[N°. 56. To Major Gen^l Knox, Secretary of war] Legion Ville 27. april 1793.— Sir, I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 13^th. instant in which you say "as you will have to change some of your Garrisons, it is probable that I shall have the pleasure of writing you before you descend the Ohio and that the communications will be more full as the President will then probably be here." I have therefore determined to wait until the 29^th. i.e. the day after tomorrow; when I expect to Embark agreeably to the enclosed extract from General orders.— You have also enclosed an Extract from the orders of the 15^th.: there was an absolute necessity for these orders and examples; and I wish it were made part of the instructions to the Commissioners to make those demands, and permit me to add, to demand in the most pointed terms the surrender of [underline: Niagara] and [underline: Detroit,] without which no treaty however humiliating upon our part, and embracing all the claims of the Savages will be permanent, useful or expedient.— having entered upon this subject, I will take the liberty to suggest that this is the Crisis, whilst England is involved in intestine broils and at war with France to demand a fulfillment of the treaty of 1783. by the immediate surrender of those Posts: the posession of them will insure a permanent peace with the Indians.— on the contrary, should the war progress, which from the enclosed copy of M^r. Forgetts affidavit and from a variety of facts and circumstances it most certainly will; we shall find it an Herculean task to support the Garrisons and Posts that have been in contemplation to be established in the Indian Country; our Convoys will be constantly subject to surprise & loss and the Garrisons to blockade and famine.— therefore, I pray it may be remembered that these ideas are only a recapitulation of the sentiments that I have heretofore taken the liberty to express: and permit me hazard a further opinion, that should the Ohio eventually be made the boundary, the United States will soon experience a formidable neighbour upon its margin, who will immediately open a wide and deep drain to the population of the Atlantic States, however guarded against by the instructions of the Commissioners or in the terms of peace.— I shall now take the liberty to offer a few observations upon the instructions contained in your letter of the 13^th. instant.— On the 24^th. of August 1792. I gave you my sentiments very fully upon the plan of Offensive operation against the Indians; and endeavored to shew the prudence & necessity of establishing plentiful magazines of provision, forage and stores at the head of the line by or in the month of July ensuing.— It would appear by your letter of the 13^th. that I am interdicted from carrying into effect this most essential business for the present: which interdiction, should the war progress may be the cause of very serious and disagreeable consequences.— nor is the difference in the price of the Ration to be put in competition with the advantage which would result from a liberal deposit guarded from insult.— in this deposit I include a plentiful magazine of Hay, both at Forts Hamilton & Jefferson, which cannot be effected but with the aid of strong covering parties — and the only season to cut, cure & secure it is in May & June.— after which period the grass becomes very coarse and high and affords a most favorable shelter for Ambush and surprise — this the savages well know and they will procrastinate the treaty in order to avail themselves of the advantage and to deprive us of the benefit of the forage for our Cavalry — which they dread more than any other kind of troops & with just cause.— The Indians are an artful Enemy: procrastination is their object — until the favorable moment for operation.— to this end, the [underline: Corn planter] proposed & urged the expediency of the troops remaining stationary on the upper parts of the Ohio, until it should be too low for navigation and to prevent us from making the necessary arrangements in season for offensive operation.— this artifice I saw thro' and evaded by answering him, that the only means to secure peace was to be well prepared for war; and that if he heard of our descending the River in a short time, to 'make his mind and the minds of the hostile Indians strong & easy': but promised not to erect any new [underline: Posts] or Garrisons advanced of those now in our possession, until the result of the pending treaty was known, unless compelled to it by the conduct of the hostile Indians.— the Savages therefore expect us to advance to the head of the line; and the accumulation of magazines, so far from having a tendency to prevent a peace will rather expedite it, if they have any such intention.— but I rather conclude that War is their object; if a continuance of hostilities be a criterion to judge by.— Having thus given you my opinion and sentiments founded upon facts & mature deliberation; I pray that they may not give offence, but be attributed to an honest Zeal to serve my Country (in which I have more than a common interest) and as a tribute due to my own character & responsibility as Commander in Chief of the Legion of the United States.— I shall now make a point of obeying every part of the instructions contained in your letter of the 13^th. instant until further orders, which I hope may be [underline: speedy, full and explicit.] In the interim I have published the enclosed Proclamation, which I believe is agreeably to your ideas — but I much doubt whether it will prevent retaliation for such enormities as mentioned in M^r. Forgetts testimony — i.e. the murder & capture of several families besides other individuals in the State of Kentucky with many others along the margin of the Ohio as high up as [underline: Bellepré.]— In my letter of the 20^th. instant I find that I have over rated the effective force at this place as you will observe by the Muster Rolls herewith sent — and which will shew you how very deficient most of the Companies are — very few exceeding one half — and many not more than one third of the number that compose a company agreeably to the Establishment.— It will be necessary that Cap^t. Heath and a great proportion of the Officers should (in place of joining the Legion) remain upon the recruiting service; for which purpose the whole of the conditional Ensigns ought to be called into immediate service.— Enclosed is a list of the discharged and Garrison duty men.— Nothing but want of numbers could induce me to continue any one of the latter class in the Legion; being much properer objects for discharge than for any kind of service. I therefore conceive that we are rather strengthened than weakened by leaving them behind. I have the honor to be with esteem and regard your most obed^t & very hum^l Servant Wayne.— the Hon^ble. Maj. Gen. Knox. Sec^y of War. P.S. The Paymaster General has forwarded all the Pay rolls to the accountant of the War Department. Lieut. Col^l. Comm^t. Smith has been Cashiered by the sentence of a Gen^l Court Martial, as I predicted.—