Post Revolutionary War ALS. One page handwritten bifolium. From William Knox (1756-1795), brother of General Henry Knox and a clerk in the U.S. War Department, New York, NY, to Samuel Hodgdon (1745-1824), Commissary of Military Stores, Philadelphia, PA, dated July 27, 1786. The letter concerns the accounts of General Henry Knox, serving as the Continental States Secretary at War, William Grubb, late Sergeant of Zeigler's Company, James Tripplett, and Robert Coleman and their examination by several individuals within the Department of War including James Milligan, Mr. Nixon, Joseph Nourse, Mr. Pemberton, and more. William ends the letter by writing "Mr. [Joseph] Nourse has got the warrants…and says they shall be ready by the time I return, which I expect will be on Saturday provided I obtain the warrant from General Knox, and I think it unnece[s]sary to continue here longer it being uncertain when the auditor may report on the accounts, Mr. Nixon having promised to forward on a Copy when it is finished I am Sir With the greatest respect Your most Obedt. Servt. W Knox". Address leaf in William's hand with later notation possibly by Hodgdon and traces of a red wax seal. 9" H x 14 3/4" W. Provenance: The Estate of Larry Casey, Jackson, Tennessee. Biography: William Knox (1756-1795), a younger brother of Secretary of War Henry Knox, served as a military secretary to his brother during the siege of Boston, and in 1777 he reopened and began operating his brotherís Boston bookshop that had been destroyed during the British occupation of the city. After a brief involvement in privateering, William Knox became a merchant in Europe from 1781 to 1785. Henry Knox employed William as a clerk in the War Department from 1788 to 1789 before George Washington appointed William consul at Dublin in June 1790. He left New York on the Rachel in September 1790, arrived at London on October 20th, and assumed his duties in Dublin in mid-November. While in London in 1784-85, William first showed signs of temporary insanity that later became permanent. After his return from Ireland he was confined in the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia from 1793 until his death. (source: https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-09-02-0105). Biography: Samuel Hodgdon was born in Boston on September 3, 1745, but after the Revolution settled in Philadelphia, where he became well known as a public official and business man. During the war he had held various posts. In 1776 he was a Lieutenant in the Marines. In 1777, while occupying the post of Captain of artillery, he was made principal field commissary of military stores, serving in both capacities under Brig. Gen. Henry Knox, who, fourteen years later, was Secretary of War when Hodgdon was appointed Quartermaster General. Hodgdon apparently carried out the duties of field commissary satisfactorily, for in 1780, upon the recommendation of the Board of War, the Continental Congress appointed him deputy commissary general, and the next year promoted him to the post of commissary general of military stores. He also served as an assistant to the Quartermaster General, Thomas Pickering. The post of commissary general of military stores was abolished July 20, 1785, and Hodgdon was out of public office, but only temporarily. His old friend. Henry Knox, was named secretary of war and in 1788 Hodgdon was back on his old job, though this time under the lesser title of commissary of military stores. Hodgdon was nominated for the position of Quartermaster General by President Washington and confirmed by the Senate, becoming the first appointed by the president. He also was the first civilian to be named to the post. There had been no Quartermaster General for six years, that position and the Quartermaster Department had been abolished by Congress on July 25, 1785. On March 4, 1791, he became Quartermaster of the army being raised for General St. Clair's expedition into the Western frontier. Hodgdon served as Quartermaster General until April 19, 1792. Hodgdon was replaced by James O'Hara as Quartermaster General under the new arrangements made to retrieve the prestige of the army on the frontier, and he resumed his old post in charge of military stores. (source: http://old.qmfound.com/Samuel_Hodgdon.htm). CONDITION: Overall good condition with foxing spots, toning, crease lines, tears, largest 1 1/4", along edges of letter. Writing and signatures in overall good, clear condition.