The works of Alexander Hamilton (vol. 1 of 7)

Chapter 26: HAMILTON TO PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

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About This Book

The collection assembles correspondence, political and official writings, and administrative records, bringing together personal letters, logistical instructions, and notes on military and financial matters. The letters reveal commercial and maritime concerns alongside reflections on ambition and practical business arrangements. Official documents include pay-books, legal and constitutional commentary, and essays addressing finance, trade, currency, and international affairs. Read together, the pieces document the practical work of public life and the evolution of economic and governmental ideas through a mix of private dispatches, administrative detail, and argumentative writing.

HAMILTON TO PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Sept. 18, 1777.

Sir:

If Congress have not left Philadelphia, they ought to do it immediately without fail; for the enemy have the means of throwing a party this night into the city. I just now passed the Valley Ford—in doing which a party of the enemy came down and fired upon us in the boat, by which means I lost my horse—one man was killed, and another wounded. The boats were abandoned, and will fall into their hands. I did all I could to prevent this, but to no purpose.

I have the honor to be,
With much respect,
Sir, your most obedient servant,
A. Hamilton.

To Hon. John Hancock.