[undecipherable — page 1 is an archivist's notice indicating the document is wholly or in part illegible] War department Accountants office August 20. 1793 Sir You being appointed agent of the War department in the Territory of the United States South of the Ohio, it is my duty to give you instructions Respecting that part of your agency, which appertains to the paying of the Troops in the Service of the [undecipherable] [undecipherable] tions to the pay mas^ters of the Troops are to be your general guide; it is to be observed that those instructions were contemplated to embrace a system for Settlement of the Army [undecipherable] to the last of August 1792 which [undecipherable] will not apply to your transactions - your [undecipherable] will be to attend to that [undecipherable] in[undecipherable] to operate after that period so far [undecipherable] the same may apply [undecipherable] The instructions of the Comptroller with the forms of the Rolls therein Referred to are furnished from the War office, you will find that the form of a Pay Roll for Service to august 31. 1792 Mark'd B does not apply to you; the form A of a monthly Muster and the form C of monthly pay Roll of a Comp^y with the form D of a Sublegionary pay Roll will be essentially the forms that you will use; but as they were intended for the Regular troops, of Course they will vary according to Circumstances, when applied to the militia. instance the form D in the heading will be changed to a Pay Roll of [underline: Regim^t] or otherwise as it may happen as to the [underline: number] enroll'd. The forms E & F of muster and pay Rolls of detach^ts you will observe by the Comptrollers instructions, more pointedly apply to the detach^ts of the [undecipherable] Troops held for [undecipherable] tions in service, where the main body would be stationary and from which parties would be detached. as your payments to the militia chiefly will be for desultory Services in such cases those forms will will not apply; but in any instance where they may apply, you will strictly attend to them — I wish to turn your attention to the instructions for paying the Troops through subordinate paymasters, you are directed to notify the paymasters that no assignments of the pay of a non Commiss^d officer or private are to be Considered as Valid — That they will produce separate Receipts for the Sums advanced on each pay Roll on the Settlem^t of their Acc^ts with the Accountant of the War departm^t; in That in Cases where the men are unable to sign their Names to Receipts for their pay, the Signature of one Commiss^d officer or two non Commiss^d officers as Witness to the paym^t will be deem'd Necessary Vouchers and you will also instruct them that no partial payments are to be made, the Amo^t due to each [undecipherable] as Settled in the pay Roll is to be paid and Receipted for accordingly. By the foregoing & the Comptrollers instructions it will appear that it is expected the money would be in your hands to make the payments of the Troops monthly; this probably may not be the case with with the Militia, as the distance is [so] great from the Seat of the general Government, that information to be given to the Secretary of War of any body of militia called into service & the remittances of their pay would be likely to consume more time, than that of their Service & of course being discharged & dispersed it is necessary in such case to provide rules for their payment where personal application would be either inconvenient or impossible. You will therefore notify the Paymaster that where a claim[ant] does not come forward in person, application is to be made by powers of attorney properly acknowledged which are in all cases to be considered & treated as workable instruments until payment is made them by the Paymaster & that he will also notify the Soldiers by advertisments in the Gazette & at places of general resort, where & how payments will be made & to advise them of the Law that no assignment of their pay will be con[s]idered as valid, & that it will be prefer[re]d to have the application made in person. I am Sir Your Ob^t Serv^t Joseph Howell [P.S.] As the blank Rolls for Companies which are printed, as are expected [undecipherable] from the War office include those [undecipherable] for detachments, which can easily be [undecipherable] for the former by altering the word Detachment David Henley Es^q Agent of the War Depart^t in the Territory of the United States South of the Ohio