[Address: the Secretary of War] [Docket: From Gen. Wayne. private 8 — [undecipherable] to Powers] [Private] Head Quarters, Greeneville 28^th July 1796 No 9. Sir I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your two letters of the 9^th instant, & thanks for the friendly hints. It however does not require any great degree of penetration to discover the real object of those malignant & groveling charges [undecipherable: probable reading "exhibited"] by that worst of all bad men, to whom I feel myself as much superior in every Virtue as Heaven is to Hell, The fact is — my presence with the Army is very inconvenient, to the notorious Machinations of the Enemies of Government. & my eventually preventing them from Deceiving the Union As a small instance of the truth of this idea I beg the liberty to enclose a Copy of a letter this moment received from M: W: who is probably may have set out for Philadelphia, before Major Swan can reach Lexington, altho' I have not lost a moment, in sending him forward speedily to the request of M: W: as you will observe by a copy of my letter of this date to that Gentleman In addition to this I have addressed a blank letter to His Excellency Gov. [undecipherable: probable reading "Gayoso"], forwarding a flag, with a fore said barge well manned & appointed to descend the Ohio, under a Confident & judicious Officer, to look out for & seize the boat on board of which the Naval Chest & papers may be [found], & to proceed as far as Massac, in case he does not [undecipherable] her sooner or before she reaches that place, with orders to [undecipherable] the [undecipherable] of [undecipherable] from M. [undecipherable] Pipe, &c. apart as [undecipherable: probable reading "agreed"], to prevent the Chest & papers passing that port in the night, & to [undecipherable] both; he is as obliging as to communicate this [undecipherable] to the President as soon as conveniently & permit me to suggest the expediency of an interview with M: W: in Philadelphia — he is a relation of Parson Jones's, & trades between Kentucky & New Orleans very largely. I am with sincere Esteem & regard Your most Ob^t Humb Ser^t Ant'y Wayne The Hon^ble James McHenry Esq^r Secretary of War