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.]