Osgood, Samuel, 1748-1813 to Henry Knox
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.01618 Author/Creator: Osgood, Samuel, 1748-1813 Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Manuscript letter signed Date: 17 September 1782 Pagination: 3 p. : docket ; Height: 32.7 cm, Width: 20.6 cm Order a Copy
Discusses recent resolutions of Congress which restructured the system of ranks and payments in the military. Considers whether pay grades should be linked directly to ranks, or whether people in each rank should be paid according to the way they perform their tasks, or the amount of tasks associated with each individual position. For example, he can "easily conceive when a Brigadier General has no Brigade, when he can have no command in the Army unless in that Office." Writes that General Edward Hand "will not presume to think that he is the only person that has filled that office - with general esteem and approbation - he will not surely pretend that his duties are more numerous and multiplied than those of his predecessors or that his expences are necessarily greater." Seems to be arguing that salaries, especially for Adjutant Generals and Brigadier Generals, should be tied to each individual officer and the duties they are supposed to perform, rather than have pay grades tied to rank.
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