United States, July 16, 1798.
Wednesday, July 18.
The following Message was received from the President of the United States:
Gentlemen of the Senate:
Believing that the letter received this morning from General Washington, will give high satisfaction to the Senate, I transmit them a copy of it, and congratulate them and the public on this great event—the General's acceptance of his appointment as Lieutenant General and Commander-in-Chief of the Army.
JOHN ADAMS.
United States, July 17, 1798.
Mount Vernon, July 13, 1798.
Dear Sir: I had the honor, on the evening of the 11th instant, to receive from the hands of the Secretary of War, your favor of the 7th, announcing that you had, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appointed me Lieutenant General and Commander-in-Chief of all the armies raised or to be raised for the service of the United States.
I cannot express how greatly affected I am at this new proof of public confidence, and the highly flattering manner in which you have been pleased to make the communication; at the same time I must not conceal from you my earnest wish that the choice had fallen upon a man less declined in years, and better qualified to encounter the usual vicissitudes of war.