To George Washington from Henry Knox, 17 December 1791
From Henry Knox
War-department [Philadelphia] Decr 17th 1791.
Sir.
I beg leave to submit for your consideration, the draft of the proposed statement, and upon which I will request your opinion on Monday morning—It is to be understood, that all the most material papers are to accompany the statement.1 I have the honor to be, Sir, with the highest respect, Your most obedt Servt
H.Knox
LS, DLC:GW; LB, DLC:GW.
For background to this letter, see GW to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 12 Dec. 1791, and Thomas Jefferson to GW, 16 December.
1. The enclosure was a draft of a statement describing the reasons and preparations for Arthur St. Clair’s campaign against the hostile Indian nations in the Northwest. GW referred it to Jefferson on 18 Dec. for his and Alexander Hamilton’s consideration, and probably on their advice, he instructed the secretary of war to prepare two separate statements for Congress. The first statement described the background to the recent campaign, and the second one outlined plans for another one. Henry Knox submitted both statements to GW on 26 December.