Early War Department Letter Regarding the Whiskey Rebellion

[Whiskey Rebellion]: Simmons, William:

[Autograph Letter Signed from William Simmons, to Alexander James Dallas, Regarding Payment for Milita Service During the Whiskey Rebellion]

Washington, DC: October 17, 1797. [2]pp., with integral address leaf. Minor wear, original mailing folds, short separation to one fold line. Very good plus. Item #13032

An informative Federal-era correspondence from William Simmons of the War Department's "Accountants Office," sent to Alexander James Dallas, who was at that time serving as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Simmons writes to Dallas concerning unpaid earnings owed to a participant in Pennsylvania's militia unit mustered to quiet the Whiskey Rebellion. Simmons' letter reads, in part:

"I wrote you on the 16th Instant on the subject of accounting for the monies paid to you for the pay of the Pennsylvania quota of the Militia called out to suppress an insurrection in the western counties of the said state in 1794 to which letter permit me to repeat my request of your speedy attention. I take the liberty to enclose for Mr. Alexander Buchanan, a Captain in the aforementioned Militia who stands also charged with money paid him for arrears of pay due his company, which is yet unaccounted for on his part...forward it as speedily as possible, in case it is possible to make a settlement with him by the transmission of vouchers or otherwise...."

The office of the War Department burned on November 8, 1800, effectively eliminating the department's records for the first two decades of its existence. As such, communications from the War Department are especially rare and notable when they surface in the market.

Price: $1,500