Letter to the next Secretary of War

Item

Type

Autograph Letter Signed

Title

Letter to the next Secretary of War

Description

Letter from James McHenry, former Secretary of War, to his successor. McHenry details the state of the Department and points out what needs immediate action. He discusses the state of Indian affairs, the need for a military academy, the establishment of a factory for small arms near Harper's Ferry, and other matters.

year created

1800

month created

05

day created

29

author

sent from location

War Department

recipient

in image

notable person/group

Samuel Dexter
James McHenry
Department of War
successor
Major General Hamilton
Major General Pinckney
Colonel Butler
infantry
Major Isaac Craig
sergeants
musicians
privates
Brigadier General Wilkinson
tailors
William Chancellor
Superintendent of Military Stores
North Western Indians
Chickasaw
Cherokee
Creek
Choctaw
Six Nations
President
John Adams
General George Washington
Paymaster General
contractors
officers
Congress
Artillerists and Engineers
Francis
engineer
laborers
Secretary of the Navy
Major Tousard
Newman
clerk
translator

notable location

War Department
Savannah
Knoxville, Tennessee
Natchez
Loftus Heights
Mississippi River
Pittsburgh
North Western Frontier
Philadelphia
Cincinnati
Chickasaw Bluff
Tellico Block House
Fort Wilkinson
Canadaigua
Oconee River
England
Baltimore
Potomac River
Harper's Ferry
Springfield
Schuylkill River
Virginia

notable item/thing

packet
measures
directions
orders
discharge
military articles
clothing
regiments
parcels
public store
monies
pay
act of congress
military stores
tents
material
buttons
white cloth
Indian stipends
treaties
factory
amelioration
condition of the Indians
Indian trading houses
condition
medals
bronze
silver
cattle
cultivation
land
domestic manufacture
spinning
weaving
public property
suits
cannon
inspect and prove cannon
settlement
accounts
contingent expenses
extra compensation
pay and emoluments
military academy
fortifications
small arms
fabrication of arms
canal
cannon foundry
ordnance
shot
armory
experiments
laboratory
expense
military articles
military depots
French language
German language

notable idea/issue

Indian relations
states of man

document number

1800052940001

page start

1

number of pages

23

Transcribe this document

Document instances

In image In source Location in source
[view document] (24 pages) IGF16 (24 pages) Collection: Northwest Territory Collection, M367 B:3, F:4

Document names

Type Name Location Notes
Author James McHenry War Department [n/a]
Recipient Samuel Dexter [unknown] [n/a]