Contemporary Copy of Letter

Adequate Compensation for My Exertions

Hamilton laments his embarassment at assuming that his appointment as Inspector General would result in appropriate compensation. Having sacrificed the income from his law practice, he now wonders how, in the absense of compensation. he is to support his wife and children.

1799

01

07

New York

New York

Copied in the handwriting of Philip Church.
Cited in McHenry to Hamilton, 01/09/1799.

Cited document addressed to the War Office

James McHenry

Alexander Hamilton

members of the Congress

Inspector General

the Troops

Commander in Chief [Washington]

the Generals

President United States

Secretary of War

New York

seat of government [Philadelphia]

military appointment

law creating the office

consideration of the Executive [John Adams]

system of tactics and discipline

supervision of the recruiting service

emoluments of their stations

compensations attached by the law

Attorney

Solicitor

professional profits

expense to the parties

partial retribution

sacrifices on my part

service of the Country

maintenance of a wife and six children

scruples of delicacy

military appointment

1799010740001

General Hamilton to
James McHenry Esqr
New York Jany 7. 1799
pg. 33 [scribble] New York Jany 7th. 1799
Sir,

The unascertained situation, in which I have been,

since my acceptance of the Military appointment, I now hold,
has been not a little embarrassing to me. I had no sooner heard
of the law creating the Office that I was told by members of
Congress that I was generally considered as the person desgna-
ted by circumstances to fill that office and that the expectati-
=on of those who most actively promoted the passing of the law
was that the Inspect General would be brought into immediate
activity, particularly to [ ]intend the rasining and --gam
ng of the Troops. This is mentioned as a [misc.] item in the
incidents which influenced my calculations and arrangements.

Very soon after, if not at

the time, you communicated to me my appointment, you
intimated though not officially your desire that I might
[receive][of] myself in preparing for the consideration of the Executive
a system of Tactics and discipline. And not long after you
expressed to me your intention to commit to me the supervision
of the recruiting service.

In October, I received your summons to

attend at the seat of Government with the Commander in
Chief. I obeyed and devoted to the purposes of the summons about
a Month and a half.

I received in due course a letter from your

department noting the expectation of the President that
the General would think it proper to wave the [enrollments]
of their stations till called into service. [I was] my reply of
acquiesced.(?)

But presuming that I would speedily be office
-ally charged with the execution of duties, which would [ ]
along with them the compensations attached by the law to the
station, I have acted on that presumption Ihave discontinued
my practice as Attorney and Solicitor, from which I had
derived a considerable part of my professional profits: and
I have applied no small portion of my time to preliminary
investigations in order to the collection of the best lights for forming a system of Tactics and discipline as perfect as ex-
=ists any where else.

The very circumstances of my having

accepted a military appointment from the moment it
was known, withdrew from me a large proportion of my [ ]-
=onal business. This it will be perceived was a natural [effect]\of the uncertainty of my being able in the progress of [ ] to
render the services for which I might be engaged at the
customary previous expence to the parties.

The result has been

that the emoluments of my profession have been demonstrated
more that one half and are still diminishing and [ ]
in respect uncertainty whether or when I am to [derive] from
the scanty compensations of the office even a partial retribution
for so serious a loss.

[Were] I rich I should be proud to be intent

on such a subject I should acquiesce without an observation
as long as any one might think the minutest public interest
required an accumulation of sacrifices on my part. [But after]
having to in advanced a period of my life devoted all the my
prospects of fortune to the service of the Country and depen
-dant as I am for the maintenance of a wife and six children
on my professional [excertions?], none so seriously abridged [as?] it
is essential for me to forego, the [ or delicacy?] and [ ]
of you to define my [re tion] that I may return [ ]
pg 34 10,

to continue or to change my present plan.
It will easily be

imagined that I should not accept compensations withheld from any other in a similar situation. If actual employment
is to be the criterion in any other instance it must be so in
mine; but then it is material to me to understand whether
in the contemplation of the Executive, I now am, or immediately
am to be employed or not-- In the negative of this, my honor
will compel submission to the consequent sacrifice, so far as is/it?
is unavoidable ; but my arrangements will be different from
what they are at present and will aim at making the
sacrifice as small as possible.

An early answer to this inquiry

will particularly oblige me with great [ ]

I have the honor to be
Sir,

The Secretary of War Your observant

A Hamilton