The Secretary of War Account^s 6 To: February 12 When your letter of this date was handed I was preparing an answer to that of the 14^th December. I had accompany a list of the names of the Officers & Soldiers of the late Virginia line, the laws thereof are entitled to Bounty Land, "with your request to go same a careful examination, with the records & papers in this Office, note opposite each name the period of service when the documents in this differ from the Virginia return" — As early as possible I proceeded to the required examination to be made, and drawn the transmitted you. W of an examination by one of my Clerks of some of the names extracted from register of the Musters on file in this Office, which are very defective. Settlements made by the State of Virginia? By which you will observe impossible to note with accuracy, The period which each man served in the Regiment, & pieces of troops not being annexed to the names in the Virginia? — It frequently occurs in the course of the examination, that number of men of the same name have served in as many different and for different periods; consequently it is impossible to know what Regiment was mentioned on the Virginia rolls to which of those men annex the period of service — and was this obstacle removed — that ation would be difficult & one more great length of time — reference also be had to all the Settlements made with the Virginia Officers, great part of which are filed at the Treasury Department, for Congress the depot of the Musters & returns of the Virginia Line, directed by the Resolution of the 1^st June 1784, that in Settling the accounts of of the Army, the Paymaster General be authorized to settle with the ioned Officers on their oath, with the non commissioned Officers & on a certificate of the field Officers who commanded them — Those were accordingly taken, when the musters were before defective, & are filed with the accounts at the Treasury Department — I would [Page 196 YPO01]