[seal] Samuel Hodgdon Esq^re Philadelphia [Docket notes at lower left:] Colonel [General?] [undecipherable] [undecipherable] December Ans^d [undecipherable] [undecipherable] New York 12 Decemb^r 1799 Samuel Hodgdon Esq^r Sir Your Several favors of the 10^th & 11^th Inst^s are only at hand, the former enclosing [undecipherable: probable reading "Returns"] of Cloathing for [undecipherable: probable reading "Capt"] [undecipherable: probable reading "Stills"] [undecipherable] the [undecipherable] at Fort Jay, which have not yet come to hand; soon as I receive them, they shall be appropriated, as intended — some time last a month [undecipherable] [undecipherable] to the [undecipherable]; [undecipherable] of this comp^y 38 Privates & 2 Sergeants — Shirts — they were in a quite distress'd situation for want thereof — In reply to yours of the 11^th I would observe, that I have not yet received the Coat of Arms from Spring and I cannot account for their not being forwarded in; it appears by your letter that they are in my [undecipherable: probable reading "possession"], which mistake must have originated by my mentioning in a letter to you of 31 Oct^r that I had seen some of the Arms manufactured at that place, they were some delivered here by [undecipherable] Leonard for the purpose of being [undecipherable: probable reading "cleaned"] — The Return of Cloathing forwarded you embr[undecipherable: probable reading "aces"] only [undecipherable] actually made here. of [undecipherable] [undecipherable] & Shirts also issued were some of those sent me to deliver occasionally, — I have a lett^r from [undecipherable] Leonard of the Stores delivered him, but wonder to observe they were not included in the Return, sent you — On [undecipherable] Inst^s I forwarded the [undecipherable] [undecipherable] for Capt [undecipherable: probable reading "Elliott's"] company, to [undecipherable] [undecipherable: probable reading "Miller"] Esq^r via Amboy, and inclosed him a lett^r from the Proprietor of the Shops — [I am] Sir [I am] with respect y^r Hble Serv^t for [undecipherable: probable reading "Ch^r Strang"] [signature/flourish]