The Secretary of War. Sir Department of War Accountants Office January 29^th 1796 In reply to the Claim of Nicholas Ried and others for their Services as Artillery Artificers in the Regiment late Commanded by Col. Flowers, I have the honor to inform you that, I have no recollection of either of them ever having applied to me for information, or to Settle or adjust their accounts, if they had I should have been able to explain to them that their Claim was not well founded, and that if they had been settled with according to the Act of Congress they Speak of (Viz^t 11^th Feb.^y 1778) which must be understood to be Continental Money and subject to be reduced agreeably to the Scale at 5 for One, this would have given them but 4 Dollars P^r Month. but Congress finding that this sum would be inadequate to their Services did by their Act of the 19^th of December 1782 allow them 12 Dollars P^r Month, at this time it was understood to be Specie and they have been settled with by the Commissioner of Army Accounts at that rate. their present Claim is for the difference between the 12 dollars which they have received and the sum which they supposed they were entitled to by the Act of 11 February 1778. In January Instant, Jacob Beck and thirteen others of the same Regiment and situated exactly as the foregoing petitioned the present Congress which petition was referred to the Committee of Claims who sent it to me for information and upon which they founded their report a Copy of which is herewith inclosed Rejecting the Claim which was agreed to by Congress. I am of opinion that several of the same persons now applying are those whose Claims were Rejected by Congress as above. I am Sir &c. William Simmons