perneable Impression of forfeiting the full confidence and Esteem of the commanding General yet I had infinite mortifications and Discouragements to combat. It would be my Ambition Sir in the Prosecution of Arms to exceed the narrow Limits of mere Duty and mined to the end that I deserved the Notice and Friendship of the Secretary at War — In this arduous Service it would be my Province to come forward, under the direction of the Commanding General, Ostensibly to correct Abuses that have acquired the Force of strong Habits, and to introduce a new System of Discipline, or to add to the old, in order to render our Army efficient against the Enemy They will have to fight — Most Innovations you must be sensible my Dear Sir are received in Disgust, and when [underline: enacted] by an officer without Rank the Consequences are obvious — the younger Ensign presuming upon his commission was due to manners and customs, and the Contagion of his Example Diffusing itself amongst the leading men tend to prostrate Subordination and Discipline or produce the Coercion of very frequent Arrest and sometimes [strikethrough: Punishments] as Oppose to the Sword — This must immediately be construed into extreme "Haughtiness and Severity", And though a Wise might in time, force him self by wise Measures and a uniform Conduct into the Respectability of an Army, yet the Fact is undeniable would require more than one Campaign to preserve it, And in the mean while the public Interests might suffer — these Difficulties and [undecipherable] Hazards are I presume be alleviated by conferring Rank upon your Adjutant General, but you will pardon I trust the Freedom of the Suggestion — To decline the Army however (notwithstanding these Considerations) in I candidly confess to you extreme painfulness — It as not made after a course Explicit of Inclinations and Propriety, and by the Advice of an Officer of Distinction in this Country who is Decidedly of Opinion that all important Appointments should be attended with Rank — It would have afforded me infinite Satisfaction to have conversed with you upon this Subject before I had made my Determination, and might eventually have proved highly beneficial to myself, for I have unbounded Confidence in your Judgement and pride myself inwardly in believing in your Friendship — I am ambitious my Dear Sir, and I repeat it, that all my Conduct should stand fair to you — I know full well the Odium upon my Character from the "Levy Officers" and I know it [Missing Page/s — Some or all of the pages of this file are wholly or in part missing, and we have not been able to locate a more complete copy of the document.]