[U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY, WEST POINT]. COXE, Tench. Autograph manuscript signed ("Tench Coxe") as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Treasury Department, 3 June 1790. 4 pages, folio, horizontal separation across both sheets neatly mended, minor dampstain to page 4. An unusual official transcript, certified by Coxe, of "a report by the Secretary of the Treasury [Alexander Hamilton] on the Petition of Mr. Stephen Moore...to be made to the honourable the House of Representatives...tomorrow morning." Hamilton refers to a report of the Secretary of War [Henry Knox] of 31 July 1786, concluding that "the United States should retain and occupy West Point as a permanent military base." Particularly, in a foreign invasion, "the Hudson River would be an object of the highest importance"; and "West Point is of the most decisive importance to the defence of the said River," from hostile fleets, due to its situation. In addition, the Fort cannot be "invested and beseiged," due to the "broken and mountainous ground," and because "West Point occupies a narrow stretch of the River, and the high banks and hills around it render it particularly suited for defense, so that hostile vessels cannot pass up the River..." Accordingly, Hamilton, in his opinion, states that he concurs with Knox, and "conceives it to be just and proper" that the "tract of Land called West Point" be purchased by the government, because "the public safety demands the permanent possession of the site." He concludes by recommending that "provision should be made by law, for the purchase of so much of the land, called West Point, as shall be judged requisite for the purpose of such fortifications and garrisons".Stephen Moore, the petitioner to whom Hamilton responds, served in the British Army during the Seven Years' War, but joined the patriot cause, fought in North Carolina and was captured by the British in the disaster at Camden. He had inherited the land on which the military academy now stands, but made little use of the property. During the Revolution, Washington fortified the point and Constitution Island opposite it and had a chain of logs strung across the River at the narrows. After the War, Moore, who now lived in South Carolina, had sought compensation. Congress, armed with Knox's report, had authorized purchase of the Fort, but it was not until Moore repetitioned Congress in 1790 that Hamilton's advice, recorded here, was sought. Based on his recommendation, the West Point Act (HR-76) was enacted and signed by President Washington on 5 July 1790. Hamilton's report is in Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, ed. L. G. de Pauw, pp.2060-2062.

[U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY, WEST POINT]. COXE, Tench. Autograph manuscript signed ("Tench Coxe") as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Treasury Department, 3 June 1790. 4 pages, folio, horizontal separation across both sheets neatly mended, minor dampstain to page 4. An unusual official transcript, certified by Coxe, of "a report by the Secretary of the Treasury [Alexander Hamilton] on the Petition of Mr. Stephen Moore...to be made to the honourable the House of Representatives...tomorrow morning." Hamilton refers to a report of the Secretary of War [Henry Knox] of 31 July 1786, concluding that "the United States should retain and occupy West Point as a permanent military base." Particularly, in a foreign invasion, "the Hudson River would be an object of the highest importance"; and "West Point is of the most decisive importance to the defence of the said River," from hostile fleets, due to its situation. In addition, the Fort cannot be "invested and beseiged," due to the "broken and mountainous ground," and because "West Point occupies a narrow stretch of the River, and the high banks and hills around it render it particularly suited for defense, so that hostile vessels cannot pass up the River..." Accordingly, Hamilton, in his opinion, states that he concurs with Knox, and "conceives it to be just and proper" that the "tract of Land called West Point" be purchased by the government, because "the public safety demands the permanent possession of the site." He concludes by recommending that "provision should be made by law, for the purchase of so much of the land, called West Point, as shall be judged requisite for the purpose of such fortifications and garrisons". Stephen Moore, the petitioner to whom Hamilton responds, served in the British Army during the Seven Years' War, but joined the patriot cause, fought in North Carolina and was captured by the British in the disaster at Camden. He had inherited the land on which the military academy now stands, but made little use of the property. During the Revolution, Washington fortified the point and Constitution Island opposite it and had a chain of logs strung across the River at the narrows. After the War, Moore, who now lived in South Carolina, had sought compensation. Congress, armed with Knox's report, had authorized purchase of the Fort, but it was not until Moore repetitioned Congress in 1790 that Hamilton's advice, recorded here, was sought. Based on his recommendation, the West Point Act (HR-76) was enacted and signed by President Washington on 5 July 1790. Hamilton's report is in Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, ed. L. G. de Pauw, pp.2060-2062.

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[U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY, WEST POINT]. COXE, Tench. Autograph manuscript signed ("Tench Coxe") as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Treasury Department, 3 June 1790. 4 pages, folio, horizontal separation across both sheets neatly mended, minor dampstain to page 4. An unusual official transcript, certified by Coxe, of "a report by the Secretary of the Treasury [Alexander Hamilton] on the Petition of Mr. Stephen Moore...to be made to the honourable the House of Representatives...tomorrow morning." Hamilton refers to a report of the Secretary of War [Henry Knox] of 31 July 1786, concluding that "the United States should retain and occupy West Point as a permanent military base." Particularly, in a foreign invasion, "the Hudson River would be an object of the highest importance"; and "West Point is of the most decisive importance to the defence of the said River," from hostile fleets, due to its situation. In addition, the Fort cannot be "invested and beseiged," due to the "broken and mountainous ground," and because "West Point occupies a narrow stretch of the River, and the high banks and hills around it render it particularly suited for defense, so that hostile vessels cannot pass up the River..." Accordingly, Hamilton, in his opinion, states that he concurs with Knox, and "conceives it to be just and proper" that the "tract of Land called West Point" be purchased by the government, because "the public safety demands the permanent possession of the site." He concludes by recommending that "provision should be made by law, for the purchase of so much of the land, called West Point, as shall be judged requisite for the purpose of such fortifications and garrisons".

Stephen Moore, the petitioner to whom Hamilton responds, served in the British Army during the Seven Years' War, but joined the patriot cause, fought in North Carolina and was captured by the British in the disaster at Camden. He had inherited the land on which the military academy now stands, but made little use of the property. During the Revolution, Washington fortified the point and Constitution Island opposite it and had a chain of logs strung across the River at the narrows. After the War, Moore, who now lived in South Carolina, had sought compensation. Congress, armed with Knox's report, had authorized purchase of the Fort, but it was not until Moore repetitioned Congress in 1790 that Hamilton's advice, recorded here, was sought. Based on his recommendation, the West Point Act (HR-76) was enacted and signed by President Washington on 5 July 1790. Hamilton's report is in Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, ed. L. G. de Pauw, pp.2060-2062.

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