[Miscellaneous] 26. July 1792. Do. Do. Caleb Swan Esq. Opin P.H.H. Ck. & ltr. Ent^d. Folio 279. Treasury Department Comptrollers office July 26^th Sir You having been appointed Pay master of the Troops of the United States, it has become my duty to transmit to you instructions in respect to the forms for keeping and rendering the accounts of your office. By the act under which you have been appointed, the following duties are assigned to the Pay master of the Troops of the United States. Firstly. To receive the Pay abstracts of the Pay Masters of the several Regiments or Corps, and compare the same with the returns or muster Rolls which shall accompany the said Pay abstracts. Secondly. To certify accurately to the commanding Officer the [pay] due to the respective Corps which shall have been examined aforesaid. Thirdly. To transmit to the accountant of the War Department copies of all reports to the commanding Officer and of the [war]rants issued thereon. The monies necessary to enable you to discharge for warrants as may be drawn on you by the commanding Officer will be placed in your hands, in consequence of warrants to be drawn by the Secretary of War on the Treasurer of the United States. It has been determined by the Secretary at War, the Troops shall hereafter be paid monthly — but as the arrangements for effecting this object in a regular manner will necessarily consume some considerable time, it is proposed, that in the first instance the settlement shall be made to include all the pay which shall be due to the last day of August ensuing. For this purpose you will cause the Pay Masters of the different Regiments and Corps and the commanding Officers of detached Garrisons and Posts to be notified, that triplicate muster rolls will be requisite of the State of each Company or independent Corps on the said last day of August ensuing, to be made out according to the form herewith transmitted marked — In case an Inspector shall be present, the muster rolls are to be certified by him according to the form prescribed — but in case no Inspector shall be present, the muster rolls are to be certified by the two [strikethrough: Senior] Officers of the Company or the [troop] in case so many shall be present — One of the Muster Rolls are forthwith to be transmitted to you, and the third to the Pay Master of the Regimental Corps or Detachment — The form herewith transmitted marked B is designated as a guide for making out the Pay Rolls for service to the last day of August ensuing, being the time to which a general settlement is proposed to be made — an exact adherence to this form on all occasions is not expected — you are therefore at liberty to make additional columns for noting the several allowances on account of cloathing in certain cases, and also columns for the deductions which are to be made for Cloathing and Hospital Stores — and also in those aspects to conform the Pay Rolls to the allowances granted by law, for the different species of Service which have been performed. In making alterations from the form now prescribed, you will however be guided by the following principles — The period for which the settlement shall be made, the names, rank and pay of each person are to be specially inserted — the amount of advances or deductions are also to be noted and the balance due to each individual accurately ascertained. If any Pay rolls shall be presented for examination which shall be defective in any of these essentials, you will not fail to reject them and cause others to be framed. You will require that triplicate Pay rolls should be made, two of which will be retained by you, and the third after examination you will deliver to the Regimental Pay Master or other officer who may on special occasions be designated, [by the] Secretary of War or the Commanding officer to pay a troops or Detachment for all services which may be charged in said Pay rolls — duplicate muster rolls certified in one of the modes prescribed by the form A will be deemed indispensible vouchers here. To enable you to make the proper deductions from the Pay of the Troops, the Accountant to the Department of War will transmit you a Schedule of all advances which have been made by said Department on account of Pay, as also an account of the times to which the respective Corps [Entries — all advances which have been made] and and Regiments have been fitted; for the amount of these to date you will be considered as accountable. On the receipt of this Schedule from the accountant of the War Department, you will arrange the charges into classes, and will transmit to the respective Pay Masters and [strikethrough: simultaneously] the sums [chargeable] against their several Regiments and [Corps] at the same time informing them, that it will be expected they state the proportions which are to be deducted from [the pay] of each individual on the Pay Rolls which shall be [submitted] for your examination. In the purpose of enabling the accountant of the War Department to close the accounts depending in his office it will be indispensible, that an account Current should be stated with each Regiment, Corps or Detachment, [on] which a settlement shall be made; — in stating this account you will be guided as far as circumstances will admit by the account annexed to the form (B). The most special attention to the credits which ought to be preserved in favour of the public is expected, both for the purpose of preventing improper advances, and that the particular sums which shall be accounted for may be accurately designated — With a view of guarding against [such] perplexities, it is recommended that the credits for advances be extended under the same dates and be denominated in the same manner as in the schedule which shall be rendered by the accountant of the War Department. If any Officer to whom money shall appear to have been advanced, shall neglect to exhibit an account of the operation thereof, so that the proper deductions may be made on the Pay Rolls; you will report the delinquent to the commanding Officer, and at the same time transmit copies of your proceedings to the Office of the Accountant of the War Department. Notwithstanding your utmost care and diligence, it may happen from an foreign causes, that a regular settlement with the troops to the last day of August may be found in some instances impracticable — if this shall prove to be the case the causes which shall prevent a settlement are to be accurately reported to the Accountant of the War Department, that further instructions may be transmitted on that account. You are not however to delay a settlement with the Pay Rolls for the period subsequent to the last of August, but will require that they be rendered — and will proceed to adjustments according to the modes hereto before prescribed — [directed by musters of the Troops, according to the forms and modes hereinafter prescribed/] The foregoing observations are principally intended to explain the manner in which you are to regulate the payment of the Troops to the last day of August ensuing. In respect to the payment of the Troops, after that period, the following System is to be strictly observed. The Pay of the Troops is to be made monthly through the hands of the regimental Paymasters — excepting only, such Posts and Garrisons as in respect of their distance from the Head Quarters of the Army shall be exempted from this regulation by the Secretary of War or commanding Officer. The persons who are to act as agents at detached Garrisons or Posts, will be designated by the Secretary of [War] [by commanding officer] and will be considered as subject in all respects to the same relations as Regimental Pay Masters, and will therefore [send] to you monthly Pay rolls and Muster rolls for their respective Garrisons and Detachments. At the end of each month triplicate muster rolls are to be exhibited, which are to be framed according to the (A) and certified either by an Inspector, or in case there is no Inspector, by the two [strikethrough: Senior] Officers [in case there be rolls to be framed] of the respective [frames] or Corps. In these Muster rolls are to be [included] all the persons belonging to the respective companies, [underline: whether present, absent, on command] [strikethrough: and Territory,] [underline: on Detachment]. The muster rolls certified in one of the modes prescribed are to be considered as indispensible vouchers to the Pay rolls and without them no Roll is to be received for examination — triplicate Pay rolls are also to be exhibited monthly for each Company, according to the form marked (C) the aggregate amount of which for each Regiment, will be entered in the Regimental Pay rolls, to be also rendered monthly according to the form (D). The Services which are to be charged in the monthly Regimental rolls, will be taken from the Muster rolls and will include the whole pay due to the Regiments respectively except the pay of such Troops as shall be mustered as on service at those Garrisons and Posts, where a Special Agent shall have been designated by the [underline: Secretary of War]. After being possessed of the documents before described it will be your duty to compare the said Pay rolls with the musters and to ascertain the sums which shall be due thereon. When this is done, you will certify on each folio of the Pay rolls, the sums to be paid agreeably to the form annexed to the roll marked (D). One folio of the Pay rolls will then be transmitted to the Commanding Officer, who will grant his warrant on you for the amount, agreeably to the form thereof, on the said Roll (D). When a warrant has been obtained payment is to be made and duplicate receipts taken on the Pay Rolls one of which is to be on the roll to which the warrant is annexed — at the time of payment you will deliver to the Pay Master one folio of the Pay roll, certified as before directed, by which he is to be regulated in the distribution of the money. It will be necessary that you notify the several Pay Masters by letter, that no assignments of the pay of a non commissioned officer or private after the first day of June last, are to be considered as valid — and that it is expected of the Pay Masters, that they will produce separate receipts for the sums advanced on each Pay roll on the settlement of their accounts with the Accountant of the Department of War > In cases where the men are unable to sign their names to the receipts for their pay — the signatures of one commissioned or two, non commissioned Officers as witnesses to the payments, will be deemed necessary vouchers — It has been already estimated that on account of the dispersed situation of the Troops in the Western Country it has been judged adviseable that certain Garrisons and Posts shall be paid by detachment — the Stations at which this regulation will be adopted, and the persons who will officiate as agents will be designated [by commanding officers] [by the] Secretary at War. As this part of the proposed arrangement appears to be most liable to difficulties in the execution, a strict attention to order will be expected on your part. You are to observe that the Muster rolls of each Company or independent Corps to be rendered according to the form A are to exhibit the names of [underline: all persons, whether] [underline: present or absent] on command [underline: or in the boundary] or on detach[ment] — and that the Pay rolls which are to accompany the said musters are to include all the pay which may be due except [see Folio 9—] any such balances, you will pass duplicate receipts therefor to the Party entitled thereto, and credit the amount in your account with the Department of War. The entries to be made in your books will be [fair] and it is expected that they will be clear and explicit. For monies which shall be remitted to you by warrants of the Secretary at War on the Treasurer of the United States, you will credit the said Treasurer and debit an account to be opened under the head of Cash — If you shall receive monies from any other quarter you are to debit Cash and credit the person on whose account it was received. For all Warrants paid by you, the [amount, this officer] named in the warrant is to be charged, and Cash credited — and all these accounts are to be balanced by means of a General Account under the head of Department of War. You will from time to time, but at least once in each quarter, make up and transmit your accounts to the Accountant for the Department of War for Settlement — the charges to be made in your accounts will in all cases be supported by one folio of the original muster rolls and also by that folio of the Pay Rolls to which the Warrants of the commanding Officer shall be annexed, with proper discharges from the persons or their assigns in whose favour said warrants shall be drawn. The credits will consist of monies except the pay of such troops as shall be mustered on service at those Garrisons and Posts, for which a Special Agent shall have been designated by the Secretary at War. The most pointed attention to this instruction will be requisite to prevent pay being drawn on two rolls for the service of the same persons. As an auxiliary check upon the Muster rolls of Companies, you will require from such Garrisons and Posts as shall be designated to be paid by detachment, triplicate muster rolls, two of which are to be transmitted to you, and the third to be lodged in the hands of the agent. The form of a muster roll for a detachment is herewith transmitted, and is marked (E). The muster rolls are to be accompanied with triplicate Pay rolls which are to be rendered according to the form marked (E). In examining these rolls it will be necessary that you refer to the Pay Rolls of the Companies or Corps from which the men were detached, for the purpose of correcting erroneous entries — the certificate which you are to give on the several rolls and the manner of proceeding for obtaining a warrant and making payment, will be the same as in the case already stated. It may happen in examining Pay rolls, where monies have been advanced in account, that balances will appear in favour of the United States, if it shall be in your power to rece[ive] [see back leaf] monies which shall be remitted to you by the Treasurer of the United States on account of warrants to be drawn by the Secretary of War in your favour and of such monies (if any) as shall be received by you on account of balances apparently due to the United States. In passing receipts for monies which may be received of Individuals you will take care to specify, that such monies are received in account, as Settlements made by you cannot be considered as absolutely and finally binding on the Public. The Accountant of the War Department, will transmit to you a list of Abstracts, to sundry Offices of the incoming monies — you will apply to make remittances for these Accounts, and will receive such attendings as shall appear to be in those hands, of that kind, as also for those accounts exhibiting they shall deliver to your good faith, proper receipts. For the monies you will help relate in your books, the accounts you will for the first to transmit to the Accountant of the War Department for settlement. As no legislative arrangement has until lately been made for the payment of the Troops, it is probable that difficulties which have not been foreseen may occur in the execution of this System; if that should be the case you will State them, as also such provisions as shall appear to you advisable to be adopted — but until further instructions shall be received, you will govern yourself by the forms now transmitted and to the limitations herein contained. [as the commissioners return —] Caleb Swan Esq^r Paymaster of the Troops of the United States Jam^s Ir[vine]