[No 18 To Gen Knox Sec^y of War.] Pittsburgh 13^th Sept 1792 Sir The general purport of this letter will be for a variety of articles & necessaries immediately wanted for the use of the Army, for which I pray you to give the necessary orders & directions for their being procured & forwarded to this place with all possible dispatch. There have been tried, punished & pardon'd Fifty deserters at this place, brought forward by the different detachments, for which clothing is wanted, for there are scarce three instances where the uniform have been preserved— the deserters having either lost, sold, or defaced them & are actually naked, except a tattered shirt & overalls, which will be generally the case with all that will be brought forward from the respective rendezvous & prisons, which with other [underline: casualties], we may fairly calculate upon ten Suits to a Company or forty to a Battalion when any [undecipherable] of Clothing are [undecipherable], the soldier must be put under stoppages of pay— in order to reimburse the U. S. for the surplus of clothing allowed by Law. I have already ordered stoppages— for the apprehending of all the deserters— the condemned clothing will answer these contingencies— the price of each article ought to be fixed, in order to make the proper stoppages. That kind of clothing being [undecipherable: probable reading "already"] on hand may be immediately forwarded; say Five hundred & forty suits for the Four Sub Legions—which will serve the contractors, as well as the public by taking of their hands the condemned clothing at a reduced price. I mentioned in my letter of the 7^th inst that there was a difficulty in making out the Pay rolls of Asheton's Detachment, for want of the enlistments or Muster rolls— which I find to be generally the case with all the Detachments that have joined since— I must then request that you will be good enough to order copies of the muster rolls of the several Detachments to be made out & forwarded as soon as possible— for since there has an idea of payment been held out the men are impatient to receive it— — Apropos— I also suggested the idea of appointing Lieut. Daniel Britt, Deputy Paymaster Gen^l pro tem in order to Pay the troops at this Post, as it would be impracticable for the Paymaster General to come forward in any reasonable time, even if an opportunity has offered to order him up the river, which still continues to fall so as to be nearly dry— & fordable every half mile. Standards, Battalion & Camp Colours are much wanted for Parade & manoeuvring— Fusee's will also be wanted for the Officers in action at present I have armed them with Espontoons. Remnants of Cloth, thread & needles are wanting to repair the Soldiers uniforms— also the distinctive binding for their hats (or Caps) I have taken the liberty to make some adaptation to the distinctive marks of the four Sub Legions to those you directed,— particularly that of metamorphosing the heterogeneous of Hat[s]— for they had got out of shape [or form] into uniform Caps agreeably to the enclosed order. Powder sieves a degree finer than common are immediately wanted to separate the Powder [undecipherable] from the coarser grain'd.— [undecipherable]