The Writings of Samuel Adams - Volume 4
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Title: The Writings of Samuel Adams - Volume 4
Author: Samuel Adams
Editor: Harry Alonzo Cushing
Release date: March 1, 2000 [eBook #2094]
Most recently updated: December 31, 2020
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2094
Credits: This eBook was produced by Jay Carper
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WRITINGS OF SAMUEL ADAMS - VOLUME 4 ***
This eBook was produced by Jay Carper.
THE WRITINGS
OF
SAMUEL ADAMS
VOLUME IV.
1778-1802
THE WRITINGS
OF
SAMUEL ADAMS
COLLECTED AND EDITED
BY
HARRY ALONZO CUSHING
VOLUME IV
1778-1802
CONTENTS OF VOLUME IV
1778.
To Richard Henry Lee, January 1st
Military Affairs--European Politics--Articles of Confederation--Army Supplies.
To --------, January l0th
New Haven Conference--Legislation on Trade--Baron Steuben.
To Archibald Campbell, January 14th
Exchange of Prisoners.
To Horatio Gates, January 14th
Introducing Baron Steuben--Captain Olivier.
Vote of Town of Boston, January 21st
Articles of Confederation.
To John Burgoyne, February 6th
Declining a Conference.
To Daniel Roberdeau, February 9th
The Work of Congress.
To Arthur Lee, March 12th
Complaints of French Volunteers.
To Jonathan Trumbull, March 19th
Defence of Hudson River.
To James Lovell, March 27th
Postal Service--Military Academy--Exchange of Prisoners--Case of John Amory.
To Francis Lightfoot Lee
Illness--Conditions in Boston--Military Affairs.
To Richard Henry Lee, April 20th
Action of France--Attitude of England, iii
To Mrs. Adams, May 5th
Journey from Boston.
To the Earl of Carlisle and others
Address of "An American."
To Baron Steuben, June 3rd
Action of Congress.
To John Adams, June 21st
The English Commissioners--Arrivals from France--Arthur Lee.
To Mrs. Adams, July 9th
Signing of Articles of Confederation.
To James Warren, July
Cases of Manley and McNeil--Appointment of Naval Officers.
To James Warren, July
Office-holders--The British Commissioners--Arrival of French Squadron.
To Samuel Phillips Savage, August 11th .
Return of Hancock.
To Peter Thacher, August 11th .
The British Commissioners--Activity of Quakers.
To James Warren, September 1st
Cases of Manley and McNeil--Personal Critics--The Rhode Island Expedition.
To James Bowdoin, September 3rd
Conduct of John Temple.
To Hannah Adams, September 8th
Illness of Wife.
To John Bradford, September 8th
Conduct of McNeil.
To James Warren, September 12th
Case and Conduct of Manley--The Rhode Island Expedition.
To Samuel Phillips Savage, September 14th
The Rhode Island Expedition--Activity of Tories.
To ----, September 21st
Appointment of Auctioneers--Attitude of Manley--Public Criticism of French
Admiral.
To Mrs. Adams, September 28th
Death of Friends--Family Affairs.
To William Cooper, September 3Oth
Assistance in Exchange of Son.
To Samuel Phillips Savage, October 6th
Extravagance in Boston.
To James Warren, October nth
Conduct of Arthur Lee--Opinion of Silas Deane--Affairs of Du Coudray--Public
Criticisms of Deane.
To James Warren, October 14th
Attacks on Arthur Lee--Berkenhout.
To Jonathan Trumbull, October 16th
Death of Son.
To Timothy Matlack, October 16th
Proposed Manifesto of General Clinton.
To James Warren, October 17th
Attitude of Politicians to Tories.
To Mrs. Adams, October 20th
Personal Enemies in Boston.
To John Adams, October 25th
Military Affairs--Relations with France--The Rhode Island Expedition--Naval
Movements.
To Arthur Lee, October 26th
Comments on Correspondence.
To ----, October 26th
Falsehoods of Enemies.
To the Public, October 30th
Manifesto of the Continental Congress.
To Samuel Phillips Savage, November 1st
Share of New England in Securing Independence--Personal Relations.
To James Warren, November 3rd
Work of Congress--Foreign Relations--Proposed Resignation.
Thanksgiving Proclamation, November 3rd
Resolution of Continental Congress.
To Samuel Phillips Savage, November l0th
State of Society and Politics in Boston.
To Jeremiah Powell, December 1st
Use of Appropriation--Re-election to Congress.
To Mrs. Adams, December 13th
Relations with John Temple--Personal Critics--Deane and Lee.
To the Council of Massachusetts, December 15th
Enclosing Declaration of French Minister.
To James Bowdoin, December 19th
Conduct of John Temple.
To John Winthrop, December 21st
Conduct of John Temple.
To Samuel Cooper, December 25th
Conduct of John Temple--Deane and Lee--Proposed Resignation.
To Charles Chauncy, December 25th
Conduct of John Temple--Gates and Heath.
1779.
To Samuel Cooper, January 3rd
Deane and Arthur Lee.
To James Warren, January 6th
Silas Deane--William Lee--Arthur Lee.
To Samuel Cooper, January 6th
American Representatives in France.
To Samuel Cooper, January 19th
Negotiations with France--Diplomatic Appointments.
To Jonathan Trumbull, February 6th
Naval Affairs.
To John Winthrop, February 6th
Depreciated Currency.
To Samuel Allyne Otis, February l0th
Recommending Richard Checkley.
To James Warren, February 12th
Confidential Correspondents--Public Manners and Principles.
To the Board of War, February 16th
Action of Governor Clinton on Flour Shipments.
To Samuel Cooper, February 21st
Monopoly of Trade and Land--Course of England.
To Mrs. Adams, March 7th
Proposed Resignation as Secretary--Personal Jealousies--News from France.
To John Adams, March 9th
Personal Reflections.
To Benjamin Austin, March 9th
Opinion of Deane and Arthur Lee.
To Mrs. Adams, March 23rd
Purpose to Resign as Secretary and as Delegate--Attitude of Countrymen.
To James Warren, March 23rd, 24th
Purpose to Resign--Personal Critics--Arthur Lee,
To James Lovell, March 26th
Case of Otis and Henley.
To James Lovell, March 27th
Application of Medical Officers.
To James Lovell, March 30th
John Paul Jones--Retention of Prize Money--The "Aliance."
To the Council of Massachusetts, April 1st
Want of Bread--Journals of Congress.
To John Pitts, April 27th
Comments on Political Affairs.
To Samuel Cooper, April 29th
Proper Attitude toward England--Canada and Nova Scotia.
To George Washington, May 26th
The Marine Committee--State of the Navy.
To Benjamin Hawes, July l0th
Movement of Troops.
To the Navy Board, July 12th
Movement of Ships.
To Jonathan Trumbull, July 13th
Hostilities in Connecticut.
To Horatio Gates, July 14th
Hostilities in Connecticut.
To the Navy Board, July 14th
Penobscot Expedition.
To Meshech Weare, July 28th
Investigation of Seizure.
To Arthur Lee, August 1st
Enemies of Lee.
To Solomon Lovell, August 6th
Military Affairs.
To the Council of Massachusetts, August l0th
Aid for Penobscot Expedition.
To the Council of Massachusetts, August 11th
Movement of Troops.
To Solomon Lovell, August 14th
Movement of Troops.
To John Frost, August 17th
The Penobscot Expedition.
To----, August 17th
The Penobscot Expedition.
To Henry Jackson, August 21st
The Penobscot Expedition.
To Horatio Gates, August 22nd
Failure on the Penobscot--Campaign Preparation.--Luzerne.
To George Washington, October 12th
Raising of Troops.
To the Navy Board, October 19th
Lack of Fuel--Protection of Coast.
To Elbridge Gerry and James Lovell, December
Subscription for Children of Joseph Warren.
To Elbridge Gerry, December 20th .
Appointment to Convention.
To Elbridge Gerry and James Lovell, December 20th
Education of Children of Joseph Warren.--Subscription for Benefit of
Children of Joseph Warren
To the House of Representatives of Massachusetts, December 23rd.
Resolution of Council on Absentees.
1780.
To the Governor of Rhode Island, January 5th .
Exclusion of Secret Enemies.
To John Adams, January 13th
Work of the Legislature--Military Affairs--Constitutional Convention--Delegates
in Congress.
To John Morin Scott, February 17th
Condition of Public Records.
To James Lovell, March 5th
Political Details.
To the Legislature of Massachusetts, March 9th
Petition for Permission to Purchase Property of Absentees,
To John Adams, March 15th
The Massachusetts Constitution.
To James Lovell, March 25th
The Vermont Controversy--Work of Congress--The Penobscot Expedition--The Eastern
Territory--Need of Consulate In France.
To John Adams, May
Work of the Legislature--The New Constitution.
Article Signed "Vindex," June 12th
Origin of the Contest--Character of the Army--Duty of the People.
To James Bowdoin, June 20th
Defence of Connecticut.
To John Fellows, June 20th
Control of Hudson River--Military Plans.
To Robert Howe, June 20th
Movement of Massachusetts Troops.
To John Fellows, June 21st
Plans for Defence of Hudson River.
To Robert Howe, June 21st
The Defence of Hudson River.
To La Fayette, June
Assistance of France--Military Preparations in Massachusetts --The Coming
Election.
To John Adams, July 10th
The Massachusetts Constitution--The French Fleet.
To Hannah Adams, August 17th
Paternal Advice.
To James Bowdoin, August 22nd
French Opinion of Massachusetts Troops--The Vermont Controversy--The New
Constitution.
To John Lowell, September 15th
The Vermont Controversy--Condition of the Army.
To Mrs. Adams, September 19th
Sacrifice in Public Service--The Southern Campaign.
To James Warren, October 6th
The Massachusetts Election--Reflections on Congress.
To Mrs. Adams, October 10th
Visit of Arthur Lee to Boston--Election of Hancock--Treason of Arnold.
To Mrs. Adams, October 17th
Opinion of Arthur Lee--Election of Hancock.
To James Warren, October 24th
Public Service and Proper Government.
To Richard Henry Lee, October 31st
The Campaign in Virginia--Opinion of Arthur Lee.
To Samuel Cooper, November 7th
Visit of Arthur Lee to Boston--Legislation for the Army--The Southern
Campaign.
To Mrs. Adams, November nth, 13th
Robbery of the Mail--The Massachusetts Election.
To James Warren, November 20th
Activity of Personal Enemies--Local Politics.
To Thomas Wells, November 22nd
Advice on Married Life.
To Mrs. Adams, November 24th
Reflections on Results of Public Service.
To Elbridge Gerry, November 27th.
Proposed Retirement of Adams--Necessity for Public Service of
Gerry--Character of Massachusetts Government.
To John Adams, December 17th
Military Activities--Treason of Arnold--Diplomatic Appointments--The
Massachusetts Constitution.
To John Adams, December 20th
Conditions in the South--Need of a Navy.
To John Scollay, December 30th
Support of Warren's Children--The New Government of Massachusetts--Character
of the Population.
1781.
To Richard Henry Lee, January 15th
Opinion of Arthur Lee--Recurrence to First Principles.
To John Pitts, January 17th
Office-seeking.
To James Warren, February 1st
Effect of Foreign Influence.
To Mrs. Adams, February 1st
Relations with Dr. Cooper--Relations with Hancock.
To Mrs. Adams, March 15th
Desire to Return Home--Situation of Son.
Article, Unsigned, April 2nd
Character of Government--The Massachusetts Election.
To Caleb Davis, April 3rd.
Admission of Belligerent Subjects--Affairs at Boston.
Article, Unsigned, April 16th
The Massachusetts Election--The Duty of Citizens.
To Samuel Cooper, April 23d
Political Details--Attacks of Rivington.
To Thomas McKean, August 29th
Return of John Laurens--Peace and the Fishery--Executive Appointments.
To Thomas McKean, September 19th
Recommending Major Brown--Need of Strong Navy.
To Horatio Gates, October 11th
Proposed Court of Inquiry--The Southern Campaign.
To William Heath, November 21st
Relations of Canada and Vermont.
To Selectmen of Other Towns, December 14th
Letter of Boston on the Fishery--Instructions to Representatives.
To John Adams, December 18th
Local Politics.
To John Adams, December 19th
Proposed Revision of Statutes--Education--Public Manners --Action of Boston on
the Fishery.
1782.
To Alexander McDougall, May 13th
Purpose of Patriots.
To John Lowell, May 15th
Legislative Procedure--Election of Representatives.
To John Lowell, June 4th
Controversy with Governor as to Legislative Procedure.
To Arthur Lee, November 21st
Petition of William Burgess.
To Arthur Lee, December 2nd
Affairs in Canada.
1783.
To Arthur Lee, February 10th
Case of Landais--The Fishery.
To the Selectmen of Boston, March 10th
Election as Moderator.
To Arthur Lee, April 21st
Political Fictions--Journals of Congress.
To Benjamin Lincoln, May 1st
Case of John Allan--Recommendations.
To Horatio Gates, May 2nd
Case of John Allan--The Saratoga Campaign.
To Elbridge Gerry, September 9th
Committee of Correspondence--Relation of Congress to the People.
To John Adams, November 4th
Need of Public Jealousy--Foreign Influences--Negotiation with Holland.
1784.
To John Adams, February 4th
Commending Appleton.
To Elbridge Gerry, February 25th
Work of the Committee of Correspondence--Financial Legislation--Case of
Gridley.
To John Adams, April 16th
Action on Treaty--Treatment of Aliens--Need of Commercial Treaty--Danger of
Popular Conventions--The Cincinnati.
To John Adams, April 17th
Cases of Noyes and Dashwood.
To Elbridge Gerry, April 19th
The Cincinnati--Gerry's Proposed Retirement.
To Elbridge Gerry, April 23rd
The Court of Appeals--The Cincinnati--Foreign Influence.
To Noah Webster, April 30th
Commutation of Pay of Officers--Popular Committees and Constitutional
Government.
To John Adams, June 20th
Personal Greeting.
To John Adams, December 2nd
Case of Dashwood.
To Richard Henry Lee, December 23rd
Conditions in Congress--Effects of Peace--Foreign Relations --National
Policy--Attitude of England.
1785.
To Richard Henry Lee, March 24th
The Six Nations--Case of John Allan.
To Richard Henry Lee, April 14th
Introducing Macauley Graham.
To John Adams, July 2nd
Conditions of Trade--Massachusetts Election.
To John Adams, August 16th
Case of Captain Stanhope.
To Richard Henry Lee, December 17th
Case of Captain Landais.
1786.
To John Adams, April 13th
William Gordon--Relations with England.
To John Adams, July 21st
Political Liberty and National Faith--The Tories.
1787.
To Richard Henry Lee, December 3rd
The National Constitution.
1789.
To Richard Henry Lee, April 22nd
Powers of Congress--Commending Leonard Jarvis.
To the Legislature of Massachusetts, May 27th
Accepting Election as Lieutenant-Governor.
To Richard Henry Lee, July 14th
The State Governments--Political Applications.
To Elbridge Gerry, August 22nd
Congressional Control of Lighthouses--Constitutional Amendments.
To Richard Henry Lee, August 24th
Nature of the Constitution--Importance of Amendments.
To Richard Henry Lee, August 29th
Power of Removal--Relations with Washington--The Eastern Boundary.
1790.
To the Legislature of Massachusetts, May 28th
Accepting Election as Lieutenant-Governor.
To John Adams, September 2nd
Application of Captain Lyde.
To John Adams, October 4th
Political Reflections.
To John Adams, November 25th
Nature of the Constitution--The American Legislatures--Succession in
Office--Effects and Nature of Good Government --Universal Education and
Liberty.
1794.
To the Legislature of Massachusetts, January 17th .
Death of Governor Hancock--The Federal Constitution--The Massachusetts
Constitution--Essential Principles of Government--Public Education.
Proclamation, February 19th
Appointing Day of Thanksgiving.
To the Legislature of Massachusetts, May 31st
General Election--European War--Object of the Constitution.
To the Legislature of Massachusetts, June 4th
Use of Castle Island.
Proclamation, November 3rd
Appointing Day of Thanksgiving.
1795.
To the Legislature of Massachusetts, January 16th
Object of Frequent Sessions--Purity of Elections--European
Affairs--Fortifications--Pennsylvania Insurrection--Amendment of State
Constitution.
To Jeremy Belknap, March 30th
Action of Continental Congress with Reference to Captain Cook.
To the Legislature of Massachusetts, June 3rd.
Re-election as Governor--Duty of Public Officers--Justification of Colonial
Settlers--Foreign Relations--Public Education --Amendment of State
Constitution--The Judicial System--Public Credit.
To the Public, July 4th
Address at Laying of Corner-stone of State House.
Proclamation, October 14th
Appointing Day of Thanksgiving.
1796.
To the Legislature of Massachusetts, January 19th
Agriculture, Commerce, and Manufactures--The National and State
Constitutions--Treaty-making Power--The Treaty with England.
To the Legislature of Massachusetts, May 31st
Duty to the Union--Duty of the Legislators.
Proclamation, October 6th
Appointing Day of Thanksgiving.
To the Legislature of Massachusetts, November 17th
Choice of Presidential Electors.
To the Senate of Massachusetts, November 23rd
Vacancies in Electoral College.
To the Legislature of Massachusetts, November 24th
Vacancies in Electoral College.
1797.
To the Legislature of Massachusetts, January 27th
Retirement of Washington--General Elections--Public Education--The
Militia--Determination to Retire from Public Life.
Proclamation, March 20th
Appointing Day of Thanksgiving.
To John Adams, April 17th
Introducing Mr. Wyllys.
1801.
To Thomas Jefferson, April 24th
Congratulations on Election--Political Comments.
To Thomas Jefferson, November 18th
Congratulations on Peace.
1802.
To Thomas Paine, November 30th
Defence of Infidelity--Effect of Proposed Age of Reason.
1778
TO RICHARD HENRY LEE.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON Jany 1 1778
MY DEAR SIR
I had the Pleasure of receiving your Letter dated at York the 23d of
Novr last, which mentions your having before written to me by a young
Gentn Capt Romane who was to pass through this Place in his Return to
France. That Letter has not yet come to Hand. I shall regard all your
Recommendations with the utmost Respect.
Our military Affairs in the middle Department are in such a Situation
as to afford us too much Reason to be chagrind. We have indeed sufferd
no shameful Defeats, but a promising Campaign has however ended
ingloriously. To what are we to attribute it? I believe to a miserable
Set of General Officers. I mean to make some Exceptions. For the Sake
of our Country, my dear Friend, let me ask, Is our Army perpetually to
be an unanimated one; because there is not Fortitude enough to remove
those bad Men. I remember the Factions in Carthage which prevented her
making herself the Mistress of the World. We may avoid Factions and yet
rid our Army of idle cowardly or drunken officers. HOW was Victory
snatchd out of our Hands at German Town! Was not this owing to the same
Cause? And Why was only one General officer dischargd? Was it because
there were just Grounds to suspect only one? Is there not Reason to
fear that our Commander in Chief may one day suffer in his own
Character by Means of these worthless Creatures? May he not suffer
under the Reputation of an unfortunate Commander, than which I think he
cannot suffer a greater Evil. It is difficult to seperate from the
Minds of the People the Idea of unfortunate from that of the Want of
some necessary soldierly Quality. At best the unfortunate General has
Pity only as the Reward of his Services; and how soon does Pity
degenerate into Contempt. Cicero if I mistake not some where tells us,
that when a General is fortunate it matters not whether it is ascribd
to his being a Favorite of the Immortal Gods, or to certain good
Qualities in him which others are incapable of observing. His Soldiers
will encounter every Danger under his Conduct. His Enemies will be
confounded at his Approach. His Country will revere him. The Reverse is
equally just. As therefore we regard the Reputation of the Comdr in
Chief of our Armies, which is of the greatest Importance to our
Affairs, let us promote this Winter a strict Scrutiny into the Causes
of this unfortunate Campaign. Our Affairs are far from wearing a
desperate Aspect. Our Successes at the Northward must give us
Reputation abroad; and Reputation is a Kind of real Strength. That our
Men are brave, Brandy Wine & German-town can witness. Let us then give
them officers worthy of them, and Heaven will prosper our righteous
Cause. There is indeed one thing which to me appears threatning. It is
absolutely necessary that the Commissarial Departmt should be restored
to a better State, or the Army will soon suffer. This my dear Sir
requires your speedy Return to Congress. Did the Army suffer or was it
in Danger of suffering before the Alterations in that Department the
last Summer, why then should we not put it upon its old Footing &
prevail upon the former Commissary, who is the fittest Man I know, to
act again in that office.1 I have been favord with a Letter from Dr Lee
since his Return to Paris from Berlin.2 The Powers of Europe I
perceive, are too timid, or too intent upon enslaving others, to
espouse the Cause of Liberty in America. No Matter, my Friend. We shall
not be obligd to them; and they will hereafter be more sensible of our
Importance when they find that we have struggled thro our Difficulties
without them. We shall do greater Honor to our Selves and our Cause;
and those Liberties for which we pay so dear a Price will be more
justly & more highly valued by our selves and our Posterity. France, in
my Opinion, misses the Sight of her true Interest in delaying to take a
decisive Part. She runs a great Risque; for if Britain should be so
politick as to recognize our Independence which she sees us determind
at all Hazzards to maintain, and should propose to us a Treaty of
Alliance offensive & defensive, would not the flattering Expectations
of France be cut off? I mention this, not because I expect or wish for
it. But should such Recognition & such Proposals be made the next
Spring, which may happen, would France have any Reason to fault America
for acceeding to it? We are independent. The Nations of Europe may
acknowledge it when they dare to do it. We have Fortitude enough to
maintain it. This is our Business. The Nations may reap honest
Advantages from it. If they have not Wisdom enough to discern in
Season, they will regret their own Blindness hereafter. We will dispose
our Favors as we please.
The Letter from Congress to the Assembly of this State, inclosing the
Articles of Confederation, came to Hand the Day of its Adjournment,
which is to a shorter Day than was intended that the weighty Matters
recommended might be considerd with all possible Speed. The Assembly
will meet on the 7th Instant. It will be difficult for the Members to
prevail upon themselves to make a new Law after having been
necessitated so late to repeal one framed for the same purpose. A Comt
however I am inclind to think will be appointed to meet those of the
other States mentiond in the recommendation. The Articles of
Confederation seem to be well liked. I suppose you will have the Sense
of this Assembly soon.
I am much pleasd with a spirited Act lately made by your Assembly for
the Supply of our Troops and the beneficial Effects it has had. I am
not in much Pain about Cloathing for this year. A large Quantity has
been lately brought here by the Agent of the Clothier General--Part of
which has been made & I suppose by this time arrivd at Camp. The
Taylors and others are busily employd. Every Method should nevertheless
be tryed for further Supplys. A Superabundance will not be amiss. Laws
in other States similar to yours will eventually facilitate this Part
of our Work.
I understand that our Army is gone or going into Winter Quarters at the
Distance of 18 Miles from Philadelphia. Why could not Barracks have
been as well erected near enough to have.... the Enemy all the Winter.
Our Army was within three or four miles of them the whole Winter when
they were in this Town. I hope the Campaign will be opend by us very
early the next Spring.
I should have written to you before this time, but on my Arrival here I
found the Genl Assembly sitting, unluckily for me as it engagd me in
publick Business; and I have been obligd to spend a Fortnight in the
Country.
Adieu my friend & believe me to be affectionately,
Your,
1 Cf., vol. iii., page 317.
2 Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. i., p. 517.
TO --------------.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON Jany 10 1778
MY DEAR SIR/
The General Assembly of this State having sat the greatest part of the
Time since I arrivd here & the Council constantly has prevented my
writing so often to my Friends, and when I have wrote, so fully as I
have an Inclination to do. The Assembly is now sitting, and have made
Choice of Mr Cushing Mr Pain and a Country Gentleman1 whose Name I do
not now recollect, to join Committees of other States at New Haven
agreable to a late Recommendation of Congress. But having been obligd
so lately to repeal an Act of a similar Nature to that which is now
proposd, I am doubtful whether they will be prevaild upon to pass a new
one. It will however have its due Consideration if the joynt Comtes
should propose such a Measure. I expect every Day to have the Articles
of Confederation brot forward, and have good Reason to think it will be
agreed to, even those parts which it may be wishd had been different,
for the Sake of that Union which is so necessary for the Support of the
great Cause.
The Resolutions of Congress recommending passing a Law similar to that
lately passed in Virginia &c were yesterday read at the Council Board.
I had the Oppty of hearing them read once, so that I cannot yet form my
Judgment of them. Indeed I think it is easy to see the Necessity of
such a Law as that of Virginia, but whether it would be practicable to
put into Execution a Law prohibiting the Sale of Goods without Licence
requires Consideration for Nothing more betrays the Weakness of
Government than to make Laws wch cannot be executed. I am sensible it
is nearly of as much Importance to suppress the Monopolizers as to
provide for our Army, but the blow must be levelled at them only. If
the Popular Indignation can once be raisd to a suitable Pitch as I
think it can it will become dangerous for them to withhold their Goods
or demand an exorbitant Price for them and the Evil will be cured. I
think every Step should be taken for the Downfall of such Wretches, and
shall be ready to joyn in any Measure within Doors or without which
shall be well adapted to this Effect.
It is the general Observation of those who are in the way of observing
that the sinking our State bills for Notes & thereby lessening the
Quantity in Circulation & the Taxes we have laid has already reduced
the price of Goods.
This was mentioned to me by Mr S A Otis with whom I have just dined.
I have written to Bro Gerry by the Baron De Steuben whom I strongly
recommend to the Notice of my worthy Colleagues & others. Mr Gerry will
shew you my Letter, which makes it needless for me to add further than
that from the recommendatory Letters of Dr Franklin & other papers wch
I have seen & the Conversation I have had with the Baron, I really
esteem him a modest candid & sensible Gentn. The Dr says he is spoken
highly of to him by two of the best Judges of military merit in France,
tho he is not him self a Frenchman but a Prussian.
Since I last wrote to you I am favord with yours of 27 Decr inclosing
among other papers Copy of a Letter from your Correspondent in Holland.
Before you knew the Contents I bolted out your Letter in the presense &
hearing of Madam & other good Ladies. I cannot promise you that
Mischief is not done. I am endeavoring (and Mr Gerry will say it is
just like him) to turn the torrent toward Braintree; for I really think
my Namesake is full as suspectable as I am. I thank Mrs Clymer for her
good opinion of me, and I can assure her, the Hint you gave me of this
in your Letter to me was very timely & is likely to make Matters easy
with me.
I might have dated this Letter at the Council table where I am writing
in Haste.
My best Regards to all who love our Country in Sincerity. Colo Chase
tells me your Son behaves well & that he is very clever.
Your Family is well provided for as I am informd. You will never I am
perswaded think your self under an obligation to baulk your publick
Sentiments from an Idea of Gratitude to private Friends. Sat Verbum. I
may explain my self more fully in another Letter. Adieu my friend. Burn
this.
1 Elisha Porter of Hadley.
TO ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL.1
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON Jany 14 1778
SIR
Your Letter of the 10th Instant came to my hand on the 12, and I should
instantly have returnd an Answer upon an Affair, in the Dispatch of
which you must feel yourself so nearly interrested, had an opportunity
presented.
Colo Allens Exchange, it is probable, may not so easily be negotiated
as that of Colo Webb; But this Gentleman has been much longer in
Captivity than the other. And although I have no personal Acquaintance
with him, yet I am well assured that he is a brave Soldier. Such a
Character, you, Sir, must esteem; and this is also the Character of
Colo Webb. I have not been insensible of the Obstruction which may have
hitherto prevented the Exchange of Colo Allen, and the true Source of
it. If private or partial Motives have prevaild in the Mind of any
Gentleman in New York, to the Prejudice of a Man of distinguishd Merit,
I can only observe, that it is totally inconsistent with those pure
Principles, which you will allow me to say, have, and I trust ever will
actuate Americans in the present Contest. You will excuse my saying any
more to you on so delicate a Point.
I sincerely wish the Release of every man in Captivity; and shall for
my own part be well pleasd with your availing your self of an Exchange
with either of the above mentiond Gentlemen, if it may be consistent
with the Sentiments of Congress.
My first Concern is for the Honor & Safety of my Country. Having
premised this, I can readily subscribe with due Respect,
Yr very hbl Servt,
1 An officer in the English army.
TO HORATIO GATES.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON Jan 14 1778
DEAR SIR
Yesterday I took the Liberty of writing to you by the Baron De Steuben
a Native of Prussia who I doubt not will deliver the Letter into your
Hand. He will previously wait on Genl Washington to whom he has Letters
of warm Recommendation from the Commissioners of America in France. He
has also Letters to Mr President Laurens and other Members of Congress
from gentlemen of Note in that Country. He offers his Services to
America as a Volunteer; wishing to give no Offence by interfering in
Command. He appears to me to be a modest, candid & sensible Gentleman;
and, I have Reason to think, from the Letters I have seen, he has great
military Merit. Of this you will be able to form a decisive Judgment.
There is a certain Canadian Officer, by the Name of Laurens Olivier, a
Captain, whose Character and warm Attachment to our Cause while he was
an Inhabt of Canada, my Friend Mr Thos Walker a Gentn well known to Mr
Gerry, speaks highly of. This Officer will make known certain
Difficulties he is under to you. I am told he is a deserving Man; Such
a Character I may with Confidence recommend to your patronage. You may
rely upon it I will never willingly trouble my self or you with persons
of a different sort.
I am &c,
VOTE OF TOWN OF BOSTON.
[MS., Boston City Clerk's Office; the text, with variations, is in
Boston Record Commissioners' Report, vol. xviii., p. 298.]
[January 21, 1778.]
The Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the several
States now represented in the Continental Congress, having been laid
before this Town, were distinctly and repeatedly read and maturely
considerd, Whereupon; Resolvd, as the opinion of this Town, that the
said Articles appear to be well adapted to cement the Union of the said
States, to confirm their mutual Friendship, establish their Freedom and
Independence, and promote their general Welfare: And the
Representatives of the Town are hereby instructed, to give their Votes
in the General Assembly, that the Delegates of this State may be
authorizd to ratify the said Articles of Confederation in order that
the same may become conclusive.
TO JOHN BURGOYNE.1
[MS., Public Record Office, London; a draft is in the Samuel Adams
Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON Febry 6th, 1778.
SIR
I should not have failed yesterday to have returned an Answer to your
Letter, which was brought to me the preceding Evening, had it not been
for the violence of a Disorder which had seized me near a Week before.
That Disorder still continues to afflict me much, and prevents my
seeing any one but my physician, or doing any business even of the most
trifling Nature.
Under such Circumstances, you will excuse me if I decline to engage
with you in Conversation, upon a subject in which you think the general
Cause of Humanity and possibly the essential Interests of both our
Countries are concerned.
I have the Honor to be
Sir
Your most humble Servt
1 Lieutenant General in the English army.
TO DANIEL ROBERDEAU.1
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
Feb 9 1778
SIR
I have not been unmindful of the favor you did me in writing to me some
time ago. My not having returnd an Answer has been owing, I do assure
you, altogether to many Avocations, and at last to a bodily disorder by
which I have been confind to my House and great part of the time upon
my bed for near a fortnight. I am now about my Room and gladly take the
Opportunity to drop from my Pen an Expression of the honest Friendship
which I feel for your self and your agreable Connections.
I find by the Letters I receive from Mr Lovell who is kind enough to
write to me often, that Congress is reduced to a small Number present.
This has not been unusual in the Winter Season. But you have a great
Deal of Business and that of the arduous Kind. It would be a strong
Inducement to me to leave domestick Enjoymt, that I might take as great
a Share of the Burthen with you as my Shoulders would bear. It is no
Satisfaction to me, you may rely upon it, to be able to plead the Want
of Health sufficient to go through so long a Journey at this rigorous
Season. My Brother Gerry can recollect with how much pleasure the few
who were at Baltimore passed through the Fatigues of Business the last
Winter, when our Affairs wore a more gloomy Aspect than they have ever
yet done. We did it with Alacrity, because there was a Spirit of Union
which leads to wise & happy Decisions. I hope the same Spirit now
prevails and that Measures are taking to collect & support an Army and
to introduce (Economy & Discipline among officers of Rank as well as
private Soldiers, so as by Gods Blessing to insure us a successful
Campaign. Your Resolution respecting Burgoyne I think must have nettled
him. I have long with Pain suspected a perfidious Design. This
Resolution must have crossd it. It will cause much Speculation in
Europe. No Matter. The Powers there seem more inclind to speculate than
to espouse the Rights of Man. Let them speculate. Our Business is to
secure America against the Arts & the Arms of a treacherous Enemy. The
former we have more to apprehend from than the latter.
Please to pay my due Regard to your Sisters & Family in which Mrs A
desires to be joynd & be assured that I am
Yr unfeigned friend
1 Cf., Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography.
TO ARTHUR LEE.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON March 12th 1778
MY DEAR FRIEND
This Letter will be deliverd to you by Captn Romanet a young French
Gentleman Nephew to General Grobouval Commander of the french
Artillery. He is a modest well behaved youth, and is one of Monsr du
Coudrays Corps many of whom I suppose are returnd to France
dissatisfied with the Determination of Congress against ratifying Mr
Dean's Compact. The Necessity of doing this was disagreable to the
Members, but it could not have been otherwise, without causing a great
Uneasiness in our Army at a very critical Juncture. I hope no ill
Consequences will result to our Country and Cause from the Complaints
of these Gentlemen. Mr Romanet ingenuously acknowledges to me that Mr
Du Coudrays Disappointment appears to him to have been necessary, and
possibly his Connections in France may give Weight to his opinion.
I have been favord with your acceptable Letter of the 31 July from
Paris. From your not having noticed several Letters which I have
written to you, I suspect they have miscarried. I know not that they
would have servd any other good Purpose, than to have shown how
desirous I was of reviving a Correspondence which heretofore.....
TO JONATHAN TRUMBULL.
[MS., Massachusetts Archives; a text is in W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel
Adams, vol. iii., pp. 7, 8,]
STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY BOSTON Mar 19 1778
SIR/
I am to acquaint your Excellency in the Name & by order of the Council
of this State, that your Letter of the 16th Instant directed to the
President, relative to the Defence of Hudsons River has been receivd &
read at that Board. The General Assembly is now under a short
Adjournment, and the Council are not authorizd in their Executive
Capacity & seperate from the House of Repts to order any Part of the
Militia of this State beyond its Limits. The Assembly will meet on the
first Day of the next Month. Your Excellencys Letter, together with
another receivd this Day from Govr Clinton upon the same Subject, will
then be laid before that Body; and altho the Government of this State
are now under the Necessity of keeping up more than fifteen hundred of
the Militia to guard the Troops of Convention & for other extraordinary
Service in and about the Town of Boston, yet there can be no Doubt but
a due Attention will be given to so interesting & important a Concern
as the Defence of Hudsons river.
I have the Honor to be with the most cordial Esteem
Yr Excys most Humble Servt
TO JAMES LOVELL.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
BOSTON March 27 1778
MY DEAR SIR
You cannot imagine how much I feel my self obligd to you for writing to
me frequently. Your Letters however do not come to me in regular Order.
HOW is it that I did not receive those of the 10th & 16th of Feby by
the Post till yesterday? I am affraid there is some Deficiency in the
Post office Department; but as I would fain hope our Friend Mr Hastings
is not in Fault, I will beg you in his Behalf, to move to the Post
Master General for an Addition to his Salary, for he assures me he
cannot live upon what he now receives.
I am very sorry your Letter of the 10th did not come in Season, for I
should have gladly interrested my self for so valueable a Citizen as Mr
Leach at the late annual Meeting. I have long wishd that for the
Reputation as well as substantial Advantage of this Town a military
Academy was instituted. When I was in Philadelphia more than two years
ago I mentiond the Importance I conceivd it to be of, in Letters to my
Friends here. At least we might set up a publick School for military
Mathematicks, and I know of no one better qualified for an Instructor
than Mr Leach. I wish he had mentiond it to me. Perhaps he may have had
Promises of Attention to him from some other Person upon whom he
relies. I will consult with such Men of Influence in the Town as I am
acquainted with, and will not be wanting in Endeavors to improve your
Hints for the mutual Benefit of the Publick & Mr Leach.
I am pleasd to observe in your Letter of 28 Feby that Mr Burgoyne seems
to be alterd in his Ideas of Congress. The Gentleman to whom you
request me to communicate the Contents of that Letter, I am not in the
least acquainted with, but shall comply with your Request whenever I
shall find an opportunity of doing it.
I fear from what you mention in your Letter of the 7th of March that
the Expectations of the People with Regard to Ty. & Independence will
be baulkd. If they are, the Cause in my opinion will be injurd & the
Confidence of the People in those who have the Mannagement of our
Affairs civil & military lessend, which I should be very sorry to see.
In the same Letter you tell me that Lt Colo Anstruthers Request to seek
his own Release on Condition of his getting Colo Allens is granted. I
now inclose a Letter which I had mislayed & omitted to send, relating
to Lt Colo Campbells who I wish might be exchanged for Friend Ethan.1
I do not wonder that you have been mortified upon the Delay of a
certain Affair to which you refer in your Letter of the 10th Instant. I
wrote you the Opinion of this Town respecting that Affair above a Month
ago. I shall only observe that in my opinion, every one who is
intrusted with the Affairs of the Publick does not feel so sensibly for
its Reputation as I think you do. I have inclosd the Instructions of
the General Assembly to their Delegates in Congress upon the
Confederation, and when I shall have the pleasure of seeing you I may
perhaps give you the Causes why that important Matter was not determind
sooner. I immediately after reading your last mentiond Letter
communicated to the Council that part of it which relates to the
Propriety & Necessity of making regular Returns of what is done here in
Consequence of the Recommendations of Congress; and a Committee of that
Board is now looking over the Journals & Papers for that Purpose. In
the same Letter you mention your having receivd a Letter from Mr John
Amory, with his Request that you wd put a memorial into Congress for
him. In what Manner could Congress interpose for him if you should
comply with his Request? His Residence in this State was deemd by the
Genl Assembly to be dangerous to the State. Will Congress order or
recommend that He should reside in it notwithstanding? "He was surprizd
into an Oath of Allegiance!" He said upon his Examination here that he
was not compelled to take the Oath. He did not recollect the Form or
Tenor of the Oath he had taken--but desired to live peaceably in his
Native town but could not in Conscience take up Arms against the
British King. I will desire Mr Appleton to write to you on the Subject.
1 Allen. Cf. page 9.
TO FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
[BOSTON, ----, 1778.]
MY DEAR SIR
It was much longer than the usual time before your very acceptable
Letter of the 22 Decr came to my hand. I receivd it as a singular Favor
and felt the more thankful for it, because I knew that hardly anything
could induce you to write a Letter but the urgent Affairs of our
Country or the powerful feelings of private Friendship. I should have
written you an Answer sooner but the peevish nominal Saint who scrap'd
an Acquaintance with me at Baltimore the last Winter, has followd me
even to this place. I think he is the most impertinent & troublesome
Visitant I ever had. I am so thoroughly disgusted at the Creature that
I have taken every Method that could be devisd to prevent my being ever
plagud with him again. He seems at length to be about leaving me & he
may depend upon it I shall deny all his Visits for the future.
The Spirit of Avarice, I am sorry to be obligd to say it, prevails too
much in this Town; but it rages only among the few, because perhaps,
the few only are concernd at present in trade. The old substantial
Merchants have generally laid aside trade & left it to Strangers or
those who from nothing have raisd fortunes by privateering. The Body of
this Community suffer proportionably as much as the great continental
Publick. It must be confessd that the Charges of Trade are enormous,
and it is natural for men when they have at great Risque & Expence
imported Commodities which are wanted by every body, if they must
receive in payment for them what is valued by no body, to demand as
much of it as they please, especially if it is growing daily into less
Repute. This you know has been the Case. There is but one effectual
Remedy; & that is to lessen the Quantity of circulating paper Money.
This is now doing here. Our Assembly have laid on a very heavy Tax, &
are determind to repeat it again and again. Besides which they have
called in a large Quantity of their bills, for which they have issued
Notes payble with Interest. The Effects are already felt & the prices
of Goods have been for some time past gradually sinking.
You tell me we have a great many men now inlisted & that you hope Means
will be found to collect them. I joyn with you in these hopes, and that
we may keep them together when they are collected and make a good Use
of them. Howe I understand has fortified himself by a Line of Redoubts
from River to River. Has he more than 13 or 14 [sic] Men in America? If
not why should we wait till he is reinforced before we make an
Enterprize somewhere.
Your Resolution to stop the Embarkation here I fancy has nettled
Burgoyne. He has since been soliciting Interviews with A & B & wishes
for private Conversations upon a Matter in which "he thinks the General
Cause of Humanity and possibly the essential Interests of both our
Countries are concernd."1 He has not prevaild upon A to comply with his
Request; for more Reasons than one which I think must be obvious upon a
short Review of our History. The Resolutions of Congress will afford
Matter of Speculation for the Politicians in Europe. But must they not
all acknowledge that Burgoyne himself had made it necessary? After a
solemn Declaration made to the very Officer with whom he had enterd
into the Convention that it was broken on our Part, Does he, if he
believes his own Declaration hold him self bound by it on his part?
Would he not, if sufferd to go to Sea, most probably carry a
Reinforcement to Genl Howe & laugh at us for puting it in his Power?
I have twenty things to say to you, but my ill state of Health prevents
my adding more than that I am, with sincere Regards to Mrs Lee in which
Mrs A very cordially joyns
Yr affectione
1 Cf. page 12.
TO RICHARD HENRY LEE.
[MS., American Philosophical Society.]
BOSTON April 20 1778
MY DEAR SIR----
I most heartily congratulate you on the happy and important News from
Europe which will be conveyd to Congress by Mr Dean the Brother of our
late Commissioner who will be so kind as to deliver you this Letter.
France has acted with Magnanimity; while Britain continues to discover
that Meanness and Poverty of Spirit, which renders her still more than
ever contemptible in the Eyes of all sensible People. The Moderation of
France is such as becomes a great and powerful Nation. Britain
forgetfull of her former Character, sinks into Baseness in the Extreme.
The one is generously holding out the Arm of Protection to a People
most cruelly oppressd while the other is practicing the Arts of
Treachery and Deceit to subjugate and enslave them. This is a Contrast
which an ancient Britain would have blushd to have had predicted to
him. It is a true Contrast, and we will blush for them.
Commissioners we are again told are coming out to treat with us. This
is what we had Reason to expect. Her only Design is to amuse us &
thereby to retard our operations, till she can land her utmost Force in
America. We see plainly what Part we are to take; to be before hand of
her; and by an early Stroke to give her a mortal Wound. If we delay our
vigorous Exertions till the Commissioners arrive, the People abroad
may, many of them will be amusd with the flattering Prospect of Peace,
and will think it strange if we do not consent to a Cessation of Arms
till propositions can be made and digested. This carries with it an Air
of Plausibility; but from the Moment we are brought into the Snare, we
may tremble for the Consequence. As there [are] every where awful
Tories enough, to distract the Minds of the People, would it not be
wise for the Congress by a Publication of their own to set this
important Intelligence in a clear Light before them, and fix in their
Minds the first Impressions in favor of Truth? For I do assure you, it
begins to be whisperd by the Tories & as soon as they dare to do it
they will speak aloud, that this is but a french Finesse and that
Britain is the only real Friend of America. Should not the People be
informd with the Authority of Congress that Britain persists in
claiming a Right to tax them and that the new or intended Act of
Parliament, expressly declares her Intention to be only a Suspension of
the Exercise of the Right till she shall please again to exercise it?
that is till she shall have lulled them into a State of Security. That
her Commissioners are not to be vested with full Powers to finish any
Treatys, nor even to promise a Ratification of them. This will be left
in great Uncertainty, till it shall be considerd in Parliament. They
are allowed, as one of our Friends expresses it, to proclaim a
Cessation of Hostilities, and revoke their Proclamation, as soon as in
Confidence of it our Militia are allowd to go home. They may suspend
the Operation of prohibitory Acts of Trade; and take off that
Suspension where our Merchants in Consequence of it shall have been
indued to send their Ships to Sea. In short they may do every thing
that may tend to distract and divide us, but Nothing that can afford us
Security. The British Court have Nothing in View but to divide by Means
of their Commissioners. Of this they entertain sanguine Expectations;
for I am well assured, that they say they have certain Advice, that
they have a large Party in Congress, almost a Majority, who are for
returning to their Dependency! This cannot be true--Dr Franklin in a
Letter of the 2d of March informs me that America at present stands in
the highest Light of Esteem thro' out Europe, and he adds, A Return to
Dependence on England would sink her into Eternal Contempt.
Be pleasd to present my due Regards to all Friends, and acquaint my
worthy Colleagues that Mr Deans great Haste prevents my writing to
them. I intend to set out on my Journy to York Town next Week where I
hope for the Pleasure of seeing you. In the mean time be assured that I
am
Your affectionate,
I thank you for your
Favor of Mar 1st which
I recd three days ago--
TO MRS. ADAMS.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PALMER 84 Miles from Boston
May 5th 1778
MY DEAR BETSY
I wrote to you by my kind Host Mr Greenleafe. Yesterday I left his
House and slept the last Night at Colo Henshaws. He and his Lady
treated me with great Hospitality & Friendship. This day I dined at
Brookfield with Mr Ward a Minister in that Town. He married Miss
Coleman Mr Pembertons Niece. I am much obligd to them for their kind
Treatment of me. I made them promise to visit you when they go to
Boston. This Afternoon I met my Son on the Road. I was sorry I could
not have the Pleasure of conversing with him. I parted with him with
great Regret. May Heaven bless him! Tell him I shall never think him
too old to hearken to the Advice of his Father. Indeed I never had
Reason to complain of him on that Account. He has hitherto made me a
glad Father. This implys that I esteem him a wise Son. I have been the
more sparing of Advice to him because I have thought he did not need
it; but in these critical Times when Principles & Manners as well as
the Liberties of his Country are in Danger he has need to be on his
Guard. My Children cannot imagine how much Comfort I have in believing
they are virtuous. I am not willing to admit of a Fear that they will
ever deprive me of this Comfort. My warm Affections are due to my
Family and Friends. Adieu my dear Betsy.
Your affectionate,
"AN AMERICAN" TO THE EARL OF CARLISLE AND OTHERS.
[W. V. Wells,1 Life of Samuel Adams, vol. iii., pp. 18-26; printed in
the Massachusetts Spy, July 16, 1778.]
To the Earl of Carlisle, Lord Viscount Howe, Sir William Howe (or, in
his absence, Sir Henry Clinton), William Eden, and George Johnstone.
Trusty and well-beloved servants of your sacred master, in whom he is
well pleased.
As you are sent to America for the express purpose of treating with
anybody and anything, you will pardon an address from one who disdains
to flatter those whom he loves. Should you therefore deign to read this
address, your chaste ears will not be offended with the language of
adulation,--a language you despise.
I have seen your most elegant and most excellent letter "to his
Excellency, Henry Laurens, the President, and other members of the
Congress." As that body have thought your propositions unworthy their
particular regard, it may be some satisfaction to your curiosity, and
tend to appease the offended spirit of negotiation, if one out of the
many individuals on this great continent should speak to you the
sentiments of America,--sentiments which your own good sense hath
doubtless suggested, and which are repeated only to convince you that,
notwithstanding the narrow ground of private information on which we
stand in this distant region, still a knowledge of our own rights, and
attention to our own interests and a sacred respect for the dignity of
human nature, have given us to understand the true principles which
ought, and which therefore shall, sway our conduct.
You begin with the amiable expressions of humanity, the earnest desire
of tranquillity and peace. A better introduction to Americans could not
be devised. For the sake of the latter, we once laid our liberties at
the feet of your Prince, and even your armies have not eradicated the
former from our bosoms.
You tell us you have powers unprecedented in the annals of your
history. And England, unhappy England, will remember with deep
contrition that these powers have been rendered of no avail by a
conduct unprecedented in the annals of mankind. Had your royal master
condescended to listen to the prayer of millions, he had not thus have
sent you. Had moderation swayed what we were proud to call "mother
country" her full-blown dignity would not have broken down under her.
You tell us that all "parties may draw some degree of consolation, and
even auspicious hope, from recollection." We wish this most sincerely
for the sake of all parties. America, in the moment of subjugation,
would have been consoled by conscious virtue, and her hope was, and is,
in the justice of her cause and the justice of the Almighty. These are
sources of hope and of consolation which neither time nor chance can
alter or take away.
You mention "the mutual benefits and consideration of evils that may
naturally contribute to determine our resolutions." As to the former,
you know too well that we could derive no benefit from a union with
you, nor will I, by deducing the reasons to evince this, put an insult
upon your understandings. As to the latter, it were to be wished you
had preserved a line of conduct equal to the delicacy of your feelings.
You could not but know that men who sincerely love freedom disdain the
consideration of all evils necessary to attain it. Had not your own
hearts borne testimony to this truth, you might have learned it from
the annals of your own history; for in those annals instances of this
kind at least are not unprecedented. But should those instances be
insufficient, we pray you to read the unconquered mind of America.
That the acts of Parliament you transmitted were passed with singular
unanimity, we pretend not to doubt. You will pardon me, gentlemen, for
observing that the reasons of that unanimity are strongly marked in the
report of a committee of Congress agreed to on the 22d of April last,
and referred to in a late letter from Congress to Lord Viscount Howe
and Sir Henry Clinton.
You tell us you are willing "to consent to a cessation of hostilities
both by sea and land." It is difficult for rude Americans to determine
whether you are serious in this proposition or whether you mean to jest
with their simplicity. Upon a supposition, however, that you have too
much magnanimity to divert yourselves on an occasion of so much
importance to America, and, perhaps, not very trivial in the eyes of
those who sent you, permit me to assure you, on the sacred word of a
gentleman, that if you shall transport your troops to England, where
before long your Prince will certainly want their assistance, we shall
never follow them thither. We are not so romantically fond of fighting,
neither have we such regard for the city of London, as to commence a
crusade for the possession of that holy land. Thus you may be certain
hostilities will cease by land. It would be doing singular injustice to
your national character to suppose you are desirous of a like cessation
by sea. The course of the war, and the very flourishing state of your
commerce, notwithstanding our weak efforts to interrupt it, daily show
that you can exclude us from the sea,--the sea, your kingdom!
You offer "to restore free intercourse, to revive mutual affection, and
renew the common benefits of naturalization." Whenever your countrymen
shall be taught wisdom by experience, and learn from past misfortunes
to pursue their true interests in the future we shall readily admit
every intercourse which is necessary for the purposes of commerce and
usual between different nations. To revive mutual affection is utterly
impossible. We freely forgive you, but it is not in nature that you
should forgive us. You have injured us too much. We might, on this
occasion, give you some instances of singular barbarity committed, as
well by the forces of his Britannic Majesty as by those of his generous
and faithful allies, the Senecas, Onondagas, and Tuscaroras. But we
will not offend a courtly ear by the recital of those disgusting
scenes. Besides this, it might give pain to that humanity which hath,
as you observe, prompted your overtures, to dwell upon the splendid
victories obtained by a licentious soldiery over unarmed men in
defenceless villages, their wanton devastations, their deliberate
murders, or to inspect those scenes of carnage painted by the wild
excesses of savage rage. These amiable traits of national conduct
cannot but revive in our bosoms that partial affection we once felt for
everything which bore the name of Englishman. As to the common benefits
of naturalization, it is a matter we conceive to be of the most
sovereign indifference. A few of our wealthy citizens may hereafter
visit England and Rome to see the ruins of those august temples in
which the goddess of Liberty was once adored. These will hardly claim
naturalization in either of those places as a benefit. On the other
hand, such of your subjects as shall be driven by the iron hand of
Oppression to seek for refuge among those whom they now persecute will
certainly be admitted to the benefits of naturalization. We labor to
rear an asylum for mankind, and regret that circumstances will not
permit you, gentlemen, to contribute to a design so very agreeable to
your several tempers and dispositions.
But further, your Excellencies say, "We will concur to extend every
freedom to trade that our respective interests can require."
Unfortunately, there is a little difference in these interests which
you might not have found it very easy to reconcile, had the Congress
been disposed to risk their heads by listening to terms which I have
the honor to assure you are treated with ineffable contempt by every
honest Whig in America. The difference I allude to is, that it is your
interest to monopolize our commerce, and it is our interest to trade
with all the world. There is, indeed, a method of cutting this Gordian
knot which, perhaps, no statesman is acute enough to untie. By
reserving to the Parliament of Great Britain the right of determining
what our respective interests require, they might extend the freedom of
trade, or circumscribe it at their pleasure, for what they might call
our respective interests. But I trust it would not be for our mutual
satisfaction. Your "earnest desire to stop the effusion of blood and
the calamities of war" will therefore lead you, on maturer reflection,
to reprobate a plan teeming with discord, and which, in the space of
twenty years, would produce another wild expedition across the
Atlantic, and in a few years more some such commission as that "with
which his Majesty hath been pleased to honor you." We cannot but admire
the generosity of soul which prompts you "to agree that no military
force shall be kept up in the different States of North America without
the consent of the General Congress or particular Assemblies." The only
grateful return we can make for this exemplary condescension is, to
assure your Excellencies, and, on behalf of my countrymen, I do most
solemnly promise and assure you, that no military force shall be kept
up in the different States of North America without the consent of the
General Congress and that of the Legislatures of those States. You
will, therefore, cause the forces of your royal master to be removed;
for I can venture to assure you that the Congress have not consented,
and probably will not consent, that they be kept up.
You have also made the unsolicited offer of concurring "in measures
calculated to discharge the debts of America, and to raise the credit
and value of the paper circulation." If your Excellencies mean by this
to apply for offices in the department of our finance, I am to assure
you (which I do with "perfect respect") that it will be necessary to
procure very ample recommendations. For, as the English have not yet
pursued measures to discharge their own debt and raise the credit and
value of their own paper circulation, but, on the contrary, are in a
fair way to increase the one and absolutely destroy the other, you will
instantly perceive that financiers from that nation would present
themselves with the most awkward grace imaginable.
You propose to us a device to "perpetuate our union." It might not be
amiss previously to establish this union, which may be done by your
acceptance of the treaty of peace and commerce tendered to you by
Congress. And such treaty I can venture to say would continue as long
as your ministers could prevail upon themselves not to violate the
faith of nations.
You offer, to use your language, the inaccuracy of which, considering
the importance of the subject, is not to be wondered at, or at least
may be excused, "in short, to establish the powers of the respective
Legislatures in each particular State, to settle its revenue, its civil
and military establishment, and to exercise a perfect freedom of
legislation and internal government, so that the British States
throughout North America, acting with us in peace and war, under one
common sovereign, may have the irrevocable enjoyment of every privilege
that is short of a total separation of interests, or consistent with
that total union of force on which the safety of our common religion
and liberty depends." Let me assure you, gentlemen, that the power of
the respective Legislatures in each particular State is most fully
established, and on the most solid foundations. It is established on
the perfect freedom of legislation and a vigorous administration of
internal government. As to the settlement of the revenue and the civil
and military establishment, these are the work of the day, for which
the several Legislatures are fully competent. I have also the pleasure
to congratulate your Excellencies that the country for the settlement
of whose government, revenue, administration, and the like, you have
exposed yourselves to the fatigues and hazards of a disagreeable voyage
and more disagreeable negotiation, hath abundant resources wherewith to
defend her liberties now, and pour forth the rich stream of revenue
hereafter. As the States of North America mean to possess the
irrevocable enjoyment of their privileges, it is absolutely necessary
for them to decline all connection with a Parliament who, even in the
laws under which you act, reserve in express terms the power of
revoking every proposition which you may agree to. We have a due sense
of the kind offer you make to grant us a share in your sovereign; but
really, gentlemen, we have not the least inclination to accept of it.
He may suit you extremely well, but he is not to our taste. You are
solicitous to prevent a total separation of interests; and this, after
all, seems to be the gist of the business. To make you as easy as
possible on this subject, I have to observe, that it may, and probably
will, in some instances, be our interest to assist you, and then we
certainly shall. Where this is not the case, your Excellencies have
doubtless too much good sense as well as good nature to require it. We
cannot perceive that our liberty does in the least depend upon any
union of force with you; for we find that after you have exercised your
force against us for upwards of three years, we are now upon the point
of establishing our liberties in direct opposition to it. Neither can
we conceive that, after the experiment you have made, any nation in
Europe will embark in so unpromising a scheme as the subjugation of
America. It is not necessary that everybody should play the Quixote.
One is enough to entertain a generation at least. Your Excellencies
will, I hope, excuse me when I differ from you as to our having a
religion in common with you; the religion of America is the religion of
all mankind. Any person may worship in the manner he thinks most
agreeable to the Deity; and if he behaves as a good citizen, no one
concerns himself as to his faith or adorations, neither have we the
least solicitude to exalt any one sect or profession above another.
I am extremely sorry to find in your letter some sentences which
reflect upon the character of his most Christian Majesty. It certainly
is not kind, or consistent with the principles of philanthropy you
profess, to traduce a gentleman's character, without affording him an
opportunity of defending himself; and that, too, a near neighbor, and
not long since an intimate brother, who besides hath lately given you
the most solid additional proofs of his pacific disposition, and with
an unparalleled sincerity which would do honor to other princes,
declared to your Court, unasked, the nature and effect of a treaty he
had just entered into with these States. Neither is it quite according
to the rules of politeness to use such terms in addressing yourselves
to Congress, when you well knew that he was their good and faithful
ally. It is indeed true, as you justly observe, that he hath at times
been at enmity with his Britannic Majesty, by which we suffered some
inconveniences; but these flowed rather from our connection with you
than any ill-will towards us; at the same time it is a solemn truth,
worthy of your serious attention, that you did not commence the present
war,--a war in which we have suffered infinitely more than by any former
contest, a fierce, a bloody, I am sorry to add, an unprovoked and cruel
war,--that you did not commence this, I say, because of any connection
between us and our present ally; but, on the contrary, as soon as you
perceived that the treaty was in agitation, proposed terms of peace to
us in consequence of what you have been pleased to denominate an
insidious interposition. HOW, then, does the account stand between us?
America, being at peace with the world, was formerly drawn into a war
with France in consequence of her union with Great Britain. At present,
America being engaged in a war with Great Britain, will probably obtain
the most honorable terms of peace in consequence of her friendly
connection with France. For the truth of these positions, I appeal,
gentlemen, to your own knowledge. I know it is very hard for you to
part with what you have accustomed yourselves from your earliest
infancy to call your Colonies. I pity your situation, and therefore I
excuse the little aberrations from truth which your letter contains. At
the same time it is possible that you may have been misinformed. For I
will not suppose that your letter was intended to delude the people of
these States. Such unmanly, disingenuous artifices have of late been
exerted with so little effect, that prudence, if not probity, would
prevent a repetition. To undeceive you, therefore, I take the liberty
of assuring your Excellencies, from the very best intelligence, that
what you call "the present form of the French offers to America," in
other words, the treaties of alliance and commerce between his most
Christian Majesty and these States, were not made in consequence of any
plans of accommodation concerted in Great Britain, nor with a view to
prolong this destructive war. If you consider that these treaties were
actually concluded before the draft of the bills under which you act
was sent to America, and that much time must necessarily have been
consumed in adjusting compacts of such intricacy and importance, and
further, if you consider the early notification of this treaty by the
Court of France, and the assurance given that America had reserved a
right of admitting even you to a similar treaty, you must be convinced
of the truth of my assertions. The fact is, that when the British
minister perceived that we were treating with the greatest prince in
Europe, he applied himself immediately to counteract the effect of
these negotiations. And this leads me, with infinite regret, to make
some observations which may possibly be by you considered in an
offensive point of view.
It seems to me, gentlemen, there is something (excuse the word)
disingenuous in your procedure. I put the supposition that Congress had
acceded to your propositions, and then I ask two questions:-- Had you full
power from your commission to make these propositions? Possibly you did
not think it worth your while to consider your commission, but we
Americans are apt to compare things together and to reason. The second
question I ask is, What security could you give that the British
Parliament would ratify your compacts? You can give no such security;
and therefore we should, after forfeiting our reputation as a people,
after you had filched from us our good name, and persuaded us to give
to the common enemy of man the precious jewel of our liberties,--after all
this, I say, we should have been at the mercy of a Parliament which, to
say no more of it, has not treated us with too great tenderness. It is
quite needless to add that, even if that Parliament had ratified the
conditions you proposed, still poor America was to lie at the mercy of
any future Parliament, or to appeal to the sword, which certainly is
not the most pleasant business men can be engaged in.
For your use I subjoin the following creed of every good American:--I
believe that in every kingdom, state, or empire there must be, from the
necessity of the thing, one supreme legislative power, with authority
to bind every part in all cases the proper object of human laws. I
believe that to be bound by laws to which he does not consent by
himself, or by his representative, is the direct definition of a slave.
I do therefore believe that a dependence on Great Britain, however the
same may be limited or qualified, is utterly inconsistent with every
idea of liberty, for the defence of which I have solemnly pledged my
life and fortune to my countrymen; and this engagement I will sacredly
adhere to so long as I shall live. Amen.
Now, if you will take the poor advice of one who is really a friend to
England and Englishmen, and who hath even some Scotch blood in his
veins,--away with your fleets and your armies, acknowledge the
independence of America; and as ambassadors, and not commissioners,
solicit a treaty of peace, amity, commerce, and alliance with the
rising States of this Western world. Your nation totters on the brink
of a stupendous precipice, and even delay will ruin her.
You have told Congress, "if, after the time that may be necessary to
consider this communication and transmit your answer, the horrors and
devastations of war should continue, we call God and the world to
witness that the evils which must follow are not to be imputed to Great
Britain." I wish you had spared your protestation. Matters of this kind
may appear to you in a trivial light, as mere ornamental flowers of
rhetoric, but they are serious things, registered in the high chancery
of Heaven. Remember the awful abuse of words like those by General
Burgoyne, and remember his fate. There is One above us who will take
exemplary vengeance for every insult upon His majesty. You know that
the cause of America is just. You know that she contends for that
freedom to which all men are entitled,--that she contends against
oppression, rapine, and more than savage barbarity. The blood of the
innocent is upon your hands, and all the waters of the ocean will not
wash it away. We again make our solemn appeal to the God of heaven to
decide between you and us. And We pray that, in the doubtful scale of
battle, we may be successful as we have justice on our side, and that
the merciful Saviour of the world may forgive our oppressors.
I am, my Lords and Gentlemen, the friend of human nature, and one who
glories in the title of
An American.
1 Also attributed to Adams in The Remembrancer, 1778, p. 306.
TO BARON STEUBEN.
[MS., Emmet Collection, Lenox Library.]
YORK TOWN June 3d 1778
SIR/
I very gratefully acknowledge the Receipt of your Favor of the 28th of
May by Mr Ternant, as well as another which was deliverd to me in
Boston. It affords me great Satisfaction to find that Congress,
sensible of your Merit, have put it in your Power to do eminent Service
to our Country in the Army, and that your Services are so acceptable
there. This is the Fulfillment of my earnest Wishes when I had the
Pleasure of conversing with you in Boston. May Heaven prosper you. Mr
Ternants Haste prevents my adding more than that I am with very cordial
Esteem
Your affectionate
very humble servt
TO JOHN ADAMS.
[MS., Adams Papers, Quincy.]
YORK TOWN June 21 1778
MY DEAR SIR
Although we are exceedingly pressd with publick Business at this
Juncture I cannot omit the Opportunity that now offers of writing to
you. The general Scituation of Affairs, and the particular Transactions
between the British Commissioners and the Congress will be transmited
to you by this Conveyance, by the Committee for foreign Affairs. Since
I last came to this Place from Boston, several Gentlemen have arrivd
here from France viz Mr Simeon Dean, Mr Carmichael, Mr Stephenson, & Mr
Holker. Mr Carmichael comes strongly recommend[ed] by Dr Franklin & Mr
Silas Dean; but Dr Lee in his Letter gives Reasons why he cannot place
a Confidence in him. From a long Correspondence with Dr Lee, I conceive
so great an Opinion of his Candor as well as inflexible Integrity &
Attachment to our Country, that I cannot entertain a Doubt that he
would suffer partial Considerations to operate in his Mind to the
Prejudice of any Man. Such a Difference of Sentiments concerning a
Gentleman who I imagine must be of some Consequence, could not take
Place without at least apparently good Grounds; and it may produce such
Effects on this Side of the Water as may prove uncomfortable to us if
not injurious to our Cause. Would it not then be doing some Service, to
exercise your Prudence in endeavoring to investigate the real Grounds
of it, in doing which possibly some things may open to View of
Importance and at present not thought of.
Dr Lee is a Gentleman of a fair and generous Mind. I wish therefore
that you would freely converse with him upon this Subject if you think
you can do it with Propriety; and let him know that I have lately
receivd many Letters from him, which I have duly attended to and would
have acknowledgd to him by this Opportunity, if I had Leisure.
By the last Accounts I have had from Braintree your Lady & Family were
in Health, though anxiously wishing to hear of your safe Arrival.
I shall write to you as often as I can & shall esteem my self happy in
receiving your Favors.
I remain very affectionately
Your Friend,
TO MRS. ADAMS.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADE July 9 1778
MY DEAR BETSY
Mr Mc Lean the Bearer of this Letter arrivd in this City yesterday, and
tells me he saw you on the Day he left Boston, and that you were then
in Health. He now returns in so great Haste as to afford me Time only
to let you know that I still enjoy that inestimable Blessing. I now
write at the Table in Congress, having just put my Hand to the
Confederation with my Colleagues & the Delegates of seven other States.
North Carolina and Georgia whose Members are absent have acceded to the
Confederation. Mr H has just obtaind the Leave of Absence and is going
home on Account of his ill State of Health & the Circumstances of his
Family. He tells me his Wife is dangerously ill.
Adieu my dear,
TO JAMES WARREN.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADE July -- 1778
MY DEAR SIR
Capt Manley1 has obligd me with your favor of the 5th. He and McNeil
are both here with different Views. The one to obtain another Ship, and
the other to get the Sentence of the Court Martial by which he is
censurd & broke, reversd. Perhaps both may be disappointed. I have
receivd a Number of Letters by both. One from you. To this I shall pay
a very particular Regard, because I am well satisfied you never suffer
Prejudices to divert your Attention from the great object--the publick
Good. "Manly is a blunt, honest and I believe brave officer.' I observe
your Caution; and I admire it because I think it is a proof of your
Integrity. Manlys Bravery is an Article of your Beliefe. His Bluntness&
Honesty, of Certainty. I have not yet lookd into the Papers; but I
recollect, when they were read in Congress, to have heard the Want of
Experience imputed to him, and some thing that had the Appearance of
blameing him for not giving out any Signals for the Direction of the
Ships under his Command. This it must be ownd, strongly implys the Want
if not the total Absense of Discretion. Now I would ask my Friend,
whether the Character of a blunt & honest officer entitles him to the
Command of one of our Capital Ships if he is "deficient in point of
Experience & Discretion." The Characteristick of a Sailor is the blunt
honest Tar. They carry this Character to an inimitable Height. But
surely every honest blunt or even brave Tar is not fit for Command in
our Navy. I some times fear there was an Error in the beginning. Thus
much for Manly. "His Address (viz Mc Neils) is insinuating. His
Assurance great. He may tell you fine Storys" &c. How contemptible does
he appear. I should think he had taken a Lesson from Hutchinsons
political Book, if I had not Reason to believe that he used to despise
him most heartily. But I advert to a Letter from another of my Friends
to whose upright opinions I have always given Weight; there I find "He
is open & sincere'' Synonimous Terms with blunt & honest. "His Temper
is naturally warm which he has sometimes indulgd in speaking his Mind
freely of Persons in office"--This you know has always been deemd an
unpardonable Sin, and I am affraid it always will be. To be sure it
always will be so deemd by that Kind of Men in office who meet with
none to hinder them from persisting in the most expensive Blunders but
the open sincere and warm Friends of our Country. I am warrented in
supposing this Character belongs to Capt Mc Neil, because my worthy
Correspondent in whose Veracity & Judgment I have before told you I
place a Confidence, has affirmd to me, that he knows his Sufferings for
our glorious Cause. Has not Mc Neil struck upon this Rock? It is
possible he has. Says my friendly Correspondent "We all know his Zeal &
Sufferings for our glorious Cause." Such a Character commands my
Friendship; but it has no Consideration in the present Appeal. Has he
had a fair Trial? I pay a proper Regard to the Decisions of a Court
martial, & shall not give my Vote for altering them in any Instance but
when Error Fraud or partiality shall appear plainly to my own
Satisfaction.
Our Navy officers must not expect to pick & chuse for themselves. They
ought to be content with the Appointments given to them. It is true
Appointments should be made with more Discretion than I think they can
be by any Men at three or four hundred Miles Distance. For this Reason
I moved that they should be made by the Navy Board, which obtaind in a
certain Degree as you have seen or will see by a Letter from the Marine
Committee. Had this been the Case before Olney would have remaind in
the , Resistance & Bush must have waited for another. If the Queen of
France is a better Vessel it will turn out not to the Disadvantage of
Olney. While we have more officers in Commission than Ships, there must
be Disappointments, Envy, & Suspicions (oftentimes unreasonable) of
each other. This is the Make of Man, and we may as well think of
stopping the Tide as altering it. The Appointment of Landais affords an
ample Subject for the Observations of Speculatists and the Resentment
of Navy officers. I think he is, as you observe an ingenuous & well
behaved Man, and if he is an able & experiencd officer, as we are
assured he is by those whose Duty it is to give us the best
Intelligence, it is a pity that two very good Lieutenants shd have the
Ship & the Service on that account. I hope others may be found to fill
their places. "It is an opinion that I was Landais' chief Patron." On
this occasion you discover your self, as you are disposd to do on every
occasion, partial in my favor. If I was in any Degree instrumental in
promoting Capt Landais, it was because I really thought he would be of
eminent Use to our Navy. And I question whether it would not have been
thought a well judgd Appointment, if there had not been a fanciful
Predilection in favor of Another. Even the Name of the Ship may have
given Disgust to some Men. I hope when Manly is provided with such a
Ship as will please him the Difficulties or Obstructions in the Way of
getting the Alliance manned will be removd. I am very sure your
Exertions will not be wanting to promote the Service.
Adieu,
1 Recently of the Ship Hancock. The record of his court martial was
laid before the Continental Congress on August 5, and ordered to be
referred to the Marine Committee for filing among its papers.
TO JAMES WARREN.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADA July 1778
MY DEAR SIR/
It is but seldom I can find Leisure to write a long Letter. You must
excuse me if I give you my Thoughts as I am able to recollect and
adjust them into any Order. I find -------- to be an excellent Member of Congress.
He is a thorough and zealous Republican, and an able Supporter of the
publick Liberty. I am satisfied it would be for the great Benefit of
our Country, if you and he were to form an intimate Connection with
each other. This I am very desirous of, because I have no Idea of your
being long secluded from the publick Councils. He will go home shortly.
I have not yet answerd your Letters of the 26th and 28th of June. I am
in Pain about the Ship in your Harbour. Her Owners neglect to put her
into Repair, and I fear a great Number of her Officers and Crew for
Want of Skill or Experience will be at a LOSS what to do with her if
she meets with a Storm. What a Pity is it, that an honest old Pilot has
lately been dischargd, who used to steer successfully through Rocks &
Quick sands! And that he should suffer this hard Usage, only because,
unknown to him one who was a hearty Well wisher to the Voyage, and was
anxious that Capacity & Merit might always govern Promotions, had
venturd to declare him the fittest Man to take the Command. Ambition,
or rather Vanity, and Avarice--an insatiable Thirst for Places and
Preferment, without Ability or Intention to fulfil the Duties of them,
tends to the Ruin of any Country, and if not eradicated, will soon
effect it. It would be the Glory of this Age, to find Men having no
ruling Passion but the Love of their Country, and ready to render her
the most arduous and important Services with the Hope of no other
Reward in this Life than the Esteem of their virtuous Fellow Citizens.
But this, some tell us, is expecting more than it is in the Power of
human Nature to give. Be it as it may. There are some Men to whom the
publick Confidence most certainly ought to be refused. I mean those who
in perilous Times have never dared to avow the publick Sentiments.
Last Saturday1 Congress recd another Letter from the British
Commissioners. You have it inclosd with a short Resolution2 in
Consequence of it. This shuts the Door until they will be pleased to
open it. Governor Johnstone has acted so base a part as to hint the
offer of Bribes not only to the President but every other Member of
Congress, as you will see by the Inclosd Letter to Mr R. Morris. By
this he has in my opinion forfeited the Character of an honest Man &
justly exposd himself to Contempt. I hope some Strictures will be made
in the Newspapers on this as well as the disrespectful & even insolent
Language in the Commissioners Letter, not so proper to be noticed by
Congress. I am assured that a Bribe of 10,000 Guineas has been offerd
to a Gentleman of Station & Character here. He refusd it as you might
suppose with suitable Resentment, telling the Lady who negociated this
dirty Business, that the British King was not rich enough to purchase
him.
Mr D3 of whom I may perhaps hereafter have much to say to you is arrivd
with the Sieur Gerard. I have long ago formed my opinion of the
American Commissioner & have not yet alterd it. That of the french
Minister is, a sensible prudent Man, not wanting in political Finesse &
therefore not to be listned to too implicitly. The french Squadron lies
off Sandy Hook. I have inclosd the Names & Rates of the ships together
with the Spanish Ships in N York as deliverd to us by a Prisoner lately
escaped from thence. Their Force bears no proportion to each other. The
Question in my Mind is whether the french Admiral will risque his large
Ships to be workd, as they must be in an Engagement, in the Narrows --the
Width of the Channel is and its Depth at low Water. I am told that this
is a favorite Expedition of Count d'Estaing himself, proposd by him &
not Mr D, to the french Court, and that his Reputation as a Politician
as well as an Admiral is at Stake. From the Character I have recd of
him, I make no Doubt he will answer the highest reasonable Expectations
of the King his Master and of America. Mr Ds political Friends, some of
whom I suppose are in Boston, are disposd to give him great Eclat on
Account of the Aid afforded us in sending this Squadron. His interest
with the french Ministry is represented as very forceable in procuring
it and the Newspapers mention the favors conferd on him even by the
King himself. The Truth as I conceive it is, the total overthrow of
Burgoyns Army was an Event which it was thought would produce Overtures
from Britain, and France was apprehensive of our listening to Terms &
compromising Matters. Hence it was, more than from any other Cause or
the Interest of any Individual that a Treaty was facilitated & agreed
to and to secure us in their Alliance & support us in sending this
Squadron, and the Purpose of M Gerards Mission. We are informd that
Eleven Sail of Merchantmen & a Frigate have fallen into his Hands.
I have declind answering your Letter of the 26 of June till I could
assure you that the Sum you wishd for was granted for the Use of your
Department. I now have the Pleasure of informing you that it will be
orderd as soon as it arrives from York Town. It is every hour expected.
The Marine Committee have agreed that the Navy Board shall appoint
Commanders for Vessels of War under Twenty Guns.
1 July 18; the letter was dated July 11.
2 "That no answer be given to the letter of the nth instant from the
British commissioners."
3 Silas Deane; Congress on July 11 was notified by him of his arrival
on the Languedoc.
TO SAMUEL PHILLIPS SAVAGE.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILAD Augt 11 -78
MY DEAR FRIEND
I yesterday had the pleasure of receiving your favor by the post,
covering the News papers and a Letter, as you emphatically express it,
"from one of my closest Friends"; for all which I thank you most
heartily.
You ask me what occasiond the very sudden return of Mr H.----1. I answer in
his own Word to me, His own Want of Health & the dangerous Illness of
his Lady. You say he arrivd quite unexpected--you must surely be mistaken;
for he publickly said he had Leave of Absence from his Constituents.
You add, various are the Conjectures for the true Cause. It is the Lot
of a great Man to have every Movement he makes critically scanned, and
the strangest Constructions are oftentimes put upon those parts of his
Conduct which may be most easily explaind. You have so many Twistings
in your Typography and my Eyes are grown so dim with Age that I cannot
well discover whether you inform me that his Friends say the Air or
Airs of Philadelphia doth not suit him; though I must conclude the
former from your usual Correctness in Grammar, for there is an evident
false Concord in admitting the latter. Pray let me know whether the
News Papers have not done him Injustice in announcing that he made his
Entrance into Boston on Sunday. I should think they had; for a well
bred Man will carefully avoid counteracting the vulgar Prejudices or
injuring the Feelings of the People where he may happen to be.
I congratulate you on the present happy Appearance of our publick
Affairs, & joyn with you in Praying that Heaven may still prosper them.
I shall take it as a favor if you will deliver the inclosd Manuscript,
without suffering a Copy to be taken, to Mrs A. I told her, I would
send it to her as being not an unfit Subject for female Inspection &
Criticism.
I am very affectionately,
Yours,
1 Hancock; cf. page 41.
TO PETER THACHER.1
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILAD Augt 11 -78
MY DEAR SIR
I am quite ashamd that I have not yet acknowledgd the two Letters which
I have had the Pleasure of receiving from you since I left Boston; you
will excuse me when I tell you, I have many Letters, which are daily
accumulating, unanswerd, and very little Leisure. This by the Way, must
convince you how unfit a Person I am even if I were otherwise
qualified, to undertake the important Task you require of me in your
last. While I am giving you the true Reason of my Silence, I hope it
will not prevent your writing to me by every opportunity. Herein you
will lay me under great obligations.
By the late Publications, you have seen, and doubtless have made your
own Comments on the epistolary Correspondence between the British
Commissioners & Congress. The short Resolution on their last Letter,
has put an End to it. Last Week the Minister from France had an
Audience in Congress. The Manner of conducting this Ceremony, together
with a Letter from his most Christian Majesty and the Speeches of the
Minister and the President are publishd in the inclosd News Paper. I
have had several opportunitys of seeing him at his own House, and a few
days ago he made a Visit to the Delegates of the Massachusetts who live
together. He is easy and polite in his Manners and converses freely
without much Ceremony.
Nothing can equal the barefaced Falshood of the Quakers & Tories in
this City, unless perhaps their Folly, in giving out that M. Gerard
does not come in the Character of a publick Minister, but only to
obtain Pay for the Stores we have receivd from that Country. These
Quakers are in general a sly artful People, not altogether destitute,
as I conceive, of worldly Views in their religious Profession. They
carefully educate their Children in their own contracted Opinions and
Manners, and I dare say they have in their Hearts as perfect a System
of Uniformity of Worship in their Way, and are busily employd about
spiritual Domination as ever Laud himself was, but having upon
professed Principles renouncd the Use of the carnal Weapon, they cannot
consistently practice the too common Method made use of in former
times, of dragooning Men into sound Beliefe. One might submit to their
own inward Feelings, whether they do not now & then secretly wish for
fire from Heaven in support of their Cause, in order to bring them upon
a footing with. those whose Consciences dictate the kindling fires on
Earth for the pious Purpose of convincing Gainsayers, and who keep the
Sword in their Hands to enforce it. He who in the Spirit of the Apostle
professes to wish Peace to all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ in
Sincerity, must discover an unmortified Pride & a Want of Christian
Charity to destroy the peace of others who profess to have that sincere
Affection to the Common Master, because they differ from him in Matters
of mere opinion. But the Post is just going. I must therefore conclude
with assuring you that I am affectionately,
Yours,
1 A clergyman, of Maiden, Mass.
TO JAMES WARREN.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILAD Sept 1 -78
MY DEAR SIR
After having been disappointed several Weeks I am at length favord with
your very acceptable Letter of the 18 of August. You have formerly
hinted to me your Apprehension that I mt think your Letters came to me
too frequently. I could not then suppose you to be in Earnest; but your
Silence from the 17 July to the Date of your last, which you own to be
many Days, is a very serious Comment, & obliges me in a formal Manner
to assure you, that you cannot gratify me more than by writing to me
often.
My Enemies in Boston are exceedingly mistaken if they think I have
condescended to become a Party Man in their unimportant Disputes about
Manly & Mc Neil,1 Neither of whom, in my opinion have derived any Honor
from the Decisions of the late Courts martial. I wonder how Manly can
attribute his Disappointment to me. At my Request he called to see me.
I found him to be one of those Men who stand in Need of Advice & gave
him the best I could. I told him what Questions would probably be asked
him that he might prepare to answer them. In short I said every thing
to him as a Friend which was proper for me to say. Perhaps I was too
candid to be thought a Friend. I intended to have been present at the
Committee, but was unavoidably hinderd. He did not call on me a second
time. Mc Neil is still here. He has called on me twice or thrice. I
know not in what part of the City he lives. His Friends & his Enemies
may be assured that I will give my Voice on the Subject Matter of his
Petition according to my best Skill & Judgment. In this I expect to be
justified by those to whose good opinion alone I pay the least Regard--the
candid & impartial.
I heartily despise those small Dealers in Politicks who are propagating
idle Stories to injure me. Little Insects will be for ever playing
about the glimmering Light of a farthing Candle. It is out of their
Power to disturb the peace of my Mind. You took too much Pains, my dear
Friend, to stop their Clamor, when you read a Paragraph in my Letter
which was designd for your Perusal & not theirs. I am however obligd to
you for your kind Intention.
Your Letter informs me that Mr H is gone on the Expedition to Rhode
Island.2 This is also announcd in the Boston News papers, which, to do
them Justice I must observe, never fail to notice all the Movements of
a Great Man. I am anxious to know the Event of this Expedition. But I
am called off & must leave you abruptly. Adieu. I must write you again
very soon.
Be so good as to let Mrs know that I am well.
1 Cf. pages, 41, 57, 59, 63.
2 See page 60.
TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
[Collections of Massachusetts Historical Society, 6th ser., vol. ix.,
pp. 423-425.]
[PHILADELPHIA, Septr 3, 1778.]
DEAR SIR,--A few days ago I received a letter from your son in law Mr
Temple dated New York, August 23d, requesting me by the first
opportunity to inform you of his & Mrs Temple's arrival there, & that,
for particular reasons he should be exceedingly happy if your affairs
would permit you to meet them at Philadelphia, or as near it as might
be convenient to you. He requested this of me, because excepting that
letter & another to Mr President Laurens, he had not written a line
since his arrival at N. Y., & he had still weighty reasons for
declining it. He also desired me to cause it to be made as convenient
as might be (at his expence) for Mrs Temple & her little boy, who had
not been well since their arrival, to get to Philadelphia. His baggage
which is both heavy & bulkey, he intended to get transported in a Flag,
if any should be suffered to pass, to Boston, or some port as near it
as might be, & hoped to see me soon in this city. His letter to the
President was read in Congress. It was short and contained little more
than to sollicit leave to come to Philada to pay his respects to
Congress. This was refus'd upon the idea that he might be a secret
emissary from the British Court. I think it is best for him that his
request is not granted; for the jealousy of the people at large would,
I believe, render his residence here very uncomfortable. A certain
Doctor Burkenhout, who came from London in the same packett with Mr T----, is
now in prison in this city, committed by the authority of this State,
under the same suspicion. I took occasion to inform Congress from my
own knowledge of Mr Temple, that although he had been formerly an
officer of the Crown of Great Britain, and in the Customs,1 yet he had
constantly given great offence to his brother Commissioners & other
friends of that government, particularly Bernard & Hutchinson, by his
attachment to those who espoused the liberties of America; that he went
to England seven years ago, where, I understood, he had since lived the
greater part of the time, entirely out of favor at Court & in private
life. and that I had reason to think his connexions in Boston had long
expected his return to spend his days there. Congress afterwards
ordered the Secretary to inform Mr Temple, that if it was his intention
to reside in any one of the United States, the same should be signified
by him to the State in which he intends to reside, & the approbation of
that State
obtaind before a passport could be granted to him. Thus the matter
stands in all its particulars, a view of which I thought it proper you
should be acquainted with. I wish Mr Temple had turned his attention
first to Boston. It is probable he will now do it, and that you will
receive a letter from him.
I am with the greatest sincerity,
Your affectionate friend, and humble servant,
1 Cf. Vol. i., page 316.
TO HANNAH ADAMS.1
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; the text is in W. V. Wells,
Life of Samuel Adams, vol. iii., p. 53.]
PHILADELPHIA Sept 8th 1778
MY DEAR DAUGHTER
Your very dutiful and obliging Letter of the 28th of August came to my
Hand yesterday and brought me the afflicting News of your Mothers
Illness. When you tell me "the Doctor thinks she is on the mending
Hand," and "he hopes she will be cleverly in a Day or two," I am apt to
conclude her Disorder had not much abated when you wrote. I know "she
is exceedingly 10th to give me the least Pain," and therefore I suspect
she has dictated to you to make the best of it to me. "She begs of me
not to make myself very anxious for her." This is a Request which it is
impossible for me to comply with. I shall be very uneasy till I hear
again from you. I pray God she may recover her Health and long continue
a rich Blessing to you and me. I am satisfied "you do all that lies in
your Power for so excellent a Mother." You are under great Obligations
to her, and I am sure you are of a grateful Disposition. I hope her
Life will be spared and that you will have the Opportunity of
presenting to her my warmest Respects. I rejoyce to hear that your late
Disorder was so gentle and that you have got over it. I commend you my
dear, to the Care and Protection of the Almighty. That He may reward
your filial Piety is the ardent Prayer of
Your very affectionate Father,
1 Later the wife of Thomas Wells.
TO JOHN BRADFORD.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADE Sept 8th 1778
MY DEAR SIR
I have lately had the pleasure of receiving two Letters from you, one
by Capt Manly and the other by yesterdays Post. The latter makes
mention of some Notice you had receivd "from a warm Friend to you & me"
that "Cap Mc Niel was making Misrepresentations at Philade to your
Disadvantage." I have a particular Reason for my Curiosity in wishing
to know who this Friend is. If I had that Knowledge I might perhaps see
Grounds of Suspicion that the Design was far different from that of
giving you a friendly Hint. I assure you I have heard Nothing here to
your Disadvantage. If Capt McNiel is the Person I am to understand to
be your Enemy, I will tell you that he has called on me not more than
twice or thrice, since he arrivd here, and that he has not mentiond
your Name to me nor any thing relating to your Department, nor indeed
any thing that would tend to bring you to my Thoughts. I know not in
what Part of the City he lives. I suppose he is preparing to meet the
Marine Committee to whom his Petition is referrd. When it may be proper
for me to give my Opinion, I intend to do it, with Freedom &
Impartiality, not feeling my self interrested in the Party Disputes
which I perceive there are in Boston between two Men, neither of whom
in my opinion has derivd much Honor from the Decisions of the Courts
Martial respecting them. If I shall hear any thing said to your
Prejudice here you may depend on my letting you know it; being
determind if possible to prevent your suffering an Injury which one of
your Friends at least thinks he has in being stabbd in the dark. I
intend to write you more fully of these Matters at another Time. At
present I can only add a Request that you wd be so kind as to deliver
the inclosd Letter to my Daughter and forward the other which is from
my Servant to his Friends in Milton. My dear Mrs A, I am informd is
very unwell.
I am with the most friendly Regard to your Family,
very affectionately,
Yours,
TO JAMES WARREN.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.}
PHILAD Sept 12 1778
MY DEAR SIR
Your obliging Letter of the 25 of Augt by the Post came duly to my
hand. As you again mention Cap Manly, I will speak of him to you with
Candor. I never saw him but once, viz last Spring in Boston, till he
came to this City. I had preconceivd an opinion of his Bravery, in
speaking of which you tell me "no Caution ought to be used," though I
have never yet been pointed to a single Instance of it. I confess his
Appearance in Boston did not strike me most agreably. He was in the
Midst of a Crowd, who were shouting his Entrance into the Town; and
like some of his Superiors, he seemd to be intoxicated with popular
Applause. I had other Apprehensions, but I give you my most charitable
Thoughts. I retaind however an opinion of him; for I concluded, that
Huzza for the brave M, would be a sufficient Inducement to him to lay a
Pop Gun Schooner alongside the Eagle, if good Fortune should throw her
in his Way. You think "his Judgment and Abilities would not be equal to
others in the Direction of more Ships than one." Here lies the
Difficulty. Consider his Rank in our little Navy & judge how soon the
Time may perhaps must come when he may have the Command of more Ships,
if you give him the Command of one. Having said this to you & to no one
else, though I have heard the same thing mentiond by others, you will
not conclude that I am here deeply engagd in a Party against him. Some
I know will, or will pretend to form this Conclusion, not from real
Regard to the Merit of M., the Honor of our Navy or the great Cause we
are engagd in, but from a different Motive and very inferior to either.
I am glad that Landais "rises in your Esteem"-- that "other Captains are
convincd he is Master of his Business which with his agreable Manners &
Disposition forcd Conviction of the Judiciousness of his Appointment."
I fancy now that I shall soon be dischargd the shameful Imputation of
having been "his chiefe Patron here." I have a particular Reason now to
urge that every possible Exertion may be made to get his and all the
other Ships manned. Last Evening a Letter from Governor Trumbull was
read in the Committee, strongly recommending a Captain for the Ships at
Norwich, who, added to great Qualifications, can readily get Men for
her. I mentioned Manly as having the Character of a brave and very
popular officer, and read those Parts of your last Letter to me which
related to him. I am convincd that he need not impute his being
overlookd to any other Cause than the Decree of the Court Martial which
acquitted him with Honor.
The Rhode Island Expedition is at Length finishd. Our Cause is not
dishonord though we did not succeed to our Wishes. Congress has approvd
the Retreat--thankd Genl Sullivan & his brave Troops and applauded the
patriotick Exertions of New England. Major Genl Hancock was unluckily
at Boston & missed the Laurel! In my opinion it is in a great Degree
impolitick at this Juncture to suffer an Odium to be cast on the Count
D'Estaing. If there should be a Disposition to do it I am perswaded Men
of Discretion & Influence will check it. The Tories will try their
utmost to discredit our new Alliance. And he who not long ago expressd
his Opinion that "a Connection with France will ruin America" will not
fail to promote a Jealousy if he can thereby establish his Popularity.
Such a Man should be critically watchd on this Occasion. Adieu my
Friend.
TO SAMUEL PHILLIPS SAVAGE.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; a portion of the text is
printed in W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. iii., p. 40.]
PHILE Sept 14--78
DR SR
I recd your favor of the 3d with the News papers inclosd. I note well
the Contents. Our Boston Papers never fail to mark all the Movements of
Great Men & to give Honor where Honor is due. The spirited Exertions of
our Major Generals to be sure ought properly to be noticed. Some of
them have had the good Fortune never to be out of the Way of making a
Figure, while others are wisely following the unpopular Steps of Fabius
or Count Daun. The Marquis La Fayette every one acknowledges, made
surprizing Dispatch in going to Boston and returning to R I; but he was
sadly mortified in not being present in the Action on that Island. He
did all that Man cd do Impossibilities are not to be expected. But he
arrivd in Season to take a distinguishd Share in the well timed & well
conducted Retreat. In Him we indeed see an Instance of a young Nobleman
"of Rank & fortune foregoing the pleasures of Enjoyment of domestick
Life and exposing himself to the Hardships and Dangers of a Camp," not
in his own but a foreign Country, "in the glorious Cause of freedom."
Congress requested the President to write to him & in their Name
acknowledge his Zeal & spirited Services on this Occasion by which he
has given a fresh proof of his Attachment to our Common Cause. I am
sorry to hear there is a Disposition in some persons in Boston to cast
an odium on the french Admiral for his leaving Rhode Island. In my
Opinion it is at this Juncture impolitick in the Extreme. Even if his
Conduct was thought to be blameworthy Prudence I think would dictate
Silence to us. Men of Discretion and Influence will surely by all means
check such a Disposition.
The Tories will try their utmost to discredit our new Alliance. You
know how much depends upon our cultivating mutual Confidence. It is not
in the Power of undisguisd Tories to hurt our Cause. Injudicious tho
honest Whigs may & too often do injure it. Those whose chief aim is to
establish a Popularity in order to obtain the Emoluments of places or
the Breath of Applause will think they may serve themselves by
declaiming on this Subject, or prompting others to do it; and they will
not fail doing it though they essentially wound their Country.
If there be any of my virtuous & publick spirited fellow Citizens who
pay the least Regard to my opinions I wish they would particularly
regard what I say on this Occasion.
I have written in haste and must break off abruptly.
TO ----------.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADE Sept 21, 1778
MY DEAR SIR/
I beg you not to impute my omitting hitherto to acknowledge your Favor
of the 4th of July to Negligence. I have frequently thought of its
Contents; and although I was not able to obtain what you wishd for, I
think you will not doubt my Sincerity when I assure you that whenever
it shall be in my Power to render you substantial Service I shall do it
with the utmost Cheerfulness. It is the Opinion of Gentlemen here that
the Appointments of Auctioneers to make Sale of such Prize goods as
fall to the Share of the Continent should be made by the Authority of
the particular States where such Goods may be forfeited.
Your Letter was deliverd to me by Capt Manly. I am informd by some of
my Boston Friends that he speaks of me with a Degree of Bitterness,
supposing that I prevented his having another Ship. This gives me not
the least Disquietude. He may have been taught to believe it, by
Persons who care but little for him and less for the Honor of our Navy
or the great Cause we are contending for. Neither he nor his Friends
could be at a loss for the true Cause of his Disappointment, if they
would advert to the Judgment of the Court Martial which acquitted him
with Honor. What a strange Inconsistency was there in that Court, in
recommending Cap Manly for another Ship, and at the same Time holding
up so great a Deficiency in his Conduct as the neglecting to prepare
Signals for a Fleet under his Direction, and in general his Want of
Experience. This was said by many; and it ought to be satisfactory to
Cap Manly, that though I clearly saw the Justice of the Remark, I was
silent. In this, it is possible, I was not altogether blameless. I have
never felt my self disposd to take a Side in the Disputes which I
understand have run high between Partizans of Manly & McNiel. I think
Neither of them can derive much Honor from the Decisions of their
respective Courts Martial. I wish for the Credit of our Country that
both had behavd more to the Satisfaction of the Publick. One of them is
still here. I suppose he is preparing to meet the Committee to whom his
Petition is referrd. When it may be proper for me to speak my Mind his
Friends & his Enemies may be assured I shall do it with Candor &
Freedom. In doing this I expect to be justified, by sensible & honest
Men. If I stand fair with them, you well know, how unsolicitous I am
whether others are pleasd or not.
There is another Matter of greater Consequence which I wish to mention
to you. I am informd there are Persons in Boston disposd to make a
popular Clamor against the french Admiral for leaving Rhode Island. I
cannot help remonstrating to my Friends against it as in a great Degree
impolitick. Even if it should be thought he had taken a wrong step, it
is our Wisdom at this Juncture to forbear criminating him. The Tories
will try their utmost to discredit our new Alliance. They cannot
succeed but by making injudicious Whigs their Instruments. There are
two things from which I am more apprehensive than I am from the joynt
Efforts of all our Enemies, viz the intemperate and misplacd Zeal of
our honest Friends, and an insatiable Desire in others who are called
Friends to establish a Popularity in order to obtain the Splendor or
Emoluments of Places, or that vanity of vanities the Breath of Applause.
Adieu my Friend,
TO MRS. ADAMS.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADE Sept 28 1778
MY DEAR BETSY
Your Letter of the 16th which I just now receivd, is like cool Water to
a thirsty Soul. It gives me inexpressible Pleasure to have it under
your own Hand, that you are in the Way of Recovery from a dangerous
Disorder. I earnestly pray God to restore you to perfect Health; and
let me intreat you, my Dear, to be very careful of your self.
I exceedingly regret the LOSS which the Town has sustaind by the Death
of Dr Eliot & Dr Greenleafe. In Times so degenerate as these are, it is
much to be lamented that Men of such Exemplary Piety and Virtue are
taken away. I hope the Depravity of Manners is not so great as to
exclude all Hopes of Childrens rising up and serving God and their
Country in the Room of their Fathers. May Heaven grant us a Time of
Reformation!
I think you have done well in putting your Servant Boy Job an
Apprentice to a Sail Maker. I hope you will injoyn it on him to let you
see him often, that you may give him your Advice, and tell him it is my
Desire that he would attend to it. I love the Boy, and am still of
opinion, that if he is properly mannagd he will make a good Citizen.
Remember me to my Daughter, Sister Polly and the rest of my Family &
Friends, and accept of the best Wishes of
your most affectionate,
Write to me by every opportunity.
TO WILLIAM COOPER.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADE Sept 30 1778
MY DEAR SIR
I have the pleasure of committing this Letter to the Care of your
youngest Son who having been unfortunately taken in the Brig
Resistance, was sufferd to come to this City to be exchangd for the
Purser of the British Ship Mermaid who is now in N York on his Parole.
This Exchange I effected without Delay; and procured from the Navy
Board here an Advance of fifty Dollars, for which he is to account with
the Eastern Navy Board in the settlement of his Wages. I apprehended
this Sum would not be sufficient to discharge the Expence of his Board
in this very expensive place & carry him through his Journey &
therefore I advancd him forty Dollars more, taking his Draft upon you
which you will please to repay to Mrs Adams in Boston.
I introducd your Son to your old Friend the President who receivd him
with great Courtesy. Upon my hinting to the President that if he had
publick Letters to send to Boston, this young Gentleman would take good
Care of them, and it would be the Means of providing him with an Horse
for his Journey, he very politely told me he should be glad [to] serve
him in that Way, He as well as Monsr Girard having Letters which mt be
as well sent by him as by any other Person. I assure you it is not
Flattery to tell you that I am exceedingly pleasd with your Son. His
modest Assurance is very engaging. If his Life is spared and his Morals
well fixed, I think he will make an excellent Citizen. That the
Children of N England may rise and serve God & their Country in the
Room of their Fathers is the most ardent Prayer of
your cordial Friend,
TO SAMUEL PHILLIPS SAVAGE.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADE Oct 6-78.
MY DEAR SIR
I receivd your favor of the 23d of Septr by yesterdays Post. You tell
me that Boston is become a new City, and explain your self by
mentioning the exceeding Gayety of Appearance there. I would fain hope
this is confind to Strangers. Luxury & Extravagance are in my opinion
totally destructive of those Virtues which are necessary for the
Preservation of the Liberty and Happiness of the People. Is it true
that the Review of the Boston Militia was closd with an expensive
Entertainment? If it was, and the Example is followed by the Country, I
hope I shall be excusd when I venture to pledge myself, that the
Militia of that State will never be put on such a Footing as to become
formidable to its Enemies. I am told that such a Practice is contrary
to the Letter of the Militia Act. I trust then I was misinformd when I
was told that it was countenanced by those who of all Men ought to pay
the most sacred Regard to the Law. Are we arrivd to such a Pitch of
Levity & Dissipation as that the Idea of feasting shall extinguish
every Spark of publick Virtue, and frustrate the Design of the most
noble and useful Institution. I hope not. Shall we not again see that
Sobriety of Manners, that Temperance, Frugality, Fortitude and other
manly Virtues wch were once the Glory and Strength of my much lov'd
native Town. Heaven grant it speedily!
Adieu.
TO JAMES WARREN.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILAD 11 Octobr 1778
MY DEAR SIR
In the inclosd Newspaper you will see certain Queries calculated to
impress on the Minds of the people the Idea of Dr Lee's having held a
criminal Correspondence with a Person known to be at the same time in
the Service & under the Direction of the British Ministry. I hope it
will not be in the Power of this Querist to do essential Injury to so
eminent a Patriot; who took the earliest & most decisive Part in
opposition to the Measures of the British Court, and whose invariable
Attachment to the Liberties of our Country never was, and I think
cannot be justly suspected. Yet it may be necessary to guard against
it; for I plainly though silently saw when I was last in Boston a
Malevolent Disposition towards Dr Lee, in a certain Gentleman, who,
till he is better known, will have a great Influence in the
Massachusetts State. The Instance you may recollect, as you was knowing
to it in the Time of it. I then supposd it to proceed from his having
strongly attachd himself, and for a Length of Time to a Circle of Men,
and imbibd their Prejudices, who are far remote from the Connections of
Dr Lee, and who differ widely from them in the Adoption of publick
Measures regarding either Politicks or Morals.
You may remember that some time ago, in a Letter1 I informd you that I
had much to say to you about Mr D; of whom I had long formd my Opinion
& had not seen Reason to alter it. I have hitherto said Nothing to you
about him; because I knew it would lead me to Subjects of great
Delicacy, which, if exposd to the Enemy, as they would be if my Letter
should fall into their Hands, might disgrace, or otherwise be
prejudicial to our publick Affairs. This Caution prevents my
communicating to you many things of which I wish to unburthen my Mind.
Mr D was originally taken up by a secret Committee of Congress
appointed to procure from France the necessary Supplys for carrying on
the War. By them he was sent to that Country in the Character of a mere
Merchant. About that Time another Committee was; appointed, whose
Business it was to form a Correspondence abroad, and particularly to
feel the political Pulse of France in Hopes of forming a Connection
with that powerful Nation. This Committee also took up Mr D; and he
carried Letters from Dr F to some Men of Eminence, which might enable
him in some Measure to penetrate into the Disposition of the Court of
France towards America. With these Views Mr D was sent to France. He
was to be Agent to the secret Come of Commerce. To the secret Come of
Correspondence he was to be the Inquisitive Man or Intelligencer. He
had no political Powers whatever; and yet he sent us over, Majors,
Colonels, Brigadiers & Majors General in Abundance & more than we knew
what to do with, of his own creating, till at length Mr Du Coudray
arrivd with the Commission (or an Agreement signd by Mr D in behalf of
the United States, that he should have one) of a Major General, with
the Command of our Artillery; together with his Suite of about 70
Gentlemen of different Ranks. All this was done, as I said before
without any Authority. Congress was exceedingly embarrassd; being 10th
to discredit their Commissioner (for before the Arrival of M Du Coudray
he was commissiond joyntly with Mess Franklin & Lee) I say being 10th
to discredit him by disannulling the Convention, and at the same Time
judging it dishonorable as well as unsafe for America to ratify it.
This however was agreed to in a Come of the whole House. Not having the
records before me, I do not recollect whether it was confirmd in the
House; but Du Coudray soon after died, his Suite or most of them
returnd with Gratifications & Mr D was recalled. After which he was
directed to return speedily and give an Accot of the State of our
Affairs in Europe.
This has given an Occasion to his Friends to hide the true Reason of
his being recalled, & to hold up in the News Papers an ostensible one,
supposing it to be more for his Reputation.
Our Affairs even in France wore a gloomy Aspect during the last year
until the News of our Army at the Northward being completely
victorious. This was the decisive Language which commanded our Success
in the Cabinet of France. To this we are indebted for the Acknowledgmt
of our Independence, the Treaty and the french Fleet. Mr D is
complimented with having procurd this Fleet, and his "spirited
Exertions" like those of other Great Men have been puffd off in the
News Papers. Unthinking Men may be amusd with a Golden Snuff Box &c.
After all they are mere Things of Course, especially in the Honey Moon
of National Matrimony.
Since Mr Ds Return as well as before, there have been Suggestions of
his Misconduct in France; and among other things, of his Misapplication
of publick Money. I cannot say whether these Suggestions are well
grounded or not. Congress is devoting every Hour to an Enquiry into the
Grounds of them which can be spared from an Attention to other great
Affairs, particularly the Finances. The Conduct of an honest Man will
bear the strictest Scrutiny. If the Friends of Mr D have any Suspicions
of his being tardy, I am inclind to think they will be more
apprehensive of a Detection from the Vigilance & Integrity of Dr Lee
than any thing else. On such occasions it is not unusual for the most
unblemished of Characters & sometimes the Lives of the best of them to
be sacrificd in order to prevent "Transactions dark & mysterious" from
being brot into open Light.
I have written this Letter in Confidence & shall continue the Subject
when I can find Leisure. Adieu.
1 Cf. page 47.
TO JAMES WARREN.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADE Oct 14 -- 78
MY DEAR SIR
In my last I inclosd a News paper containing certain Queries
calculated, as I conceive, to blast the Reputation of a truly virtuous
Man.
I must inform you that Dr Lee & Dr Berkenhout, mentiond by the Querist,
were formerly fellow Students at Edinburgh; and as both were esteemed
learned in their Profession, it is not improbable that on that Account
they kept up their Acquaintance while both continued in Great Britain.
Dr Lee you know was requested by Congress to go over to France, where
he was made a joynt Commissioner with Messrs Franklin & Dean. It is
possible that a Correspondence might afterwards have been carried on
between them; but from the Knowledge I have of Dr Lee, I will venture
to pledge my self it was not a criminal one, as the Querist would seem
to insinuate, and if Dr Berkenhout was in the Service & under the
Direction of the British Ministry, which by the Way is but base
Suspicion here, it was utterly unknown to Dr Lee. It is doubtful
whether any Correspondence was held between these two Gentlemen. I am
rather inclind to think it is a Creature of the Querists own Fancy, or
an artful Suggestion thrown out to the Publick to serve the Cause of
our Enemies. America shod beware how she suffers the Character of one
of the most able & vigilant Supporters of her Rights to be injurd by
Questions designd to impute Slander, without any Reasons offerd why
such Questions should be made. It is the old Game of mischievous Men to
strike at the Characters of the good and the great, in order to lessen
the Weight of their Example & Influence. Such Patriots as Lord Russell
& Algernon Sydney of the last Age, have of late been falsly &
audaciously chargd by a Scotch Tool of the most nefarious Court, with
having receivd Bribes from the National Enemy; and it is not strange
that a Gentleman whom the leading Whigs of America have always placd so
high in their List of Patriots, who has renderd the most laborious &
important Services to our Country in England France & other Parts of
Europe, who so often & so seasonably developd the secret Intrigues &
Practices of wicked Men & who at this time stands high in the Esteem &
Confidence of the Congress, & in addition to this, when it is considerd
that there are too many disaffected & insidious Men still lurking among
us, it is by no Means a strange Thing that Dr Lee is also chargd with a
criminal Correspondence with the Enemy, without even the Shadow of
Reason.
The Post who has been retarded by violent Rains is just arrivd & brings
me your obliging favr of 30 Sept. It contains very interesting Matters
which shall have my Attention at a more leisure Hour than the present.
Adieu,
TO JONATHAN TRUMBULL.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILAD Oct 16 -- 78
SIR
I had the Honor of receiving your Excys Letter of the 5th Instant,1 and
sincerely condole with you on the heavy LOSS your Family and the
publick sustain by the Death of your eldest Son. His Services in my
opinion merited great Consideration, and it now behoves the Publick to
render the Settlement of his Affairs as easy to his surviving Friends
as possible. I have communicated the Contents of your Letter to my
Colleagues & the other Members of Congress, & you may be assured Sir
that we shall interrest ourselves in obtaining with all possible Speed
the Attention & Decision of Congress on the Matters set forth in your
Representation.
Mr Sherman was so obliging as to give me the perusal of your Letter to
him, and I am happy that Congress as a Body concurs with you in the
Sentiment therein containd; having passd a Resolution by a great
Majority expressing their Sense that true Religion & good Morals are
the only solid Foundations of publick Liberty and Happiness.
I am Sir with the most cordial Esteem & Respect Yr Excys most obedt hbl
servt
1 Printed in Collections of Massachusetts Historical Society, 7th ser.,
vol. ii., p. 276.
TO TIMOTHY MATLACK.
[Pennsylvania Archives, 1st ser., vol. vii., p. 14.]
PHILADA, Octobr 16, 1778.
SIR,
I am informd that General Clinton designs to send to the Governor or
Assembly of each of the United States, Copies of an insulting Paper,
called a Manifesto or Proclamation, calculated to promote a Rebellion,
and that the one intended for this State is to be sent by Water up the
Delaware. And as it appears to be the Design of the Enemy, as far as it
may be in their power, further to pursue their barbarous practice of
laying waste our Sea Ports, and that they would be particularly
gratified by an opportunity of destroying this City; would it not be
proper that one or two of your Gallies should be ordered to watch for
them in the River, that they may seize their Vessel & bring the Men up,
blindfold, to be confined & dealt with according to the Laws of Nature
and Nations. You will excuse this Hint, and be assured that I am,
Your very humble Servt,
TO JAMES WARREN.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILAD Oct 17 1778
MY DEAR SIR
If I was to tell you that I wonder much at the Conduct of some of our
Politicians it might discover my own Folly; for it is said a wise Man
wonders at Nothing. Be it so. I am curious to know who made the Motion
for the Admission of Gray, Gardiner & Jemmy Anderson? Which of the
B[oston] Members supported the Motion? Are the Galleries of the House
open? Do the People know that such a Motion was made? A Motion so
alarming to an old Whig? Or are they so incessantly eager in the
Pursuit of Pleasure or of Gain as to be totally thoughtless of their
Country? I hope not. Gracious Heaven! Defend us from Vanity Folly & the
inordinate Love of Money. Your News Papers are silent upon every
Subject of Importance but the Description of a Feast, or the Eclat of
some Great Man. Your able Patriot is wholly employd in spirited
Exertions of the Military Kind, or surely he wd have pourd forth all
his Eloquence against so detestable a Motion.--" The Motion did not
obtain." I rejoyce in this; But Do you do Justice [to] the House by so
faint an Expression? I hope they rejected it with every Mark of
Contempt & Indignation. Do the Gentlemen who made & supported this
Motion know, that even in this Quaker Country, they are trying &
condemning & I suppose will hang some of their considerable Men for
Crimes not inferior to those of Gray & Gardiner. Jemmy Anderson I have
forgot. I suppose he is a little Man & a Scotchman. It is the opinion
of the People in this Country, that a Galloway could not atone for his
publick Crimes with the Sacrifice of an hundred Lives. A Galloway, a
Gray, a Gardiner! Examine them & say which is the greatest Criminal.
Confiscation you tell me labors--"it labors very hard"! I have heard
objections made to it, not in this Country, but in my own. But I
thought those objections were made by interested Men. Shall those
Traiters who first conspired the Ruin of our Liberties; Those who
basely forsook their Country in her Distress & sought Protection from
the Enemy when they thought them in the Plenitude of Power--who have been
ever since stimulating & doing all in their Power to aid and comfort
them while they have been exerting their utmost to enslave & ruin us.
Shall these Wretches have their Estates reservd for them & restored at
the Conclusion of this glorious Struggle in which some of the richest
Blood of America has been spilled, for the sake of a few who may have
Money in England & for this Reason have maintaind a dastardly and
criminal Neutrality? It cannot be. I venturd to speak my Mind in a
Place where I could claim no Right to speak. I spoke with Leave which I
should have disdaind to have done, had I not felt the Importance of the
Subject to our Country. I will tell you my Opinion. If you do not act a
decisive Part--If you suffer those Traiters to return & enjoy their
Estates, the World will say, you have no Sense of publick Injury & have
lost your understanding.
Adieu my dear Friend,
TO MRS. ADAMS.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADELPHIA Octob 20th -78
MY DEAR BETSY
A few days ago Mr Brown, a publick Messenger carried a Letter from me
to you, which I hope you will receive before this reaches you. I feel a
Pleasure when I sit down to write to you and omit no opportunity. My
Boston Friends tell me with great Solicitude that I have Enemies there.
I thank them for their Concern for me, and tell them I knew it before.
The Man who acts an honest Part in publick Life, must often counteract
the Passions Inclinations or Humours of weak and wicked Men and this
must create him Enemies. I am therefore not disappointed or mortified.
I flatter my self that no virtuous Man who knows me will or can be my
Enemy; because I think he can have no Suspicion of my Integrity. But
they say my Enemies "are plotting against me." Neither does this
discompose me, for what else can I expect from such kind of Men. If
they mean to make me uneasy they miss their Aim; for I am happy and it
is not in their Power to disturb my Peace. They add, The Design is to
get me recalled from this Service. I am in no Pain about such an Event;
for I know there are many who can serve our Country here with greater
Capacity (though none more honestly). The sooner therefore another is
elected in my Room the better. I shall the sooner retire to the sweet
Enjoyment of domestick Life. This, you can witness, I have often wishd
for; and I trust that all gracious Providence has spared your precious
Life through a dangerous Illness, to heighten the Pleasures of my
Retirement. If my Enemies are governd by Malice or Envy, I could not
wish them a severer Punishment than their own Feelings. But, my Dear, I
thank God, I have many Friends. You know them. Remember me to them all
as you have opportunity. I could say many more things to you, but I am
called off. My Love to my Daughter & Sister Polly and the rest of our
Family and Connections. Adieu. Your most affectionate,
TO JOHN ADAMS.
[MS., Adams Papers, Quincy.]
PHILADA Octob 25, 1778
MY DEAR SIR/
Your Favor of the 24th of May did not reach my hand till yesterday. The
Gentleman who brought it, Mr Archer, tells me he had a Passage of
Eleven Weeks. I will show him the Respect due to the Character you give
him, & properly regard such future Recommendations as may come from you.
I suppose you have been fully & officially informd of the State of our
military Affairs since the Enemy evacuated this City and met with a
Drubbing at Monmouth. And as publick Letters will doubtless be
forwarded by this Conveyance, it is needless for me to give you a
particular Detail of what has happend since. By those Letters you will
be informd that Dr Franklin is appointed Minister Plenipotentiary at
Versailes. It is not yet determind how you will be disposd of; but as
Congress entertain great Expectations from your Services, you may
depend upon Employment being allotted for you somewhere. The critical
Situation of the Powers of Europe in general, renders it somewhat
difficult for us to determine, to which of them to make our Addresses
at present. Every Cabinet I suppose is busily engagd in making the
necessary Arrangements and preparing for the opening of a Campaign, if
War should take Place. In this Case, I should think France must be our
Pole Star, while it continues, and our Connections must be formd with
hers. In the mean time however, Holland, whose Policy is always to be
at Peace, may be open for a Negociation; and in my opinion, we ought to
take the earliest opportunity to tempt her.
The two main Armies at & near New York have been quiet since the Enemy
retreated to that City. We have made another Expedition against Rhode
Island. Our Arms were not disgracd, though we did not succeed to our
Wishes. Genl S behavd as usual with Bravery; but some will have it that
there is a Mixture of Imprudence in every thing he does. He promisd
himself to share with Gates in the Glory of Victory, and as an officer
of Spirit, no doubt he felt vexed with the Disappointment; but he was
too sanguine in my Opinion when he expected that the Count D Estaing
would remain there, in the Circumstances which he was thrown into by a
violent Storm he met with when in Pursuit of Lord Howe. This unforeseen
& unavoidable Accident left him too much inferior to the British
Squadron to run the Risque with any Degree of Prudence. It was a
Misfortune which we all regret, but must bear. Knowing the high Temper
of the People of my native Town, I immediately upon hearing it, wrote
to some of the principal Men to prevent Blame being cast on the Count
for leaving Rhode Island; a Disposition which I apprehended the artful
Tories (for such there are even there) would encourage with a View of
discrediting our new and happy Alliance, in the Minds of injudicious
Whigs. I am happy to be informd that the Count and his Officers, and
indeed every french Gentleman is treated there with the highest Marks
of Respect and Friendship.
For some Weeks past there have been Reports here that the Enemies
Troops at N York were about to embark, as they gave out on a grand
Expedition, and we are now assured that Sixteen Sail of the Line and
about one hundred and fifty Transports put to Sea on Tuesday the 20th
Inst. Various are the Conjectures of their Destination. Whether to
Boston, South Carolina or the West Indies, a few Days will decide. The
Count D Estaing has sufficiently securd his Ships in Case of an Attack
on them; and if they land their Troops with Intent to march them to
Boston, it is my opinion they will repent of their Expedition. It
appears to me most probable that the Troops are bound to the West
Indies, and that the Ships of War, after having convoyd them to a
certain Latitude will return for the Protection of the Garrisons which
I suppose are to be left at Newport and New York. The Enemy will be
10th to quit the small Portion of Land they possess within the United
States, for though they must despair of subduing us by Arms, it will be
necessary for them to oblige us to continue the Expence of large Armies
in order to nonplus us in the Art of financiering. This may be a Method
of carrying on the Contest, the most puzzling to us; but I trust we
shall disappoint them.
The Marquiss De la Fayette whose extraordinary Merit is fully known to
you, does me the Honor of taking the Care of this Letter, and will
deliver it to you.
I am, my dear Sir, with the greatest Sincerity
your affectionate,
TO ARTHUR LEE.
[MS., Lenox Library; a draft is in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox
Library.]
PHILADELPHIA Octob 26 -78
MY DEAR SIR
Your several Letters dated as in the Margin,1 with the Inclosures came
to my Hand. And although I have not hitherto acknowledgd to you the
Receipt of them, I assure you I have been and am still improving the
Intelligence you have given me, to the best of my Power, for the
Advantage of this Country. From our former Correspondence you have
known my Sentiments. I have not alterd them in a single Point, either
with Regard to the great Cause we are engagd in or to you who have been
an early, vigilant & active Supporter of it. While you honor me with
your confidential Letters, I feel and will freely express to you my
Obligation. To have answerd them severally would have led me to
Subjects of great Delicacy, and the Miscarriage of my Letters might
have provd detrimental to our important Affairs. It was needless for me
to run this Risque for the sake of writing; for I presume you have been
made fully acquainted with the State of our publick Affairs by the
Committee, and as I have constantly communicated to your Brother R. H.
the Contents of your Letters to me, it was sufficient on that Score,
for him only to write, for he thinks as I do.
The Marquiss De la Fayette, who does me the Honor to take this Letter,
is this Moment going, which leaves me Time only to add that I am and
will be your Friend, because I know you love our Country and Mankind.
I beg you to write to me by every Opportunity.
Adieu my dear Sir,
1 1777: July 31. October 4, November 11, December 18, December 19;
1778: January 2, January 9, February 8, February 16, March 1, April 1,
April 16.
TO ----------.
[MS., Lenox Library.]
PHILAD Oct 26 -78
Mr Duncan yesterday brought me your very affectionate Letter of the
Instant. I rejoyce that you have recoverd your usual State of Health
and that my Family enjoy that invalueable Blessing.
Is it possible that M could make & propagate so barefaced a Story as
you mention? Are you not misinformd? I lose every Sentiment of Regard
for him as a Man of Truth. I have heard that my Enmity to G. W. was
objected agt me on a late Occasion. I did not wonder that those who
believd it were displeasd with me. My very worthy Friend & colleague Mr
D satisfied the Minds of those who meant well and explaind some things
relating to Mr ---- which were new & surprising to them. I console myself
that those who try to injure me (I must not call them Enemies) are
obligd to fabricate malicious Falshoods for their purpose.
Tell my Friend M S. that I will answer his Letter the next post. In the
mean time ask him whether a Christian is bound to confide in the Man
who has attempted seven times (though in vain) to ruin him.
Adieu.
MANIFESTO OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.
October 30, 1778.
[W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams,1 vol. iii., pp. 46, 47.]
The United States having been driven to hostilities by the oppressive
and tyrannous measures of Great Britain, having been compelled to
commit the essential rights of men to the decision of arms, and having
been at length forced to shake off a yoke which had grown too
burdensome to bear, they declared themselves free and independent.
Confiding in the justice of their cause; confiding in Him who disposes
of human events; although weak and unprovided, they set the power of
their enemies at defiance.
In this confidence they have continued through the various fortunes of
three bloody campaigns, unawed by the power, unsubdued by the barbarity
of their foes. Their virtuous citizens have borne without repining the
loss of many things which make life desirable. Their brave troops have
patiently endured the hardships and dangers of a situation fruitful in
both beyond former example.
The Congress, considering themselves bound to love their enemies as
children of that Being who is equally the Father of all, and desirous,
since they could not prevent, at least to alleviate the calamities of
war, have studied to spare those who were in arms against them, and to
lighten the chains of captivity.
The conduct of those serving under the King of Great Britain hath, with
some few exceptions, been diametrically opposite. They have laid waste
the open country, burned the defenceless villages, and butchered the
citizens of America.
Their prisons have been the slaughter-houses of her soldiers, their
ships of her seamen, and the severest injuries have been aggravated by
the grossest insults.
Foiled in their vain attempts to subjugate the unconquerable spirit of
freedom, they have meanly assailed the representatives of America with
bribes, with deceit, and the servility of adulation. They have made a
mock of religion by impious appeals to God, whilst in the violation of
His sacred command. They have made a mock even of reason itself, by
endeavoring to prove that the liberty and happiness of America could
safely be intrusted to those who have sold their own, unawed by the
sense of virtue or of shame.
Treated with the contempt which such conduct deserved, they have
applied to individuals. They have solicited them to break the bonds of
allegiance and imbue their souls with the blackest crimes. But fearing
that none could be found through these United States equal to the
wickedness of their purpose, to influence weak minds they have
threatened more wide devastation.
While the shadow of hope remained that our enemies could be taught by
our example to respect those laws which are held sacred among civilized
nations, and to comply with the dictates of a religion which they
pretend, in common with us, to believe and revere, they have been left
to the influence of that religion and that example. But since their
incorrigible dispositions cannot be touched by kindness and compassion,
it becomes our duty by other means to vindicate the rights of humanity.
We, therefore, the Congress of the United States of America, do
solemnly declare and proclaim that if our enemies presume to execute
their threats, or persist in their present career of barbarity, we will
take such exemplary vengeance as shall deter others from a like
conduct. We appeal to the God who searcheth the hearts of men for the
rectitude of our intentions; and in his holy presence declare that, as
we are not moved by any light or hasty suggestions of anger or revenge,
so through every possible change of fortune we will adhere to this our
determination.
Done in Congress by unanimous consent, the thirtieth day of October,
one thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight.
1 Also attributed to Adams by Niles, Principles and Acts, pp. 476, 477.
TO SAMUEL PHILLIPS SAVAGE.
[W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. iii., pp. 56, 57; a draft is
in the Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 1, 1778.
MY DEAR SIR,--
I duly received your favor of October--by the last post, and should have
immediately answered it, had I not been that day exceedingly engaged. I
do not keep copies of all my letters,--they are trifles. You were mistaken
in supposing that I ascribed the independence of America to New England
only. I never was so assuming as to think so. My words are, that
America is obliged to New England, and this is an acknowledged truth.
It is the opinion of others, as well as myself, that the principles and
manners of New England, from time to time, led to that great event. I
pray God she may ever maintain those principles which, in my opinion,
are essentially necessary to support and perpetuate her liberty. You
may see my sentiments of the patriotism of other States in a letter I
lately wrote to Mrs. Adams (if it is in being), in which I relate a
conversation which passed between Monsieur -------- and myself. But enough of this.
I love my country. My fears concerning her are that she will ruin
herself by idolatry.
A part of your letter, you tell me, is confidential. I always keep the
secrets of my friends when I can do it honestly, though I confess I do
not like to be encumbered with them. In this instance I will be your
confidant. But let me ask you, can a difference between Mr. -------- and me, either
real or imaginary, be of any consequence to the world? I think not.
Tories, you say, triumph. They may make sport of it; but indeed, my
friend, it is too unimportant a matter for a sensible Whig to weep and
break his heart about. I am desirous of making you easy; and I do
assure you that, so far from brooding in my heart an unfriendly
disposition towards that man, I seldom think of him, unless I happen to
take up a Boston newspaper or hear his name mentioned in chit-chat
conversation. You call upon me by all that is sacred to forgive him. Do
you think he has injured me? If he has, should he not ask for
forgiveness? No man ever found me inexorable. I do not wish him to ask
me to forgive him; this would be too humiliating. If he is conscious of
having done or designed me an injury, let him do so no more, and I will
promise to forgive and forget him too; or, I would add, to do him all
the service in my power. But this is needless; it is not in my power to
serve him. He is above it.
If you wish to know the foundation of this wonderful collision, ask my
friend J. W., or another, whom you properly call my closest friend. To
them I have related the trifling tale, and they can repeat it to you.
The precepts and examples you refer me to I shall always reverence most
highly.
I am, with unfeigned sincerity,
Your obliged and affectionate friend,
TO JAMES WARREN.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADA Novr 3 1778
MY DEAR SIR
In your last you ask me what we are doing? Many Things indeed. And if
you will suppose some things to be done well, I will frankly confess to
you that in my opinion others might have been done better. I think we
do as well as we can considering the Pile of Business every Morning
laid on our table. In order that the Affairs of the Treasury may be
better attended than they possibly can be by Members of Congress who
are obliged to give their Attendance in the House we have establishd a
new Board to consist of a Treasurer Comptroller Auditor & two Chambers
of Accots of three each. These officers are all chosen from without
Doors. We are taking Measures for the Appretiation of the Currency.
Every Adept in financiering is busily employd and I hope we shall
before long agree in an effectual Plan. We have appointed Dr F.
Minister Plenipo. at Versailes & written a Letter of Credence to our
good & great Ally. The Situation of the general Affairs of Europe
render it somewhat difficult to determine to which of the other Powers
at present to make our Court. Every Cabinet will, I suppose, this
winter be deeply engagd in making Arrangements and preparing for the
opening a Campaign in Case of a general War which it is more than
probable will happen. Our Friend A L is in Spain. Our other Friend J A
will be employd somewhere. France must be our Pole Star & our
Connection must be formd with hers. Holland whose Policy is always to
be at Peace may be open to Negociation & the sooner we tempt her the
better. Spain must joyn with France. But she is dilatory. I wish she
would recollect how much she was injured by it the last War, when she
sufferd the common Enemy to beat France & her self in Detail. The
Spirit of Chatham is indeed extinguishd in Britain. His decisive Mind
might have dictated the Seizure of their Float at Sea. Perhaps it is
well the Great Man is no more. The Millions are safely arrivd & the
Tone of Neutrality at Madrid is become languid. A formidable Fleet lies
equip'd in Cadiz which operating with that of France at this Juncture
might give a fatal Blow to the boasted Sovereignty of Britain on the
Ocean. The Count D' Estaings Squadron I suppose will go to the West
Indies. If so, must not the British follow with a great Part of their
Troops, if they mean to keep Possession of their own Islands. They may
leave Garrisons at N York & Newport, with a View of obliging us still
to maintain a great Army, in hopes we shall be undone by Expences while
they despair of subduing us by the Power of their Army. We must have a
respectable Army in the Spring to put a good face on our Negociations
or to fight. I hope we shall secure to the United States, Canada Nova
Scotia & the Fishery by our Arms or by Treaty. Florida too is a
tempting object in the South. Perhaps if you should show this Letter to
some Folks, it may be thought to confirm an opinion from whence an
objection was drawn against me on a late occasion "that I was averse to
Reconciliation." We shall never be on a solid Footing till G B cedes to
us what Nature designs we sh[ould] have or we wrest it from her.
The Marine Committee have obtaind a Warrant for 150,000 Dollars for
your Department which will be forwarded speedily. Congress has increasd
your Salaries to 3000 Dollars p Annum. I had this in View when I
intreated you in my last, not to resign your Seat. Nothing would
reconcile me to this but your having one here. I am determind to make
Room for you by a Resignation next Spring. I flatter my self I can yet
be in some Degree useful to my Country in a narrow Sphere. I wish for
Retirement & covet Leisure as a Miser does money.
Adieu,
RESOLUTION OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.
November 3, 1778.
[MS., Papers of The Continental Congress.]
It having pleased Almighty God through the Course of the present year,
to bestow great & manifold Mercies on the People of these United
States; And it being the indispensible Duty of all Men gratefully to
acknowledge their obligations to Him for Benefits receivd.
Resolvd, That it be and hereby is recommended to the legislative or
executive Authority of each of the said States, to appoint Wednesday
the 30th day of December next to be observd as a Day of publick
Thanksgiving and Praise. That all the People may with united Hearts on
that Day express a just Sense of His unmerited Favors:--Particularly in
that it hath pleased Him, by His over ruling Providence to support us
in a just and necessary War for the Defence of our Rights and
Liberties;--By affording us seasonable Supplys for our Armies--by disposing
the Heart of a powerful Monarch to enter into Alliance with us and aid
our Cause--by defeating the Councils and evil Designs of our Enemies, and
giving us Victory over their Troops--and by the Continuance of that Union
among these States, which by his Blessing, will be their future
Strength & Glory.
And it is further recommended, that together with devout Thanksgivings
may be joined a penitent Confession of our Sins, and humble
Supplication for Pardon through the Merits of our Savior. So that under
the Smiles of Heaven, our publick Councils may be directed--our Arms by
Land and Sea prosperd--our Liberty and Independence secur'd--our Schools &
Seminaries of Learning flourish--our Trade be revivd--our Husbandry and
Manufactures increasd, and the Hearts of all impressd with undissembled
Piety, with Benevolence, and Zeal for the publick Good.
And it is also recommended that Recreations unsuitable to the Purpose
of such a Solemnity may be on that Day--
TO SAMUEL PHILLIPS SAVAGE.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILAD Novr 10th 1778
MY GOOD OLD FRIEND
I am at present in great Haste; but as a Supplement to my last I will
ask you, Who among the Sons of America ought to enforce the Example of
the illustrious young Foreigner? Who is substituting other Means of
Dissipation in my native Town in Lieu of Theatrical Entertainments &c
&c? Who has mixed the Grave and the Vain, the Whigs and the Tories in
Scenes of Amusement totally incompatible with the present serious
Times? Who among the Grave and Who among the Whigs, I mean such Whigs
as have a feeling for their distressd Country and the Multitudes of
distressd Individuals in it, are present at such Entertainmts? Is there
a Man among them to whom our Country has entrusted her Independence,
her Virtue, her Liberty? What can be the Views and Designs of such a
Man, but to establish a Popularity by forming a Coalition of Parties
and confounding the Distinction between Whigs and Tories, Virtue &
Vice? When I was last in Boston, I seizd an Opportunity to advise my
Fellow Citizens to beware of their popular Men--to penetrate their Views
and Designs. There was comparatively no great Danger from a great Man
set over them by the British Tyrant. When the People set up a Great Man
of their own, their Jealousy is asleep, & they are in Danger of a
Master. I have no personal Prejudices or Attachments. Many things I
have to say to you if I had Leisure.
My due Regards to your Lady, to Mr S and his Family.
Adieu,
P. S.--I am not inattentive to what you said in my last relating to my
Friend Mrs M. I will endeavor to serve her in the Instance she
mentions, but she must not depend upon Success.
TO JEREMIAH POWELL.1
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; a text is in Historical
Magasine, 1st ser., vol ii., pp. 196, 197.]
PHILADELPHIA Decr 1, 1778
SIR/
I did myself the Honor a few Days ago, of Joyning with my Colleagues in
an Answer to your Letter to us of the fifth of November last, so far as
it related to the Distribution of a Quantity of Flour purchasd on
Account of the State of Massachusetts Bay. I beg Leave to refer you to
our Letter, which will be forwarded by this opportunity. The five
hundred Dollars therein mentiond as receivd by me, were carried to the
Credit of the State in my Account settled the last Winter. Since my
Arrival here in July, I have availd my self of the Practice of the
Delegates of every State, by applying to Congress for a Warrant on
their Treasury for a Sum of Money to pay the extravagant, though
necessary Expence of living. I purpose to repeat this Application, as
there may be occasion for it, until I shall be directed differently or
to the Contrary; and shall credit the Sums so receivd in my next
Account.
I am informd that the General Assembly have been pleased to appoint me
one of their Delegates in Congress for the year 1779. This repeated
Mark of Confidence in me is indeed flattering. The Duties of the
Department are arduous and pressing. I will never decline the Service
of our Country; but my Health requires Relaxation, and at this Period
of my Life my Inclination would lead me to wish to be employd in a more
limitted Sphere. I will nevertheless continue to act in Congress to the
utmost of my Ability in Pursuance of the Powers and Instructions with
which I am honord, in hopes, that as the Month of April will complete
another full Year of my Residence here, I shall then be relievd by one
of my absent Colleagues or some other Gentleman, and permitted to
return to my Family.
I am with every Sentiment of Duty & Regard to the General Assembly,
Sir
Your Honors
most obedient
& very humble servant,
1 President of the Council of Massachusetts.
TO MRS. ADAMS.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library; a portion of the text is in
W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. iii., pp. 57, 58.]
PHILADELPHIA Decr 13 1778
MY DEAR BETSY,
Captn. Johnson will deliver you this Letter, which incloses a
Publication in the last Tuesdays Paper. You will easily guess which of
the Massachusetts Delegates it is intended for. The Design of it is to
represent Mr Temple as a British Emissary and that Delegate as
listening to his Proposals of Accommodation with Great Britain, and
thus to beget a Suspicion of him in the Mind of the Minister of France,
with whom he has the Honor of being on friendly Terms. That Delegate
has been so used to the low Arts of Tories in his own Country, as to
have learnd long ago to treat them, wherever he sees them, with
ineffable Contempt. He does not think it worth his while to satisfy the
Curiosity of the Writer, but he can assure his Friends, that he had
never called on Mr T but once and that was to show him the way to Mr
President Laurens' House, to whom he had Letters to deliver, one of
which was from the Council of Massachusets Bay. As a Delegate from that
State, he could do no less than show such a Piece of Civility to Mr T,
and he is determind, notwithstanding the apparently friendly Hint, to
treat him as he thinks proper. Indeed he has been told by a real
Friend, that there are Persons in Pay to watch his Words and Actions.
He thankd his Friend, and told him that such kind of Intimations were
not new to him. It might be well or ill grounded, & he was perfectly
indifferent about it. He had a private Conversation a few Days ago with
Monsieur --------, in which the Subject of the Hint beforementiond was brought up.
That Personage was pleasd to say, that he well knew the Character of
the Delegate before his Arrival in America, and that there was no
Reason to doubt of his Attachment to the joynt Interest of France &
America-- that he had sufficient Proofs of it to prevent any ill
Impressions being made on his own Mind; with other Expressions of
Friendship & Confidence. ---- ---- Between our selves, I can not say I am not
embarrassd with Mr Ts Arrival here; He is highly recommended, and I
believe him to be an honest American. But the Time & Manner of his
leaving England fix a Suspicion in the Minds of well disposd Men, which
cannot easily be removd; and his Residence at the Court of America, if
I might so express it, gives bad Men a Sort of Occasion, to say that
Congress, notwithstanding all they have publickly given out, are
secretly treating with the Ministers of Great Britain through their
Emissaries in America, than which Nothing can be more contrary to
Truth. I do not care therefore how soon Mr T thinks of returning to New
England.
It is diverting enough to hear the different Language held forth
concerning me, by a kind of Men whom I despise beyond Expression. In
New England they say I am averse to an Accommodation with Great
Britain, and make that an Exception against me. In Philadelphia I am
chargd, indirectly at least, with a frequent Exchange of Visits with
the Companion of Berkenhout, Lord Lindsay, Governor Johnston & the Son
of Lord Bute, with a View of secretly bringing about an Accommodation
with that King and Nation which I have solemnly abjurd. What is there
which Malice joynd with a small Share of Wit will not suggest! I am not
apt to conceal my Sentiments. They are far from being problematical.
They are well known here & at Boston; and I can trust my Consistency in
the Judgment of every honest and sensible Man that is acquainted with
me. The Censure of Fools or Knaves is Applause.
Mr Silas Dean has lately publishd a Paper here filled with Insinuations
and Assertions without any Evidence to support them, against Dr Lee. I
have long ago formd my Opinion of both those Gentlemen, and have never
yet seen Reason to alter it. I have sent the Paper to my Friend General
Warren. I wish you would invite him to a Dish of Tea, and desire him to
let you see it and my Letter which inclosd it. You may read this Letter
to him and other Confidential Friends, but dont let it go out of your
own Hands.
I never was in better Spirits than at present.--My Love to my Daughter,
Sister Polly & the Rest of our Family & Friends. Adieu my dear Betsy,
Your very affectionate,
I forgot to tell you that last Friday Mr President Laurens having
dischargd the Duties of his Station for more than one year with
Fidelity & to the Acceptance of the Members, resignd the Chair, and
John Jay Esqr a Delegate from New York was chosen in his Room. To this
Gentleman I chearfully gave my Vote.
Mrs Clark and her Sister Miss Daily in whose house the Massachusetts
Delegates are agreably scituated present their respectful Compliments
to you.
TO THE COUNCIL OF MASSACHUSETTS.
[W. V. Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, vol. iii., p. 59; a draft is in the
Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
MARINE COMMITTEE, PHILADELPHIA, December 15, 1778.
SIR,--
Pursuant to the direction of Congress and the request of the Minister
Plenipotentiary of France, I have the honor of transmitting to the
Council of Massachusetts Bay a declaration under the hand and seal of
that Minister, promising a reward to every vessel that shall take or
destroy a vessel of the enemy loaded with masts or spars, and destined
to the ports of Halifax, Newport, or New York. It is the particular
desire of the Minister that this declaration may be addressed to that
Honorable Board, to the end that the same may be made known in such a
manner as their wisdom shall direct.
I am, sir, your most obedient and very humble servant,1
1 Signed by Adams as chairman of the Marine Committee of the
Continental Congress.
TO JAMES BOWDOIN.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADE Decr 19th 1778
MY DEAR SIR
Mr Temple1 was so obliging as to deliver me your Letter of the ---- of
November. The Day after his Arrival in this City, I offerd him my
Service and introduc'd him to Mr President Laurens, to whom he had
Letters of high Recommendation, and among others from the Council of
Massachusetts Bay. The President read these Letters publickly in
Congress. I did not fail to communicate the Contents of those which I
was honord with to individual Members. But the Time of his leaving
England, his coming in a Packet, the Company which came with him, and
the greater Indulgencies granted to him in New York than had been
allowd to others fixed a suspicion of him in the Minds of well disposd
Persons which could not be removd. Those of a different Character took
Occasion to insinuate that whatever Congress might give out publickly
to the Contrary, they were secretly listening to Terms of Accommodation
offerd by the British Ministers through their Emissaries in America.
The Minister Plenipotentiary of France could not but be attentive to
these Suggestions. In a private Conversation with him at his House the
other Day, when no one was present with us, Mr Temples Name was
mentiond. He said he knew not his personal Character--he understood that
he was well recommended, but as he was under the violent Suspicions of
the People here, his Residence so near the Congress might make improper
Impressions on the Minds of Persons abroad. It may reasonably be
supposd that he is determind to merit the Character at his own Court,
of a vigilant & faithful Minister. Mr Dean who appears to be inimical
to my truly patriotick Friend A Lee Esqr has endeavord to raise the
like Suspicions of him that he has a predilection for the Court of
London because he showed Civilities to his Friend Ld Shelburne in
France. Such is the force of prejudice in the Minds of some Men or
their total Want of political Understanding. I was my self, pointedly,
though not by Name, called upon in a publick Newspaper, to be cautious
of making too frequent Exchanges of Visits with J T Esqr. You know much
I have been used to despise Publications of this Kind & I despise them
still. But in the present Instance I confess I was embarrassd, being
under the Necessity of violating my own Inclination to pay all due
Respect to a Gentleman, whose personal Merit I had formerly been
acquainted with, and who was so honorably mentiond by some of my most
virtuous & dignified fellow Citizens, or on the other hand of
prejudicing the Character which as a publick Man I ought to maintain in
the Minds of Congress, of the Minister of France and of the People. I
have done Mr Temple the most substantial Acts of Friendship in my
Power, though I could not have the Pleasure of so much Conversation
with him as I wishd & intended to have. He leaves this City suddenly. I
am inclind to believe that the President of this State as well as the
Chief Justice, with both of whom I have this day had the pleasure of
dining, are satisfied in the Uprightness of Mr Temples Intentions.
Having given you a candid State of things, I conclude with assuring you
that I am with every Sentiment of Regard,
Your affectionate Friend
& very humble Servant,
1 Cf. page 54.
TO JOHN WINTHROP.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILAD Decr 21 1778
MY DEAR SIR
Your obliging Letter of the [9th] of November was deliverd to me by Mr
Temple immediately after his Arrival here. I must candidly confess that
when the Gentleman informd me by his Letter dated in New York, of his
Intention then to pay a Visit to this City, I was disagreably impressd
with it, and interrested my self, as far as I could do it with Decency,
to prevent it. A certain Dr Berkenhout was here at that Time. He had
formerly been a fellow Student with Dr Lee in Edinburgh; and although
he brought no Letters from him, he made an Advantage of the old
Connection, and addressd himself to Richard Henry Lee Esqr, the Doctors
Brother & a Member of Congress, who from the Beginning of our Contest
has been exceedingly obnoxious to our Enemies from his firm &
invariable Attachment to our Cause. Dr Berkenhout was put into Prison
by the Authority of this State on Suspicion, and afterwards dischargd
for Want of Evidence against him. Perhaps he sufferd the more, from a
certain Set of Men for valueing himself on Colo Lee; and the Colo
himself has since sufferd the Reproach of an angry Writer and
disappointed Man, for shewing Civility to a Person who was once
acquainted with his Brother. So true is the Observation I have
somewhere met with, that a Man hardly ever speaks with another, but
sooner or later he finds that he has receivd Good or Harm from it.
Had Mr Temple arrivd at that Juncture, I do verily believe he would
have shared the Fate of Berkenhout. And the Testimonials he has since
brought with him, added to the warm Recommendations of some of my most
virtuous and honorable Fellow Citizens have not been sufficient to
obtain for him a welcome Reception. The Time & Manner of his leaving
England, the Company he came with and the favorable Treatment he met
with in New York, were judgd to be Grounds of Suspicion which more than
balanced the Recommendations of his Friends & Countrymen, who, though
acknowledgd to be very respectable, it was supposd, might possibly be
partial in their Judgments of him. His Connections in Boston, & the
Character he had sustaind there before he left that Place, it was said,
made him the fittest Instrument to carry into Effect the Purposes of
the British Ministers. The honest and zealous Whigs clamord against him
because they imagind him to be a British Emissary; and the artful
Tories, who would cordially receive such a Character into the Bosom of
their Councils, if they could be sure of keeping him among themselves,
joynd in the Clamor, either because they believd him to be a true
American, or, if they judged him to be a Spy, as they pretended, they
did not chuse to trust him in the Hands of those who might possibly
draw from him the Secrets of his Employers and detect him. The Tories
appeard to be the most acute Politicians, as in my Opinion, I am sorry
to say it, they too often are. Thus Mr T has had the Misfortune to be
spoken ill of both by the Friends and Enemies of the Publick. A very
grievous Misfortune, when the People scrutinize and decide upon
Characters with Candor & Moderation, which perhaps does not take Place
at all Times in any Country.
I have shown Mr Temple the most substantial Acts of Friendship in my
Power; yet I must own to you I have been somewhat embarassd. A Delegate
of the Massachusetts Bay who has been heard to say that "Jealousy is
the best Security of publick Liberty," has been called upon in a
publick News Paper "to be cautious of too frequently exchanging Visits
with J T Esqr who is suspected to be a Spy" &c. I have no Reason to
think it was a friendly Caution; but rather that it was designd to
bring an odious Suspicion on the Delegate himself. But though he feels
a Contempt of such Kind of Publications, he has learnd that it is
Wisdom to receive Instruction even from an Enemy. I have said that
Jealousy is the best Security of publick Liberty. I have expressd my
Fears that America is too unsuspecting long to preserve Republican
Liberty. I do not suspect Mr Temple; but I have been under the
Necessity of violating my own Inclination to pay every kind of Respect
due to that Gentleman, or risque the consistent Character which a
Delegate of that State ought to support in the Opinion of Congress, of
the Minister of France and the People of America. I have converst with
that Minister on this Occasion; and I have Reason to think we concur in
opinion, that however pure the Views & Intentions of any Gentleman may
be, yet if a Suspicion generally prevails that he is secretly employd
by the British Court his continuing to reside near the Congress may
make improper Impressions on the Minds of our Friends abroad. Mr Temple
left this City yesterday.
I congratulate you my dear Sir on our Countrys having thus far sustaind
the glorious Conflict. Our Independence, I think, is secured. Whether
America shall long preserve her Freedom or not, will depend on her
Virtue.
I cannot conclude this tedious Epistle without expressing an ardent
Wish for the full Recovery of your Health and bespeaking another &
another of your Favors.
I am with most respectful Compliments to your Lady & Family,
Your very affectionate Friend
& humble Servt,
TO SAMUEL. COOPER.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADELPHIA Decr 25 1778
MY DEAR SIR
I have receivd your Favors of the 7th & 20th of November, the former of
which was deliverd to me by the Honble Mr Temple. That Gentleman is
intitled to my Esteem from the opinion I entertain of his personal
Merit, and from your Recommendations and those of some others of my
virtuous Fellow Citizens. I have done him every Act of Friendship in my
Power; but Circumstances, of which he is not unapprized, have prevented
my having so much Conversation with him as I could have wishd for. The
Time and Manner of his leaving England, the Company he came with, the
favor granted him at New York of writing a Letter to Mr President
Laurens requesting Permission to pay his Respects to Congress, and
another to myself, neither of which, it was presumd, could have passd
without the Inspection of General Clinton, nor sufferd by him to pass
unless they had been adapted to his Views--These were made the Grounds of
Suspicion of him then; and they were afterwards judgd sufficient to
overbalance the Letters he brought from his Friends & Countrymen,
respectable as they were acknowledgd to be by all, who might be supposd
possibly to have judgd partially in his Favor. I am sorry our Friend
has been thus unfortunate because I believe his Motives in coming here
were pure; and yet we must allow those, who never were acquainted with
him to give all that Weight to Circumstances which in other Instances
we mt our selves be inclind to think reasonable. I am satisfied there
is a Design among them to leave no Method untried to raise a popular
Clamor against those who took an early active Part & have continued
consistent in Support of the Liberties of America. They are at this
time endeavoring to stimulate a Persecution against my patriotick
Friend Dr Lee, who from the Knowledge I have of his publick Conduct
since he has been employd by Congress and a constant political
Correspondence with him for near ten years past, I am well assured,
deserves the highest Esteem and Gratitude of these United States and
Massachusetts Bay in particular. It concerns those who are determin'd
to persevere in this glorious Contest till the Liberty and Independence
of America shall be firmly establishd to be exceedingly circumspect
lest their Conduct should be misrepresented by designing Men and
misunderstood by others. An angry Writer has lately insinuated in a
publick Newspaper among other injurious things, that Arthur Lee Esqr
communicated the secret Negociations of France & America to the British
Ministers, because he showd Civility to Lord Shelburne in Paris. Had Mr
Temples Friends appeard to be very intimate with him here, the like
Insinuation might have been thrown out, & with a similar View, to draw
an odious Suspicion on them. Indeed such an Attempt was made as you
will observe in the inclosd Paragraph taken from Dunlaps Paper.1 You
who know much of my Heart will easily guess which of your Delegates the
Hint was intended for. I leave it to your Conjecture. I have openly
declared my Opinion that Jealousy is a good Security of Publick
Liberty. I have expressd my Fears that America is too unsuspecting long
to continue free. These I know are the sentiments of Dr Lee. When Men
hold these Sentiments & honestly act up to the Spirit of them they must
necessarily become exceedingly obnoxious to those who are watching
every Opportunity to turn the good or ill Fortune of their Country, and
they care not which to their own private Advantage. Such Men there are
in this Country, in France & indeed in all Countries & at all times.
Some of them you & I have known. Such Men there always have been &
always will be, till human Nature itself shall be substantially
meliorated. Whether such a Change will ever happen and when, is more
within your Province than mine to predict or ascertain. A Politician
must take men as he finds them and while he carefully endeavors to make
their Humours & Prejudices, their Passions & Feelings, as well as their
Reason & Understandings subservient to his Views of publick Liberty &
Happiness, he must frequently observe among the many if he has any
Sagacity, some who having gaind the Confidence of their Country, are
sacrilegiously employing their Talents to the Ruin of its Affairs, for
their own private Emolument. Upon such Men he stamps the Stigma Hic
niger est, and if he thinks them capable of doing great Mischief to
prevent it, he ventures to hold them up to the publick Eye. This he
does at the Risque of his own Reputation; for it is a thousand to one
but those whose Craft he puts at Hazard, will give him the odious
Epithets of suspicious dissatisfiable peevish quarrelsome &c, and
honest, undiscerning Men may be indued for a time to believe them
pertinent; but he solaces himself in a conscious Rectitude of Heart,
trusting that it will sooner or later be made manifest; perhaps in this
World, but most assuredly in that Day when the secret Thoughts of all
Men shall be unfolded. I have many things to say to you particularly of
Arthur Lee & Silas Dean Esqrs. Of both these Gentlemen I long ago made
up my opinion, and I have never seen Reason to alter it. But I will
relieve you by putting an End to this tedious Epistle. I intend to get
myself excusd from further publick Service here, and hope before long
to think aloud with you & my other Confidential Friends in Boston. I do
not mean however to quit the Service of our Country altogether while I
am capable of rendering myself in the least Degree serviceable. I
earnestly wish for more Retirement & Leisure. Esto perpetua! is my most
ardent Prayer for this rising Republick. That will depend upon the
Principles and Manners of the People. Publick Liberty will not long
survive the LOSS of publick Virtue. Favor me, my dear Sir, with your
Letters frequently while I remain here, and be assured of the warmest
Sentiments of Friendship & Esteem in the Breast of
your very affectionate,
1 The Pennsylvania Packet.
TO CHARLES CHAUNCY.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILAD Decr 25 1778
REVEREND & MUCH ESTEEMED SIR
I am greatly indebted to you for your very acceptable Letter of the 7th
of Novr by Mr Temple. That Gentleman, in my Opinion took an unguarded
Step on his late Arrival in New York. I mean his writing a Letter to
the late President Mr Laurens requesting Permission to pay his Respects
to Congress, and another Letter to myself. This excited a Suspicion in
the Minds of the true Friends of our Cause, that what they had before
seen in the English News papers, viz that he & Dr Berkenhout were sent
to America by the British Ministry might not be without Grounds. This
Desire of paying a respectful Visit to Congress was judgd to be a
Reason merely ostensible; and the Time & Manner of his leaving England,
the Company he came with and the Readiness with which the British
General granted him the Liberty of sending his Letters, the Contents of
which must most undoubtedly have been under his Inspection, it was
said, afforded Reason to believe his real Design was to gain an
honorable Admission into this City, & the Confidence of Members of
Congress & others thereby the more easily to cooperate with the British
Commissioners, and carry their Designs into Effect. The Jealousy of the
People when it is properly directed or as some chuse to call it, a
prudent Caution, is in my Opinion one of the best Securities of publick
Liberty. And we must allow them to give all that Weight to a Train of
Circumstances respecting our Friend, which in other Instances we shd
ourselves judge to be reasonable. His Friends have given him high
Recommendations. But say others, his Friends may be partial to him. His
Connections are among the warmest Patriots. His Testimonials come from
the most virtuous Citizens. They have a good Opinion of him. True, and
this might be a strong Inducement to a politick Minister to make Choice
of him, & may make him the fittest Instrument to answer his Purpose.
For my own Part I know Mr Temples former Character Conduct & Sufferings
& have also a good opinion of him. I have done him the most substantial
Acts of Friendship in my Power. But so deep rooted were the Suspicions
of him and so general, that I have been under a Necessity of forbearing
to visit him so often as I otherwise should have done, lest I might
lose that consistent Character and that Confidence which it is my Duty
as far as I am able, to support, in the Minds of Congress, the Minister
of our Ally & the People of America. I have Reason to believe that I am
on Terms of Friendship with the Sieur Gerard. In private Conversation
with him, I purposely mentiond Mr Temples Name, & I conclude we concur
in Sentiment that however upright the Heart of any Gentleman may be yet
if an Opinion prevails among the People that he is a secret Emissary
from the Enemy, his Residence near the Congress, might, at this
Juncture especially, make improper Impressions on the Minds of our
Friends abroad. Mr Temple has lately taken his Leave of this City & I
believe some Gentlemen of Character have since conceivd a more
favorable Opinion of him than they did before.
You have my hearty Thanks for your Sermon lately publishd which I have
read with pleasure. The Evil you therein mention is indeed alarming.
Amidst the great Variety of pressing Affairs, Congress is devoting
certain Hours of every Day to investigate a radical Cure; and I am in
strong Hopes that an effectual Plan will shortly be laid before the
General Assemblies of the several States.
When General Gates was orderd to Boston a considerable Embarkation of
the Enemies Troops had been made at N York & it was apprehended they
would attempt a Landing somewhere near that Place. His military
Abilities and Experience, his political Principles & Attachments and
the Confidence which the Troops and People of the Eastern States had in
him, were the Considerations which indued his being sent thither. Had
the Enemy turnd their whole Force that way of Course the Commander in
Chief would have followd. General Heath has given entire Satisfaction
to Congress during his Command there. The Change took Place on the Spur
of the Occasion, and probably in the Spring a different Arrangemt may
be made.
I am my dear Sir with the most cordial Esteem & Affectionate,
your Friend
& very humble Servt,
1779
TO SAMUEL COOPER.
[MS , Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
Jany 3 -79
MY DEAR SIR
I embrace the opportunity which now offers of writing a few Lines to
you. In my last I told you I had many things to say particularly
concerning A L & S D Esqrs 1. If I could have the Pleasure of sitting
with you by a fire Side, I would more freely open my Mind to you than I
chuse to do upon Paper, considering the Risque of its falling into
wrong hands. One of these gentlemen, as I was informd in the year 74 by
some who were well acquainted with him, was of a dubious political
Character, and was appointed a Delegate in Congress by a Majority of
only one of the Electors; it being thought that his own Vote turnd it
in his favor. In 75 he was again elected; and he very early attachd him
self to Men of different Sentiments from those which most if not all
your Delegates brought with them from your Country & strenuously
maintained. This Difference of Sentiment was said to arise from local
Attachments, but in Reality they arose from different Principles &
Views. What Mr Ds political Principles were if he had any I never could
learn. His Views always appeard to me commercial & interrested. Whether
I was mistaken or not Time perhaps will soon discover. He was very
little known in America till the year 75, if at all in Europe.
The other took an early, decided and active Part in Support of the
great Cause. In London he had a great Share in the open Opposition made
to the Tyranny of the British Court & their Measures respecting
America. There he turnd his Attention from the Practice of Physick to
which he had been regularly educated in Edinburgh, to the Study of the
Law. This he did by the Advice of some of the most able Advocates for
the Liberties of America, from an Opinion they had conceivd of his
promising Usefulness to that Cause in that Way. He answerd their
Prospects. He constantly aided your Agent the late Mr De Berdt2 to whom
his Knowledge of Affairs renderd his Services essential. That his Pen
was employd for America in General, his Junius Americanus abundantly
testifies; and that, and his other Publications witness his Attachments
to Massachusetts Bay & South Carolina in particular. His private
Letters to his Friends are written with that Freedom as well as Zeal
which would have exposd him to the Risque even of his Life from the
Resentment of an unprincipled & nefarious Court, if any of them by
Accident or Design had fallen into their Hands. This I know to be true.
I must conclude at present with giving it to you as my fix'd Opinion,
founded on particular observations, that there is a joynt Combination
of political & commercial Men to exclude all vigilant Patriots from
publick Councils & Employments knowing that Vigilance & unimpeachd,
unsuspected Fidelity will be an effectual Bar to the carrying such
politico commercial Plans into Execution. I will write to you again by
the first good Opportunity. In the mean time I am with perfect Esteem,
Yr affectionate Friend,
1 Arthur Lee and Silas Deane.
2 Cf. Vol. I., page 89 et seq.
TO JAMES WARREN.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library,]
PHILADE Jan 6 -79
MY DEAR SIR
In your last you desire to know how Matters have operated since the
Recall. I will answer this Question at another Time when I have more
Leisure; and at present only say, that Mr Dean arrivd here, I think in
July, and in August he was admitted into the House, or to use his own
Phrase had an Audience, in which, with as much Vanity as I ever saw in
a Man of Sense, he assumd to himself almost the whole Merit of all the
Services which had been renderd at least by Americans in France; as if
he would have it to be believd that one of his Colleagues had done but
little if any thing, the other worse than Nothing, himself every thing.
And with as much Spleen & ill Nature he would even go out of the
regular Path of Decency & Propriety to draw in Invective and diminish
the Characters of the two Mr Lees & Mr Izard.1 In short the publication
which you have seen is a Specimen of his Narrative. I have before given
you my opinion of that Performance, and shall not trouble you further
upon that, than just to remark that his insinuating that Mr W L2 still
remains an Alderman of the City of London, because his Name is inserted
in that List in the Court Kallendar of 78 discovers something more than
Childishness and Folly. His design seems to be at once to prejudice the
Reputation of that Gentleman in the Minds of his Countrymen and to hold
up the Appearance of glaring Impropriety of Conduct in Congress, in
appointing the Alderman of London an American Commissioner; and that
this was done through the undue Influence of family Connections; for he
takes particular Care to inform his Readers, that the two Brothers in
Europe have two Brothers in Congress which cannot be denied. Neither
can it be denied, that they are a Family, who have been as early, as
uniform, as persevering and as able Patriots as perhaps any in the
United States. Mr A L, you are fully sensible was most indefatigable in
supporting our Cause in England. By penetrating into the Designs of a
most unprincipled Court, he was able to give us the most timely and
important Intelligence, which he did at the Risque of his Life; while
Mr D was, in the Opinion of some of his own Countrymen as well as
others, of a doubtful political Character. Mr Lee continued to transmit
to our Friends in France as well as to Congress before he left England,
the most accurate Accounts of things there. Such was the opinion
entertaind by Congress of his Abilities his Integrity, his Zeal and
Attachment to his Country which indeed had been long experiencd, that
he was employd as a most useful & necessary Man. The vigilant Eye of so
consistent a Patriot, may be formidable to a Combination of political &
Commercial Men, who may be aiming to get the Trade, the Wealth, the
Power and the Government of America into their own Hands. He must
therefore be hunted down; and the young as well as the old Hounds are
all ready for the Game.
Adieu,
1 Ralph Izard. Cf. Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence,
Vol. I , p. 589.
2 William Lee. Cf.., Ibid., p. 586.
TO SAMUEL COOPER.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
Jany 6 -79
MY DEAR SIR
I wrote to you on the 3d Inst by Express and then promisd to write
again by the first good Opportunity. The Bearer of this Letter is a
young Gentleman of your Country who is passing thro this place in his
way home. He appears sensible, tells me he was educated at H. College,
has since studied Physick, was taken at Sea & carried into England, was
liberated or made his Escape & went over to France, from Paris he went
to Dunkirk on the Encouragement of Mr Dean & enterd Surgeon on board
the Revenge Sloop, built by order of a Come of Congress authorizd
thereto & at the Continental Expense, and till lately supposd to have
ever since remaind Continental Property, but now so invelopd in
political Commercial Mystery as that it cannot be ascertaind whether
she is ownd by the United States or private Persons, or whether she is
the property partly publick & private. I will tell you more of this
Matter when the Mystery shall be unraveld if it ever is; in the mean
time remember my dear Sir what I said in my last of commercial
Combinations.
In the latter End of 75 one of the Characters in my last was left out
of the Delegation of the Colony he had represented, and a Number of his
Friends gave him a sort of Certificate or Letter of Recommendation as
they had before done to one of your Delegates,1 which led me to think
it was their Opinion he needed a Prop in his own Country. Soon after,
the Congress appointed a secret Committee of Commerce, with a View of
procuring from abroad the necessary Articles for carrying on the War.
They also appointed a secret Committee of Correspondence. Their
Business was to form political Connections abroad & to feel the
pulsations of foreign Powers & particularly France. The first of these
Committees engagd Mr ------ to go to that Kingdom for the purpose of their
Commission & the Corresponding Come took the Advantage of his intended
Residence there to facilitate the salutary Purpose of their
Appointment. At the same Time they wrote a Letter to Mr ---- then in England
from whom the Congress had before receivd the most accurate
Intelligence, requesting a Correspondence with him & pledging Secrecy &
Confidence. Mr ---- arrivd in France in June 76. Thus you see we had an
Intelligencer to let us know what was doing or meditating against us in
England; and a political Commercial Agent who was to inform us what was
doing or could be done for us in France. The one had before settled a
Correspondence & formd Connections in several parts of the Continent of
Europe & particularly France; the other was a perfect Stranger in every
Nation in Europe, but bearing Letters to considerable Men there. The
one was altogether the political Man, the other had to do with Commerce
as well as politicks. The one by his Address obtaind in England such
Assurances as satisfied him that France would afford such Aid to
America as she could consistently, the other was better skilld in the
commercial Part of his Agency than the political. The one in London in
the Months of March and April discoverd that he might successfully &
actually did treat with a Merchant in France of no Capital but a
favorite at Court for a Supply to the Value of L200,000 sterling--the other
arrivd in the Month of June following, found him out & was somehow
concernd in forwarding the Supplys thus contracted for. I dare say you
are apt to draw this Conclusion that the one was the political
Negotiator in this Instance & the other the Commercial Agent only--yet,
will you believe it, it is positively affirmd that the one did every
thing & the other Nothing. I will explain it to you in my next.
1 Cf. Vol. III., p. 269.
TO SAMUEL COOPER.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
Jany 19-79
MY DEAR SIR
Inclosd is the Newspaper of this Day. Philalethes in attempting to show
that the Supplys from France were not a Present from that Court, which
nobody that I know of has asserted, has abundantly proved one thing
which Common Sense has insisted on viz that A Lee had been negociating
with Mr Beaumarchais for those Supplys, before Mr Dean arrivd there. No
one I suppose would have thought of weighing Mr Deans Merit so
critically, had he appeard content with his full Share of it. But when
he takes so much Pains to represent his Colleagues as having done
Nothing, it becomes a Piece of Justice to enquire whether they have in
Reality been such unconcernd or impotent Spectators of their Countrys
Misery and Want. Dr Franklin has the Honor of being Mr Deans venerable
Friend; Mr Lee, an insignificant or troublesome Colleague. And yet Mary
Johnsons assiduous Applications procurd the sending a Ship loaded with
Merchandise & Stores to the Value of twenty five Thousand Pounds
Sterling; and this Negociation was settled before Mr Deans Arrival in
France. Mr Lee acted as the political Minister. He pressd on Mr
Beaumarchais "the maintaining the War in America as the great Object."
And indeed it was so. Mr Lee and every Man of Discernment knew, that it
was the Policy of France to consider it in this View. On this
Consideration he succeeded, and yet, says Mr Beaumarchais, "the
Gratitude of Congress is due to the indefatigable Pains Mr Dean has
taken thro' the whole of the Commercial Transaction." The Truth is, as
I suppose, that Mr Dean did not care to return without some such Letter
of Recommendation; and it was probably as easily obtaind as the other
which I mentiond in my last. Mr Beaumarchais is a Man of Ingenuity &
Wit. Horace was the Delight of the Court of Augustus. A Royal Letter &
a Snuff Box, as I once told one of my Friends, are Things of Course,
especially in the Honey Moon of National Matrimony. A Monarch politely
compliments thro' the Minister the Ministers Sovereign. When the
Merchant and the Courtier unite in one Man, the Courtier is safe in
imitating his Master, and pays his Compliment in the Stile & Manner of
the Merchant.
Mr Deans Friends are in hopes he will be sent to Holland as a Reward
for his good Services, from whence he may probably send or bring
another mercantile Letter of Recommendation. Doubtless deep Commercial
Connections may be formd there. They are willing Mr J A should go to
Spain. The Design of this is to get Mr A L removd from thence. Others
are for sending Mr A to Holland leaving Mr L in Spain, to whose
Influence in that Country our Armies are indebted for Supplys of
Blanketts Shoes and Stockins. I am sorry to be obligd to think, that a
Monopoly of Trade, and not the Liberty of their Country, is the sole
Object of some Mens Views. This is the Cake which they hope shortly to
slice and share among themselves.
Adieu,
TO JONATHAN TRUMBULL.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILAD Feb 6 -79
SIR
The Marine Come have done themselves the Honor of writing to you by
this Post. The great Dammage which has been done to the Trade at the
Southward & particularly Chessapeak Bay by the Enemies Privateers has
causd such pressing Demands for the Aid of our Ships of War as laid us
under the Necessity of ordering the Queen of france immediately on a
Cruize that Way. This I mention as a Reason why she could not be
employd with the Confederacy & the other Ships but her Destination will
remain a Secret.
I hope the Expedition proposd by your Excy & agreed to by the Come will
be performd in 2 or 3 Days, for I fear if it should be known to the
Enemy, not only the desired Event wd be prevented but there would be
danger of our losing our Ships.
I have only time to beg the favor of your Excy to forward the inclosd
by the first Oppty by the post or otherwise.
TO JOHN WINTHROP.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADE Feb 6 1779
MY DEAR SIR
I have receivd your favor of the 21st of January. Every Body sees that
the Depreciation of the Paper Currency is owing to the Floods of it
which have been necessarily issued. In Addition to which a great
Quantity more especially of the Emissions of 20 May 1777 & 11 April
1778 has been counterfeited. This last Consideration was sufficient
Inducement to the calling out of Circulation all the Bills of those
Emissions as speedily as possible. The lessening the Quantity in
Circulation is the only Means of restoring the Value & Credit of the
Remainder. It would therefore be a happy Event if every possessor of
them would receive Loan Office Certificates for them instead of new
Bills in June next but this cannot be expected. In proportion as this
may be done the only effectual Means, besides that of taxing which I
hope will be chearfully submitted to by the People, of remedying the
great Evil will have its effect. Congress have not cried down those
Emissions, as the Expression is or resolvd that the Bills should sink
in the Hands of those who would not exchange them for Loan Office
Certificates, as has been done in the Eastern States. This might have
been too harsh a Remedy. They have left it in the Option of the
Possessors to receive either such Certificates or new Bills. This is
the obvious Intention of their Resolutions on the Subject. The Wish of
every discerning honest Man must be as obvious, viz that as many of the
Bills may sink in the Loan Offices as the People can possibly spare,
and as soon as possible. I think therefore you have judgd right of
their Views. It would be an Act of Charity and a great Service to the
publick if those who can afford to put their Money to Interest would
ease their poorer fellow Citizens who are possessd of those Bills, by
exchanging them for other Bills without a Discount.
I am &c,
TO SAMUEL ALLYNE OTIS.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library]
PHILADE Feby 10 1779
DEAR SIR
The late Mr Andrews before his sudden & unexpected Death had written to
a young Kinsman of mine in this place, Mr Richard Checkley, proposing
to him to go to Boston with a View of employing him in his Warehouse. I
know not whether Mr A intended to employ him in his own separate
Affairs or in those in which he was joyntly concernd with you for the
publick. Mr C had not heard of his Death till he was just about setting
off on his Journey to Boston when I informd him of it. He is a young
Man who, I am told, bears a good Character and is used to Business. If
you can employ him it will be doing him a singular Benefit and I shall
acknowledge it as a great favor. I ask it only on this Condition, that
it may be perfectly consistent with your Views. I am with Cordial
Esteem, Sir
yr hble Servt
TO JAMES WARREN.
[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]
PHILADE Feb 12 -79
MY DEAR SR
Will you be so kind as to present my due Regards to Mrs Warren and let
her know that immediately on my receiving her Letter for Miss Wray I
deliverd it to the Care of my worthy Friend Colo Laurens who has since
informd me that he has forwarded it in his own Packet to South Carolina.
I have lately written several Letters to my Friend Dr C & have informd
him that you & he & Mr S are my only confidential Correspondents in
Boston. I have other trusty Friends there, but I have not Leisure to
write to them all. I have expressd my wish that the honest & virtuous
Friends of our Country would cultivate a cordial Esteem for each other.
I am affraid there are little Jealousies among them which prevent their
uniting their Councils and Efforts against that Inundation of Levity
Vanity Luxury Dissipation & indeed Vice of every kind which I am
informd threatens that Country which has heretofore stood with
unexampled Firmness in the Cause of Liberty and Virtue. This Torrent
must be stemmed, and in order to do it effectually, there must be
Associations of Men of unshaken Fortitude. A general Dissolution of
Principles & Manners will more surely overthrow the Liberties of
America than the whole Force of the Common Enemy. While the People are
virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their Virtue
they will be ready to surrender their Liberties to the first external
or internal Invader. How necessary then is it for those who are
determind to transmit the Blessings of Liberty as a fair Inheritance to
Posterity, to associate on publick Principles in Support of publick
Virtue. I do verily believe, and I may say it inter Nos, that the
Principles & Manners of N Engd, producd that Spirit which finally has
establishd the Independence of America; and Nothing but opposite
Principles and Manners can overthrow it. If you are of my Mind, and I
think you are, the Necessity of supporting the Education of our Country
must be strongly impressd on your Mind. It gives me the greatest
Concern to hear that some of our Gentlemen in the Country begin to
think the Maintenance of Schools too great a Burden. I wish they could
hear the Encomiums that are given to N Engd by some of the most
sensible & publick spirited Gentlemen in the southern States, for the
Care & Expence which have been freely borne by our Ancestors & continued
to this time for the Instruction of youth. Virginia is duly sensible
of the great Importance of Education, and, as a friend in that Country
informs me, has lately adopted an effectual Plan for that necessary
Purpose. If Virtue & Knowledge are diffusd among the People, they will
never be enslavd. This will be their great Security. Virtue & Knowledge
will forever be an even Balance for Powers & Riches. I hope our
Countrymen will never depart from the Principles & Maxims which have
been handed down to us from our wise forefathers. This greatly depends
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