permanent commandant is the one entitled to the allowance of provisions, and not the special & occasional commandant, or Commanding Officer of a District. From the principle advanced by you to obtain the commanding officer of a District [undecipherable] to be entitled to receive additional rations for every separate Post within his command, There is no doubt but that you have a right to anticipate [undecipherable] command over your juniors, in which description [Capt?] Sullivan is of course included. In a [undecipherable] from [undecipherable], you are commanding Officer at Fort Johnson, but Capt Sullivan is the person entrusted by the law to receive the additional rations. The amount therefore [that] you have [undecipherable] will be handed to the Pay Master [undecipherable] that the same may be accounted for by your own settlement of your pay & emoluments — Sam [undecipherable] [undecipherable] M^r Rob^t Cox Springfield Massachusetts Sir Accountants Office [undecipherable] 16^th 1797 I have received your letter of the [undecipherable] with your account for services inspecting [undecipherable] delivered [undecipherable] Nathan [Starr?] at Middletown [Con?]; also for inspecting [undecipherable] pistol [barrels?] made by Simon North, [undecipherable] Conn[undecipherable], amounting to forty eight [Dollars?] [undecipherable] which being admitted the amount will be transmitted to you by the Treasurer of the United States, to whom you will grant the necessary receipt for the same — Sam [undecipherable] [undecipherable]