[J. G. Vance O[undecipherable] letter Sec'y of war 19. Aug. 1799— Philadelphia] Philad'a Aug. 19 1799 Sir In making up my accounts on C.M'r late Northampton expedition, I charged pay at the rate of 30 dollars, p' mo. for my services from 1 Apr. the date of my appointment, to 24 July- and those have extended it entill the accounts were finally adjusted and myself exonerated from the responsibility but being appointed Dep'ty Pay Master to the Troops on the Western Frontiers on the 25 July, the pay for which duty will of course commence with the appointment- I have thought proper thus to limit it. — A statement of the above mentioned ac- counts were shewn me in the Accountants office on Saturday last, by which it appears that my pay is allowed from 1 Apr'd to 9 May only — on what ground this deduction has been made, I cannot possibly conjecture — and I believe the Accountant has been equally at a loss having stated no objection whatever notwithstanding I had his promise but a few days before that in case there should be objections to any of the items charged in the account, they should be stated. On the 9 May (to which time the Acc't has been graciously pleased to extend my pay) few of the Mus- ters were complete, and of course no part of the payments had taken place — It is a principle too well established, in cases like the present, to require repetition, that the Musters must precede the payments — The account has in contradiction to the evidence, on the face of the Muster rolls of the Guard and Staff officers, that said Muster was made on the 9 May — and I assert (which can be proved) that many of the other Muster rolls were not put into my hands untill after that date — those being the facts, it appears to belong of course that my pay should have been extended to some period later than the result of the Muster rolls - that period, in my mind (which I think founded on justice, and which I know to be supported by precedent) [undecipherable] to be governed by the final close of the Accounts - provided there was [undecipherable] of diligence or unnecessary delay in the [undecipherable] cause of the duty [undecipherable] on my part in [undecipherable] presumption, proof to the reverse of which, I beg leave to refer you to a correspondence between the Pay M'r Gen'l (whilst at Pittsburgh) and myself on the subject of the appointment which I have since [undecipherable], from that affair [undecipherable], by which it will appear that I was extremely anxious to have Phil'd to enter on the duties of said appoint- ment, but was necessarily detained for the purpose of settling and adjusting the aforesaid accounts — The P.M.G. is in possession of those letters. — Gen'l MacPherson has positively prom- ised to wait on you in the course of this day and make such explanations as the case may require. — I have already stated that I had charged pay to 24 July only — I have been detained here at a considerable expense, ever since that period, solely for the purpose of effecting a settlement of those accounts — obli- gations have been made to them where none existed — and I believe merely from personal motives of which the case in question is a striking proof. — I submit to you to determine to what time you deem me entitled to pay and also whether some compensation [should not?] be allowed me by the public, from 25 July to the present time, to meet the expenses which I have necessarily been put to in consequence of my detention here — I would not make this claim if I did not believe it just — If however, it will be likely to involve any difficulty, I will relinquish it. — I hope Sir, you will from the foregoing statement feel yourself enabled to determine to what time you consider me in service as Pay Master and entitled to compensation — I am Sir with the utmost Respect — yo' most ob't Serv't James Vance The Hon'ble The Sec'y of War.