Quincy June 5^th 1799 Sir I have received your favor of 29 ult & have seen the inclosures. The employing the army and requir[ing] as [undecipherable] [undecipherable] punishment of death for desertion in any case, I have [undecipherable] and cannot more than [undecipherable] of [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] should not hesitate to sign the warrant for his execution [undecipherable] as [undecipherable] the act of [undecipherable] deserving a [undecipherable] of his life — but I wish to know whether the officers who composed the court martial were [undecipherable], and at what [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] their [undecipherable], in case the [undecipherable] of the [undecipherable] should be [undecipherable] by a [undecipherable] I and the members of courts [Martial] would consider themselves as [undecipherable] to the [undecipherable] I [undecipherable] him [undecipherable] of [undecipherable] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] after that of the [undecipherable] in [undecipherable] that they [undecipherable] all [undecipherable] [undecipherable] to the [undecipherable] of [undecipherable] [Secretary?] [of?] [War?] [With?] [great?] [regard?]