*Articles of Agreement,* made on the Ni*nth* ——— day of *September* Anno Domini, one thousand eight hundred ——— between SAMUEL DEXTER, Secretary for the Department of War of the United States of America, of the one part, and *Edward Thomson, of the City of Philadelphia* *Merchant,* ——— of the other part. THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSETH, That the said SAMUEL DEXTER, for and on behalf of the United States of America, and the said *Edward Thomson for himself his* ——— heirs, executors and administrators, have mutually covenanted and agreed, and by these presents do mutually covenant and agree to and with each other, as follows, viz. *First.* That the said *Edward Thomson his* ——— executors or administrators shall supply, and issue all the rations, to consist of the articles hereinafter specified, that shall be required of *him or them* for the use of the United States, at all, and every place or places, where troops are or may be stationed, marched or recruited, within the limits of the state of *Pennsylvania & Delaware* thirty days notice being given, of the post or place, where rations may be wanted, or the number of troops to be furnished on their march, from the *first day of January which will be in the year one thousand eight hundred and one, until the thirty first day of December of the same year,* at the following prices, that is to say, at any place where rations shall be issued within the state of *Pennsylvania and Delaware, aforesaid, (certain parts mentioned and provided for in a* [strikethrough: *contract*] *Contract between the parties to this Agreement, and bearing date the fourth day of Sept.* ——— *instant, excepted) Fifteen cents and* *said* [undecipherable] *ll be* [undecipherable] *ris of.* Bread or flour ——— Six [undecipherable] for [undecipherable,] viz; Meat ——— Six cents; Liquor ——— two cents; Small parts ——— O[ne] cent[s]; a ——— [undecipherable] cent, eight mills. 15 [undecipherable] 8 mills. *Second.* [undecipherable] Eighteen [undecipherable] at the ration to be furnished and delivered by virtue of this co[ntract,] shall consist of the following articles, or boulted [undecipherable] of bread or flour, or when neither can be obtained, of one qua[rter pound] salted pork, and [a] meal, one pound and a quarter of fresh beef, or one pound of [undecipherable,] pounds, and ca[ndles] when fresh meat is issued, salt at the rate of two quarts for every [hundred rations] of rice, or one and an half pound of sifted [undecipherable] the army, or shi[lls] at the rate of a pound and an half for every hundred rations [of] salted beef, or three quarters of a pound of whiskey, or oth[er] commanding officer of any separate detachment, or garrison the[r] hundred rations, soap at the rate of four every hundred r[ations] ardent spirits ; and whensoever supplies thereof shall be on h[and] and whenever the commander in chief of there shall be no [undecipherable]. It is understood and agreed, that when the proper officer fi[nds] of shall to require, half a gill of rum or part, be made c[onformable] to a scale hereafter inserted. [A] reduction in the price of every ration, [but] vinegar at the rate of two quarts for all cases not oth[erwise] that it shall be in the option of the general, or officer comman[ding] [it] ll make no requisition for ardent spirits, general orders, [other]wise provided for by this contract, to direct when, and how [the] f which ardent spirits make no component are issued, the a[lso] be promulged a reasonable time before the issue is to comme[nce] ng an army or a great military district, in option of bread [undecipherable] cle of salt shall not be required ; that the contractor shall alwa[ys] en fresh or salted meat shall be issued by *Third.* T[he] flour for the remainder of the week be with the contractor, [it] e[j]; that in all cases where salted provisions the state afore[said] ——— supplies shall be furnished by the said *Edward Th* ——— issue flour two days in every week, and the ——— at the fortified places and milita[ry] cient for the troo[ps] upon the requisition of the commandant of the army, in such [undecipherable] ing of due propo[rtion] to be there stationed, for the space of three months in advance, [in] *omson* required to rem[ove] ies of all the articles forming the ration. ry posts, that are or may be established in that if the contractor ——— shall [undecipherable] quantities as shall not exceed what is suffi- shall be borne b[y] them, to be delivered at another place or post, the expences of a good and wholesome provisions, consi[sting of] [marginalia left side, undecipherable] *Fourth.* That no whiskey, or ardent spirits, but such as the excise has been paid upon, shall be purchased by the said *Edward Thomson or his agent* ——— for the purposes stipulated in this contract. *Fifth.* That whenever and as often as the provisions stipulated to be furnished under this contract, shall, in the opinion of the commanding officer of the post or place, where they are offered to be issued, be unsound, or unfit for use, a survey shall be held thereon, by two disinterested persons, one to be chosen by the commanding officer, and the other by the said *Edward Thomson or his* ——— agent, and in case of disagreement, a third person to be chosen by mutual consent, who shall have power to condemn such part of the provisions as to them may appear unfit for use. But if the said *Edward Thomson or his* ——— agent, shall fail, or neglect, to appoint a person to inspect the said provisions, after reasonable notice in writing, it shall be permitted to the said commanding officer to appoint such persons as he may think proper, to inspect the provisions, under oath, with power to condemn as aforesaid. *Sixth.* That the commanding general, or person appointed by him, at each post or place, in case of absolute failure, or deficiency, in the quantity of provisions contracted to be delivered and issued, shall have power to supply the deficiency by purchase, at the risque and on account of the said *Edward Thomson* ——— *Seventh.* That whenever any articles constituting the whole, or any part of the ration, shall be withheld from the officers and soldiers, due bills shall be given therefor, payable within two months by delivery of the articles withheld. If, at the expiration of the said two months, the contractor or *his* ——— agent, shall not deliver the articles expressed in the said due bills, within ten days after demand being made therefor, the articles so withheld shall be made in money, by the contractor or *his* ——— agent, at the contract price. *Eighth.* That all losses sustained by the depredations of an enemy, or by means of the troops of the United States, in articles intended to compose rations, to be issued under this contract, being the property of the contractor, as well as in other property necessarily used in transporting the same, shall be paid for at the contract price of the rations, or the component parts, and at an appraised value of the other articles, on the deposition of one or more creditable characters, and the certificate of a commissioned officer, when the same can be obtained, ascertaining the circumstances of the loss, and the amount of the articles for which compensation is claimed. *Ninth.* That escorts and guards for the safety of the provisions, and for the protecting of the cattle against an enemy, shall be furnished, whenever, in the opinion of the commanding officer of the army, or of any post, to whom application may be made, the same can be done without prejudice to the service; and that the said *Edward Thomson* ——— ——— shall not be answerable for any deficiency of supplies, at any of the said posts or places, if it shall appear, upon satisfactory proof, that such deficiency was occasioned by the want of proper escorts and guards. *Tenth.* That at all stationary posts, proper store-houses shall be provided on behalf of the public, for the reception and safe-keeping of the provisions deposited from time to time, at such posts respectively ; and the contractor ——— shall suffer no loss for want of such stores. *Eleventh.* That the said *Edward Thomson his* ——— executors, or administrators, shall render *his* or *her* accounts to the Accountant of the Department of War, for settlement, at least once in every three months, agreeably to such form as by the Comptroller of the Treasury may be established, and made known to *him* ———. *Twelfth.* That the said *Edward Thomson* ——— when directed by the proper officer, shall provide quarters for the followers of [the] army that may be at any time at any recruiting rendezvous, where *he shall* be required to supply and issue rations [undecipherable] means of transportation [for the soldiers] or recruits, on their removal from the same ; and also supplies of fuel and fir[ewood] in [undecipherable] quantities prescribed by regulations adopted by the Department of War with which *he* ——— will be furnished ——— [undecipherable] agreed this. *he* ——— shall be allowed on the settlement of *his* ——— accounts, the monies *he* ——— shall actu[ally] pay for the quarters and transportation provided, and the suppl[ies of] fuel and fire[wood,] agreeably to the regulation mentioned ——— nished by *him* ——— and also a commission of two and one [undecipherable] per c[ents] on monies disbursed by *him* ——— for the ———. *Thirteenth.* That all such advances of [undecipherable] ——— ——— made to the said *Edward* ——— money as the ——— for and on [undecipherable] the supplies to be fu[rnished] ——— all such sums of [undecipherable] be duly accounted for by [undecipherable] ——— by [undecipherable] or the term of this contract, together with an intere[st,] shall be paid to the United States, immediately afte[r] [undecipherable] expiration, until the same shall be actually repaid, [at] the rate of six per centum per annum, from the tim[e of] such expiration, on any settlement of the *Edward Thomson* ——— *his* ——— [undecipherable] if any balance shall, on any settlement of the account [undecipherable] *Edward Thomson* ——— [undecipherable] for or on account of the rations which [undecipherable] ll be sup- executors or administrators, be found to be [unpaid,] [undecipherable] mediately be paid. And that no unreasonable or unnecessary [undecipherable] plied, pursuant to this agreement, the same [undecipherable] given to the settlement of the accounts of the said *Ed[ward]* ——— delay, on the part of the officers of the United Sta[tes] ——— executors or administrators. *Thomson his* ——— IN WITNESS whereof, the said Secretary of War, for an[d on behalf] of the United States, hath hereunto subscribed his [name, and] affixed the seal of the War-Office of the United S[tates; and] the said *Edward Thomson* ——— on [his] behalf of the [same,] hath hereto set *his* hand and seal the day an[d year] ab[ove] [undecipherable] year first [undecipherable] [seal] [seal] Signed Sam^d. Dexter Edward Thomson [seal] Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of by *Edward Thomson* ——— William Fawcett John Dull by the Secretary of War In^o. Newman Hez Rogers [marginalia and calculations at bottom, undecipherable]