[War Office August 31. 1793 Instructions from H. Knox Secretary of War] To David Henley Esq^r Agent for the War Department South of the Ohio and Southerly Southwest of the Ohio Sir The objects of expence having been considerably multiplied by recent occurrences in the territory of the United States south of the Ohio it has been deemed adviseable with the approbation of the President of the United States to appoint you as an Agent of the War Department in that territory. This appointment will have a temporary extent until other and more regular measures shall be ordained by the Congress of the United States. All the supplies in the Quarter Masters, Ordnance, Cloathing Pay, commissaries of Provisions Departments or other objects within the general Department of War, will come under your cognizance. You are in all cases to use the highest vigilance to prevent all abuse or injury to the public interests which may arise from negligence or design. All militia which have been or shall be raised at the expence of the Union are to be regularly and rigidly mustered and inspected upon entering and quitting the service. The regular troops are to be mustered monthly and all militia who shall serve more than two months are also besides the the before mentioned muster at entering and quitting the service also to be mustered and inspected monthly in all practicable cases. This duty is if possible to be performed by a regular Officer in your presence, but if a regular Officer cannot be obtained you will appoint some respectable character for the purpose. All returns of public property belonging to the Quarter Masters, Ordnance, or Provision Departments must be signed by the commanding Officer of the Battalion or Regiment and all deficiencies are to be accounted for at each inspection. The payment of the regular troops and militia to be made according to the rules established by the Congress of the Country, herewith delivered you, together with the explanations of the decisions of the War Department. You are constituted in the aforesaid territory as watch with the powers of Pay master to the troops. David Allison is appointed a subordinate Pay master and store keeper of all public property within your cognizance, and he is to obey your orders in all things relatively to the mode of keeping the stores and keeping of the accounts. M^r C Allison is to make the actual payments when the persons having just claims shall appear for the purpose of receiving them. In all other cases you are to hold the money in possession until it is to be paid to the person entitled to it. You have also herewith delivered to you the forms of accounts for the Indian Department established by the Comptroller of the Treasury which must be rigidly observed. The Indian goods are to be delivered to the written orders of Governor Blount, and also all other stores destined for the militia troops. The following mode of payment of the militia in the territory south of the Ohio is to be used and the accounts hereby settled as the Pay Office — The money to be advanced in the first instance by [undecipherable] of the Department of War upon warrants of the Secretary of War — To be held by one to M^r Allison subordinate paymaster and store keeper upon Warrants of Governor [undecipherable] countersigned by you, each of which warrants is to be for the whole sum [undecipherable] on a pay roll of a company or detachment. But the money is to be advanced to M^r Allison by you in parcells, that is in sums upon accounts of each Warrant in proportion as they shall be wanted for actual disbursments. These advances to be made weekly, receipts for each advance to be endorsed on the Warrant. To obtain them M^r Allison will furnish you with a statement statement of the sum probably wanted from period to period, and when a further sum is applied for a statement of the disbursement of the preceeding advance to be rendered to M^r Heitvell, Accountant of the War Department, who will furnish copies of the pay abstracts as settled. It is difficult if not impracticable to detail with precision the different parts of your duty, such details can only arise from experience. But it is proper to be observed that you are to be placed in the territory South of the Ohio as the public eye to regulate payments and supplies of all sorts for the troops — to prevent and correct every improper expenditure and [undecipherable] to the [undecipherable] in military Departments. The Government are desirous that all stipulations or legal supplies shall be furnished most punctually; but at the same time that energy, pervades every Department, that it is necessary it should be accompanied by discretion, purity and oeconomy. You will therefore diligently endeavour to observe the public interests in all respects — that you take all means in your power to prevent or remedy every thing which may be wrong by making the necessary representations to the commanding Officers and to this Office — While While you are correcting abuses in others, you must be peculiarly circumspect with respect to yourself. For this purpose you will not hold any public property in your possession, but deliver such as may come into your possession to the persons who have been, or may be appointed to distribute them, making all persons accountable to you for their receipts and expenditures. You will make monthly reports to this Office of all objects under your direction, keeping each separate by itself — You may in this business necessarily require assistance, which you will obtain upon the best terms. All objects of reasonable expenditure connected with the safety of the public stores, or the advancement of the public business will be allowed you. Given at the War Office of the United States the thirty first day of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and ninety three H Knox [undecipherable: Josplean?]