Peter Hagner was a financier

Financier

Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...

 and United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 civil servant.

Hagner was appointed a clerk

Clerk

Clerk, the vocational title, commonly refers to a white-collar worker who conducts general office or, in some instances, sales tasks. It is also occasionally used to refer to third-year medical students completing a medical clerkship. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record...

 in the United States Department of the Treasury

United States Department of the Treasury

The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...

 by Gen. George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 in 1793, assistant accountant of the United States Department of War

United States Department of War

The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...

 in 1797, and third auditor by James Monroe

James Monroe

James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...

 when that office was created in 1817. He served under every administration for fifty-six consecutive years, resigning his office in 1849. Twice by direct votes the U. S. Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 expressed its appreciation of his services in the settlement of large and important claims. This office became at one time so prominent, from the calls made upon its chief by Congress, before the institution of the court of claims, that John Randolph of Roanoke

John Randolph of Roanoke

John Randolph , known as John Randolph of Roanoke, was a planter and a Congressman from Virginia, serving in the House of Representatives , the Senate , and also as Minister to Russia...

, pausing in debate for a phrase to express his sense of the influence of Nicholas I of Russia

Nicholas I of Russia

Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...

 in the affairs of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, styled him “the great third auditor of nations.” His son, Peter V. Hagner

Peter V. Hagner

Peter Valentine Hagner was an officer of ordnance who served for over 40 years in the United States Army and was Brevetted Brigadier General.-Biography:...

, was a soldier.