Econlib

The Library

Other Sites

 Front Page arrow Titles (by Subject) arrow 24 Jan. 1798: TO THE HEADS OF DEPARTMENT. - The Works of John Adams, vol. 8 (Letters and State Papers 1782-1799)

Return to Title Page for The Works of John Adams, vol. 8 (Letters and State Papers 1782-1799)

Search this Title:

Also in the Library:

Subject Area: Political Theory
Topic: The American Revolution and Constitution

24 Jan. 1798: TO THE HEADS OF DEPARTMENT. - John Adams, The Works of John Adams, vol. 8 (Letters and State Papers 1782-1799) [1853]

Edition used:

The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: with a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustrations, by his Grandson Charles Francis Adams (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1856). 10 volumes. Vol. 8.

Part of: The Works of John Adams, 10 vols.

About Liberty Fund:

Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.


TO THE HEADS OF DEPARTMENT.

Philadelphia, 24 January, 1798.

The President of the United States requests the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, and the Attorney-General, to take into their consideration the state of the nation, and its foreign relations, especially with France. These, indeed, may be so connected with those with England, Spain, Holland, and others, that perhaps the former cannot be well weighed without the other. If our envoys extraordinary should be refused an audience, or, after an audience, be ordered to depart without accomplishing the objects of their mission,

1. They may repair to Holland; or, 2. Two of them may return home, leaving one abroad; or, 3. All of them may return to America.

In the first case, will it be prudent to call them all home? and, in the second, to recall the one?

In any of these three cases, what will be necessary or expedient for the executive authority of government to do here?

In what manner should the first intelligence be announced to Congress; by message, or speech?

What measures should be recommended to Congress? Shall an immediate declaration of war be recommended or suggested? If not, what other system shall be recommended more than a repetition of the recommendations heretofore repeatedly made to both houses? Will it in any case, and in what cases, be advisable to recommend an embargo?

What measures will be proper to take with Spain? What with Holland? What with Portugal? But, above all, what will policy dictate to be said to England, and how shall it be said? by Mr. King, or to Mr. Liston? and how shall it be conveyed to Mr. King? by packet, or any ordinary conveyance; or by some special, trusty, and confidential messenger? Will it not be the soundest policy, even in case of a declaration of war on both sides, between France and the United States, for us to be totally silent to England, and wait for her overtures? Will it not be imprudent in us to connect ourselves with Britain, in any manner that may impede us in embracing the first favorable moment or opportunity to make a separate peace? What aids or benefits can we expect from England by any stipulations with her, which her interest will not impel her to extend to us without any? On the brink of the dangerous precipice on which she stands, will not shaking hands with her necessitate us to fall with her, if she falls? On the other hand, what aid could we stipulate to afford her, which our own interest would not oblige us to give without any other obligation? In case of a revolution in England, a wild democracy will probably prevail for as long a time as it did in France; in such case, will not the danger of reviving and extending that delirium in America, be increased in proportion to the intimacy of our connection with that nation?1

John Adams.

TO JAMES WILKINSON.

Philadelphia, 4 February, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

I have received your favor of the 24th December, by the Miami chief, the Little Turtle, and have received and observed him with attention. He is certainly a remarkable man. He is recovered of the smallpox, and, what is worse, a severe fit of the gout. We shall endeavor to make him happy here, and contented after his return. I thank you for introducing him to me, and for the information you have given me concerning him.

I have also received your letter of the 26th December. It is very true that I have been tortured for a greater part of the year past with written anonymous insinuations against several persons in conspicuous public stations, that they had formed improper connections with Spain, and, among others, against yourself. It has been frequently asserted that you held a commission and received pay as a Colonel in the Spanish service. This opinion seems to have taken such root upon the Mississippi, among the people in general, that scarcely any man arrives from that neighborhood who does not bring the report along with him. They seem to be in such a temper in that region, that nobody escapes accusation. I have not suffered these rumors concerning you to make impression upon me; but have lamented what I perceived must be the consequence of them among the people of the United States. The same jealousy or malice, which transmitted them to me, I suppose would propagate them elsewhere without much reserve.

I recollect perfectly well my injunction to you, in person, to employ all the force within your power, both militia and regulars, if necessary, to oppose the English, or any other foreign nation, who should presume to attempt a violation of our territory by any expedition through it against their enemies.

It would be a pleasure to me to nominate your son to a commission, as you request; but, in the first place, there is no vacancy in the artillery at present, as I am told; and, secondly, it was a rule established by my predecessor, that the ensigns should have attained the age of twenty-one, and I should be severely censured for departing from a military precaution of so high authority.

I recollect my consenting that you should make an excursion, if in your judgment the service would admit of it, to the copper country. I thank you for the sample you have sent me, which I design to have analyzed.

For yourself, Sir, I will say, I esteem your talents, I respect your services, and feel an attachment to your person, as I do to every man whose name and character I have so long known in the service of our country, whose behavior has been consistent.

We may be nearer than we suspect to another trial of our spirits. I doubt not yours will be found faithful. What measures you may think fit to take, to silence the villainous clamors and rumors of your connections with Spain and France, I know not; but no violent ones or military ones will do any good. I shall give no countenance to any imputations, unless accusations should come, and then you will have room to justify yourself. But, I assure you, I do not expect that any charge will be seriously made.

I am, &c.

John Adams.

TO J. M. FORBES.

Philadelphia, 6 February, 1798.

Sir,—

I received, in season, and with pleasure, your letter of 12th January.

I must avow that, upon the first publication of Mr. Monroe’s work, I was much hurt at that levity with which so many Americans, and among them some of respectable character, had taken an open part against the executive authority of their own government, especially when that authority was exercised by a character so universally respected as Washington. It looked as if Americans would be forever incapable of any kind of government.

Your particular obligations to Mr. Monroe for his services to your brother, must have made a deep impression on your feelings, and the sense you express of them does honor to your heart, and will apologize for a conduct which, however, it will not justify. As this is the first instance, it may be pardoned; but, most assuredly, a second never will.1

I am obliged to you for writing to me on this occasion, and for the just sentiments and handsome expressions of them to, Sir, &c.

John Adams.

JOHN SEVIER TO JOHN ADAMS.

Knoxville, Tennessee, 6 February, 1798.

Sir,—

In a letter of this day from the Hon. David Campbell, Esq., one of the judges of the superior courts of law and equity in this State, he complains that on the 3d instant, about ten o’clock at night, on his own premises, and not within the Indian line, he was arrested by two of Colonel Butler’s officers, and conducted a prisoner to his cantonment, and there detained until the next day, before he was liberated.

Permit me, Sir, with all due deference to observe that no act hostile to the general government has been committed or attempted by the State of Tennessee, nor can any transaction of our government warrant the imputation of any thing of the kind. Our laws are sufficiently wholesome and energetic, and also faithfully administered in a manner fully competent and adequate to the suppression of every kind of crimes and enormities that may be committed.

I do not harbor or entertain a doubt that the President ever gave any orders that will warrant or justify a procedure so despotic and inimical to the liberties of our citizens; but, on the contrary, believe he is entirely uninformed that a transaction of the kind was contemplated.

Permit me to express that it is painful in the extreme that such an event has happened, and been exercised on a character that has served with fidelity the United, as well as several of the States, in very high and dignified stations. I therefore request with much solicitude that a stop may be put to such unwarrantable and unconstitutional conduct; if not, the disorder may progress into an incurable disease.

I cannot admit or suppose that martial law has any right to be enforced, when the civil meets no obstruction or impediment; but if such has been directed, we hope to be advised in order that we may know in what manner to conduct in future.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, &c.

John Sevier.

TO WILLIAM S. SMITH.

Philadelphia, 16 February, 1798.

Sir,—

I have received the letter you wrote me on the 7th of this month, and I shall give all the attention to the subject of it which may be necessary. It is not new to me.

You are too precipitate, in my opinion, in pronouncing an opinion, that the General1 has been guilty of high crimes, &c.

There have not been wanting critics upon your conduct as severe as you have been upon his. It is reported, not much to the advantage of your reputation or mine, that you have been to Detroit, for Brockholst Livingston and company, to speculate in lands and claims of those who mean to remain British subjects and to remove to Canada; and that, to cloak your real purposes, you gave out that you had been sent by me for ends of government of some sort or other. I can scarcely believe that you could countenance a report so totally unfounded.1

I am, &c.

John Adams.

TO WILLIAM S. SMITH.

Philadelphia, 2 March, 1798.

Sir,—

I have received your letter of the 23d of February, the contents of which are satisfactory to me.

In my letter to you I did not say that I believed the report I had heard. In truth, I did not give credit to it; but hearing the rumor, and knowing others who had heard it, I was determined to give you an opportunity of contradicting it, if you could contradict it, and of enabling me to do the same. You have now put it in my power, and I shall avail myself of it as opportunity presents.2

General Wilkinson has been informed of the complaints, without any information from whence they came, and instructed to modify, if possible, his proclamation, so as to remove such of them as are well founded.

I am, &c.

John Adams.

TO JOHN SEVIER, GOVERNOR OF TENNESSEE.

Philadelphia, 6 March, 1798.

Sir,—

I have received the letter you did me the honor to write me on the 6th of February last.

It is very certain I have never given any orders that will warrant or justify any procedure despotic or inimical to the liberties of our citizens; but, on the contrary, was entirely uninformed, until I received your letter, that any transaction of the kind you describe had been practised or contemplated.

I inclose a copy of a letter since written by my direction to Lieutenant-Colonel Butler. I cannot, however, close this letter without inquiring whether the Honorable David Campbell, Esq., one of the judges of the superior courts of law and equity, in your State, is the person who wrote and signed the name of Campbell to a late publication in a Knoxville Gazette.

I have the honor to be, &c.

John Adams.

TO THE HEADS OF DEPARTMENT.

Philadelphia, 13 March, 1798.

Will it be advisable to present immediately to Congress the whole of the communications from our minister in France, with the exception of the names of the persons employed by the minister Talleyrand to exhibit and enforce his requisitions for a bribe, under an injunction of secrecy as to that particular?

Ought the President, then, to recommend, in his message, an immediate declaration of war?1

John Adams.

F. DE MIRANDA TO JOHN ADAMS.

A Londres, ce 24 Mars, 1798.

Monsieur le Président,—

C’est au nom des colonies Hispano-Américaines, que j’ai l’honneur d’envoyer à votre Excellence les propositions ci-jointes. Elles ont été présentées également aux ministres de sa Majesté Britannique, qui les ont reçu très favorablement, en témoignant beaucoup de satisfaction d’avoir à agir dans un cas pareil avec les États Unis de l’Amérique. Et il me semble que le délai que j’éprouve (affligeant réellement, dans un moment aussi pressant) résulte précisément de l’attente où le gouvernement Anglais paroit être, de voir l’Amérique du Nord décidée à rompre définitivement avec la France; par le désir qu’elle a de faire cause commune, et de coöpérer ensemble à l’indépendance absolue du continent entier du Nouveau-Monde.

Comme l’esprit de justice, générosité, et attachement de mes compatriotes vers les États Unis, se trouve mieux exprimé dans le document qui me sert de pouvoir, autant que d’instruction, j’ai voulu y joindre une copie complète. Persuadé que cette démarche amicale et franche servira plus efficacement à accélérer la décision . . . . comptant toujours sur la réserve indispensable, dans tout ce qui ne regarde pas directement les États Unis. Si quelque article de ceux qui sont contenus dans cette instruction (ou toute autre chose qui soit relative) eut besoin d’explication, D. Pedro Josef Caro, un de mes compatriotes, commissaire aussi des colonies Hispano-Americaines, et chargé de vous remettre celle-ci, pourra satisfaire amplement et compétemment à tout.1

Sa mission, après avoir reçu les ordres de V. E., est de se rendre sans délai au continent Hispano-Américain, afin d’instruire nos commettans et compatriotes de l’état actuel des négotiations à nous confiées, ainsi que de la situation politique de l’Europe. Je vous prie de vouloir bien lui faciliter tout-ce dont il auroit besoin pour cet important objet, et pour se rendre incessament à la province de Santa Fé de Bogotà.

Je ne vous dissimule pas, Monsieur le Président, mes inquiétudes sur l’entrée prochaine des troupes Françaises en Espagne. Crainte qu’un mouvement convulsif dans la métropole ne produise pas des secousses anarchiques dans les colonies; et que l’abominable système de la France ne s’introduise chez nous, faute d’avoir pris des mesures promptes et efficaces pour l’empêcher. Dii avertant. Enfin j’espère que le petit secours dont nous avons besoin pour commencer, et qui se réduit à six ou huit vaisseaux de ligne, et quatre ou cinq mille hommes des troupes, nous le trouverons facilement tant en Angleterre que dans l’Amérique . . . mes souhaits seroient que la marine fut Anglaise, et les troupes de terre Américaines. Veuille la providence que les États-Unis fassent pour ses compatriotes du sud en 1798, ce que le roi de France fit pour eux en 1778!

Je me félicite toujours de voir à la tête du pouvoir exécutif Américain cet homme distingué, qui par son courage rendit son pays indépendant, et qui par sa sagesse lui donna après un gouvernement bien balancé, en sauvant ainsi la liberté. Nous profiterons sans doute de vos savantes leçons, et je me réjouis de vous apprendre d’avance que la forme de gouvernement projeté est mixte, avec un chef héréditaire du pouvoir exécutif sous le nom d’Ynca, et, ce que j’aime davantage, pris dans la même famille; un Sénat composé de familles nobles, mais non héréditaire; et une Chambre des communes élue parmi tous les autres citoyens qui auront une propriété compétente. Telle est l’esquisse de la forme de gouvernement qui parait réunir la majorité des suffrages dans le continent Hispano-Américain, et qui empêchera sans doute les conséquences fatales du système Franco-républicain, que Montesquieu appelle la liberté extrême.

En vous adressant directement ces propositions,1 j’ai cru mettre toute la reserve requise dans une affaire aussi extraordinaire qu’ importante. J’ai l’honneur en outre d’y joindre un état de la population, produits, exportation et consommation de l’Amérique Espagnole, qui étant fait sur des notices les plus exactes, ainsi que les plus récentes, m’a paru mériter votre attention.

Avec les sentimens de la plus haute consideration et de l’estime la plus parfaite, j’ai l’honneur d’être, &c.

Francisco de Miranda.

TO THOMAS JOHNSON.

Philadelphia, 26 April, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

I have received your letter of—I cannot recollect what date, because I referred it immediately to the secretary of the treasury, who has under consideration all proposals of that kind. Yours will be carefully and impartially attended to with all others.

I perceive, by the steadiness and firmness of your handwriting, that you are still a young man. Having occasion at present for a little more youth than I possess, I wish you would advise me how to acquire it, or come yourself over to Macedonia and help us with yours.

I am a solitary individual of 1774 men. All the rest have departed. I am, however, very steadfastly your friend,

John Adams.

TO GEORGE WASHINGTON.

Philadelphia, 22 June, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

I have this morning received with great pleasure the letter you did me the honor to write me on the 17th of this month.1

Although a visit to the city of Washington would give me great pleasure, and chiefly for the opportunity it would afford me of paying my respects at Mount Vernon, yet I cannot but consider the execution of the plan as very uncertain. I thank you, Sir, for your obliging invitation, and shall certainly wish to spend as much time as possible under the refreshing shade of your vine.

The approbatory addresses are very precious to me, as they discover more union among the States, and greater unanimity among the people, than was expected. My administration will not certainly be easy to myself; it will be happy, however, if it is honorable. The prosperity of it to the country will depend upon Heaven, and very little on any thing in my power. I have no qualifications for the martial part of it, which is like to be the most essential. If the Constitution and your convenience would admit of my changing places with you, or of my taking my old station, as your Lieutenant Civil, I should have no doubts of the ultimate prosperity and glory of the country.

In forming an army, whenever I must come to that extremity, I am at an immense loss whether to call out all the old generals, or to appoint a young set. If the French come here, we must learn to march with a quick step, and to attack, for, in that way only, they are said to be vulnerable. I must tax you sometimes for advice. We must have your name, if you will, in any case, permit us to use it. There will be more efficacy in it than in many an army. Mrs. Adams and Miss Smith join with me in presenting our best respects to yourself, Mrs. Washington, and Miss Custis.

With the highest esteem, &c.,

John Adams.

TO J. MCHENRY, SECRETARY OF WAR.

Philadelphia, 6 July, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

It is my desire that you embrace the first opportunity to set out on your journey to Mount Vernon, and wait on General Washington with the commission of Lieutenant-General and Commander-in-chief of the armies of the United States, which, by the advice and consent of the Senate, has been signed by me.

The reasons and motives which prevailed with me, to venture on such a step as the nomination of this great and illustrious character, whose voluntary resignation alone occasioned my introduction to the office I now hold, were too numerous to be detailed in this letter, and are too obvious and important to escape the observation of any part of America or Europe; but, as it is a movement of great delicacy, it will require all your address to communicate the subject in a manner that shall be inoffensive to his feelings, and consistent with all the respect that is due from me to him.

If the General should decline the appointment, all the world will be silent, and respectfully acquiesce. If he should accept, all the world, except the enemies of this country, will rejoice. If he should come to no decisive determination, but take the subject into consideration, I shall not appoint any other Lieutenant-General until his conclusion is known.

His advice in the formation of a list of officers would be extremely desirable to me. The names of Lincoln, Morgan, Knox, Hamilton, Gates, Pinckney, Lee, Carrington, Hand, Muhlenberg, Dayton, Burr, Brooks, Cobb, Smith, may be mentioned to him, and any others that occur to you; particularly, I wish to have his opinion of the man most suitable for Inspector-General, and Adjutant-General, and Quartermaster-General. His opinion on all subjects must have great weight, and I wish you to obtain from him as much of his reflections upon the times and service as you can. Wishing you a pleasant journey, and a speedy return in improved health, I am, with great esteem,1 &c.

John Adams.

TO GEORGE WASHINGTON.

Philadelphia, 7 July, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

Mr. McHenry, the Secretary at War, will have the honor to wait on you in my behalf, to impart to you a step I have ventured to take, and which I should have been happy to have communicated in person, if such a journey had been, at this time, in my power.1

As I said, in a former letter, if it had been in my power to nominate you to be President of the United States, I should have done it with less hesitation and more pleasure. My reasons for this measure will be too well known to need any explanation to the public; every friend and every enemy of America will comprehend them at first blush. To you, Sir, I owe all the apologies I can make. The urgent necessity I am in of your advice and assistance—indeed, of your conduct and direction of the war, is all I can urge, and that is a sufficient satisfaction to myself and the world. I hope it will be so considered by yourself.

Mr. McHenry will have the honor to consult you upon the organization of the army, and upon every thing relating to it.

With the highest respect, &c.

John Adams.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Philadelphia, 7 July, 1798.

The President of the United States requests the Secretary of State to give directions for preparing letters to the Consul-General and all the other consuls and vice-consuls of the French republic throughout the United States, revoking their exequaturs, and a proclamation announcing such revocation to the public; the proclamation to be published, and the letters expedited, as soon as the law shall be passed declaring the treaties and convention no longer obligatory.1

John Adams.

THE SECRETARY OF WAR TO GENERAL WASHINGTON.

Mount Vernon.

Subjects respectfully submitted to the consideration of the General of the armies of the United States, by the Secretary of War.2

1. Will it be proper that the President should forthwith proceed to appoint the officers to the army proposed to be immediately raised, by the bill pending before Congress, “to augment the army of the United States, and for other purposes?” Or,

Will it be expedient to defer, until the principal part of the troops are enlisted, the appointment of all the general officers of the said army, excepting the Inspector-General and such staff officers as may be necessary to the formation and discipline of regiments? Or,

Will it be better that the whole of the officers be immediately appointed, in order that as little time as possible may be lost in forming and disciplining both officers and men for actual service, noticing only to those officers, who may not be immediately wanted, that their pay, &c., will not commence till called upon to do duty with the army?

2. Will it be expedient that the President should appoint, as soon as proper characters can be selected, the officers to the ten thousand troops of the provisional army, and that they should be furnished with such instructions and orders as will enable them to proceed to enlist the men, whenever the President shall declare, by proclamation or otherwise, that the measure has become necessary?

3. May advantages be expected to result from the appointment of field officers in the respective States to take the command of such volunteer companies therein, as may offer their services to the President and be accepted, as to render such appointments advisable?

GENERAL WASHINGTON’S ANSWER.

14 July, 1798.

1st. If the bill, pending in Congress for augmenting the present force of the United States, should pass into a law, it becomes the duty of the President to carry that law into execution promptly. Of course, all such officers as are necessary for the purpose of recruiting, inspecting the recruits, superintending their discipline, &c., at the several places of rendezvous, must be appointed without delay. The necessity of appointing the higher grades is not so urgent; but, in my opinion, the sooner these are also fixed on and their acceptances known, the better. Not, however, to be called out, nor to receive the pay and emoluments of office, until their services are required, which circumstances must decide.

2d. It would be inexpedient, I conceive, to appoint, but very proper to fix upon the general and field officers (colonels commandants, at least) for the provisional army, without much delay; and know whether they would accept the appointments that are announced to them. To proceed further might excite alarm, and give rise to remarks which would be more than a counterpoise to the facility intended to be answered by it.

3d. If two things could be combined, and the evidence thereof pretty well ascertained, the measure would certainly be advantageous. These are, that the field officers should be composed of proper and fit men, and acceptable to the companies; but, if both cannot be attained, the first is most important, and ought to be preferred.

George Washington.

HENRY KNOX TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR.1

Boston, 5 August, 1798.

Sir,—

I have received your letter, dated on the 25th ultimo, informing me that the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, had been pleased to appoint me a Major-General in the army.

Impressed as I am with the conviction that our country is about to enter into a contest, in which its existence as an independent nation will be involved, I should promptly have accepted the appointment, however inconvenient to my private affairs, had not the following paragraph of your letter peculiarly arrested my notice.

“It may be proper to mention, that the nominations to the Senate, for general officers of the established and provisional army, were presented on the same day, and in the order in which they appear in the annexed list, and that, in registering them in this department, the same order will be observed.”

The names placed before mine in the list are those of Generals Hamilton and Pinckney.

It is to be presumed that you are not uninformed of the military precedence I sustained in the late war, relatively to those gentlemen.

General Hamilton was a Captain, in the year 1776, in the corps of artillery which I commanded, and in the latter part of the same year I had the rank of Brigadier-General. In 1777, he was appointed an Aid-de-camp to the Commander-in-chief, with the incidental rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, which was his highest grade. I was established a Major-General from November, 1781.

The precise state of General Pinckney’s rank is not at present recollected. He was a Colonel the greater part of the war, and obtained the rank of Brigadier-General either by actual appointment, or by virtue of the general resolve respecting brevet rank, in the year 1783.

It is, therefore, important, previously to my answering affirmatively or negatively, as to an acceptance, that you inform me on these points.

Whether the order of names, as specified in the list, is intended to establish the priority of rank? Or whether the former relative rank is intended to govern, according to the heretofore established principles and invariable practice? Those principles determine explicitly that all appointments, made in the same grade and on the same day, are to be governed by the former relative rank.

It is far from my intention to deny the perfect right of the Supreme Executive to direct the precedence of all officers in the same grade, in the manner he shall please. In such a case, however, it would be essential that the priority should be decidedly specified. For, if such specification should be wanting, no military tribunal would consider the order of names as a sufficient cause to destroy or reverse the former situations.

If the rules for deciding rank, founded upon the resolves or laws of Congress, under the confederation, and which have since continued to operate as a part of the military code, have been repealed or annulled, it would be acceptable to me to be informed by you when and by what authority the repeal was effected.

If these rules should be suspended or violated in the present instance, for a special purpose, the assertion is ventured that recourse must be had to them again, as the laws whereby to decide the ranks between officers of the same grade, who, under various circumstances of claim, may be brought into the army about to be raised.

Anxiously desirous of endeavoring to serve my country and its government in a cause altogether pure and just, I shall ever regret any circumstance which may oppose insurmountable obstacles to the measure, unless upon terms which would constantly excite sensations of public degradation.

I have the honor to be, &c.

H. Knox.

TO J. McHENRY, SECRETARY OF WAR.

Quincy, 14 August, 1798.

Sir,—

I have received only this morning your letter of the 4th of this month. Its contents are of much importance.

I desire that you would inform General Washington, that I consider him in the public service from the date of his appointment, and entitled to all the emoluments of it. He is at liberty to receive all or any part, at his discretion; and is fully authorized to appoint his aids and secretaries, when he shall think fit. One secretary, at least, is indispensable immediately; and he ought to be allowed his pay and rations.1

Calling any other general officers into service at present, will be attended with difficulty, unless the rank were settled.2 In my opinion, as the matter now stands, General Knox is legally entitled to rank next to General Washington; and no other arrangement will give satisfaction. If General Washington is of this opinion, and will consent to it, you may call him into actual service as soon as you please. The consequence of this will be that Pinckney must rank before Hamilton. If it shall be consented that the rank shall be Knox, Pinckney, and Hamilton, you may call the latter, too, into immediate service, when you please. Any other plan will occasion long delay and much confusion. You may depend upon it, the five New England States will not patiently submit to the humiliation that has been meditated for them.

If North declines the adjutancy, I am prepared to appoint another and a better.

I am, Sir, your most obedient servant.

John Adams.

F. DE MIRANDA TO JOHN ADAMS.

Londres, le 17 Aout, 1798.

Monsieur le Président,—

Permettez moi de vous adresser, par triplicata, une copie de ma dépêche du 24 Mars, 1798, que M. Caro, mon compatriote, a eu l’honneur d’envoyer à votre Excellence, de Falmouth, le 10 Mai suivant. L’objet étant de la plus haute importance, et les accidens de la guerre ayant pu contrarier l’arrivée des deux premières, il m’a paru prudent de vous l’adresser de nouveau.

Depuis le départ de ma dépêche, les circonstances sont devenues plus favorables encore. Les événemens survenus et en Europe et aux États Unis rendent même la séparation des colonies Hispano-Américaines indispensable; d’autant plus qu’elles sont décidées à ne pas devenir les agens, encore moins les sujets, de la république Française. Des avis, qui me sont parvenus tout récemment, tant de la part de nos agens à Madrid que de celle des commissaires, mes compatriotes, qui sont partis pour l’Amérique du Sud, me confirment dans cette opinion; et je vois avec plaisir que l’Angleterre, sentant enfin que son salut et son bonheur futur dépendent absolument d’une alliance et d’un attachement intime avec l’Amérique, est résolue, en déposant tout esprit de jalousie et de monopole commercial, à coöpérer avec vous en faveur de cet important objet, dont le succès assurera non seulement le bonheur réciproque, mais encore la gloire immortelle, des trois parties interessées.

Mr. King, votre digne ambassadeur auprès de Sa Majesté Britannique, et qui jouit ici à tant de titres de l’estime générale, entrant dans tous les détails, vous communiquera les renseignemens qui vous seront nécessaires, tant à l’égard de l’Europe qu’ à l’égard de l’Amérique du Sud. Nos intérêts étant les mêmes, et mes commettans ayant mis toute leur confiance dans leurs compatriotes du Nord, j’ai cru ne pouvoir mieux remplir leurs désirs qu’en agissant d’accord avec lui, sans la plus légère réserve, et avec une confiance mutuelle.

Puisque votre réponse doit en quelque sorte décider du sort de l’Amérique méridionale, et combler tous les souhaits de mes compatriotes, je vous prie, Monsieur le Président, de vouloir bien me la faire parvenir le plutôt qu’il vous sera possible.1

Veuillez accepter les assurances, &c.,

F. de Miranda.

TO J. McHENRY, SECRETARY OF WAR.

Quincy, 18 August, 1798.

Sir,—

Since I have been here, his Excellency the governor of this State has inquired of me with some anxiety to know whether the cession of Castle Island is accepted. I referred that act of the legislature of this State to you or the Secretary of State, to prepare an answer of acceptance. Will you be so good as to attend to this subject as soon as possible, and forward the acceptance to me for my signature and conveyance to the governor, if that is sufficient? I do not remember that the acceptance of Congress is necessary.

Major Jackson, of the artillery, has applied to me; says he has not received his commission, and is out of employment. I have received very unpleasant information of the principles and conversation of one of the majors of the new corps of artillerists.2 I wish you would inquire into the character of that Marylander. I wish to know, also, by what rule Jackson is placed as the third major. What pretensions have Brooks and the other to the precedence?

Lovell shall be appointed a captain of artillery in the place of Mitchell. His former rank, his age, his talents, his services in the family of the Commander-in-chief, his education, his connections, entitle him.

I am, &c.

John Adams.

TO INCREASE SUMNER.

Quincy, 20 August, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

I have received the letter your Excellency did me the honor to write me, dated the 18th, by mistake I presume, as I am told it was written this morning. I have read all the papers, and return them. I think it will be advisable that your Excellency should communicate them to the Attorney-General of the State, and the District-Attorney, Mr. Davis, at Boston, that both those gentlemen may write to the attornies who act for the State and the district in Maine. An investigation ought to be set on foot; but I am not alarmed at such information, having received much of it in other places, which has not amounted to any thing serious in the end.1 Mrs. Adams joins me in respects to your Excellency’s lady. She has not been out of her chamber since she first entered it after our arrival, and is still very weak.

With great regard, &c.

John Adams.

T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE, TO JOHN ADAMS.

Trenton, 21 August, 1798.

Sir,—

I inclose a letter which I received last evening under cover from M. Pedro Josef Caro, accompanied by a letter from Mr. King, intended as an introduction to M. Caro; but the latter having missed a passage to the United States, in the British cutter which sailed from Falmouth to New York on the 20th of April, and circumstances requiring his arrival in South America with as little delay as possible, he forwarded the packet to me. A copy of the translation of his letter to me I have the honor to inclose.

Under the same cover to me were inclosed two letters, one for Colonel Hamilton, the other for General Knox, which I forward by this post to those gentlemen.1

I am, with perfect respect, &c.

Timothy Pickering.

No. 1. (Inclosed.)

PEDRO JOSEF CARO TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Translation.)

Falmouth, 10 May, 1798.

Sir,—

The annexed letter of the Hon. Mr. King to you will serve as a credential in my favor, in presenting myself to you with the important mission it announces. An unforeseen accident has frustrated my voyage hence to your continent in His Majesty’s cutter, which sailed for New York on the 20th April last; and, a combination of circumstances requiring my arrival in South America with as little delay as possible, I have received instructions immediately to depart by the shortest route of the leeward islands, and am ordered to communicate it to the government through the medium of you, by transmitting the pamphlet which I inclose, and which I should have conveyed personally. I pray you to be pleased to deliver it into the hands of His Excellency the President; and, as eventually some answer may be practicable in so interesting a business, General Francis de Miranda, our compatriot and principal agent of all Spanish America in union, a person extremely well known, and in particular to the Hon. Mr. King, whose intervention is as to both parties safe and secret, will remain in London.

I also hope you will have the goodness to receive the first tribute of my respects in the Spanish language and style, as I am unable to render it in English, and that you will not confide the secret to interpreters that are not known.

Remaining with the greatest respect, &c.

Pedro Josef Caro.

No. 2. (Inclosed.)

RUFUS KING TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

26 February, 1798.

(Extract.)

“Two points have, within a fortnight, been settled in the English cabinet respecting South America. If Spain is able to prevent the overthrow of her present government and to escape being brought under the entire control of France, England, between whom and Spain, notwithstanding the war, a certain understanding appears to exist, will at present engage in no scheme to deprive Spain of her possessions in South America. But if, as appears probable, the army destined against Portugal, and which will march through Spain, or any other means which may be employed by France, shall overthrow the Spanish government, and thereby place the resources of Spain and of her colonies at the disposal of France, England will immediately commence the execution of a plan, long since digested and prepared, for the complete independence of South America. If England engages in this plan, she will propose to the United States to coöperate in its execution. Miranda will be detained here under one pretence or another, until events shall decide the conduct of England. The revolution of Spain is decreed. The attempt will be made, and its success is scarcely doubtful. The President may, therefore, expect the overture of England, and will, I am persuaded, act upon it under the influence of that wise and comprehensive policy which, looking forward to the destinies of the new world, shall, in the beginning, by great and generous deeds, lay deep and firm the foundations of lasting concord between its rising empires. If possible, I will bring together, and seasonably arrange and send to you, such information as I have been able to procure upon this interesting and very consequential subject, having found out and acquired the confidence of certain Jesuits, natives of South America, who, with a view to its independence, are, and for several years have been, in the service and pay of England. I have often conversed with them, and seen the reports which they have prepared for their employers. These communications throw much light upon the population, the revenues, the oppression, and the temper and character of the Spanish Americans.”

No. 3. (Inclosed.)

RUFUS KING TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Extract.)

London, 6 April, 1798.

“South America must soon pass through a revolution. We have an immense interest in the event, as well as in the manner in which it shall be effected. In a former letter I have communicated to you the views and intentions of England, who will not promote the revolt, in case Spain shall be able to save herself from a revolution and keep the French out of Portugal. And though there seems little probability that this will be the case, England, since the arrival of Miranda here, but without his knowledge, has informed Spain, not only that she will not countenance or assist the Spanish colonies in becoming independent, but that she will join her in resisting the endeavors of others to accomplish it, provided that Spain will oppose the views of France against her own dominions, and those of Portugal. At the same time that this communication has been made to Spain, an expedition has been prepared, and the correspondent arrangements at Trinidad have been ordered, for the purpose of beginning the revolution of South America. In this event, as I have before intimated to you, England will, at Philadelphia, open herself to, and ask the coöperation of, the United States. Miranda, who is impatient with the delays that he experiences, as well as ignorant of the provisional decisions of this cabinet, has concluded to send his friend and associate, Mr. Caro, to Philadelphia, with a letter for the President, and I have given him a letter to identify and introduce him to you. Conjecturing the intentions of France and knowing with precision those of England, we shall be the better able in season to consider and regulate the conduct that it shall be proper for us to pursue.”

TO J. McHENRY, SECRETARY OF WAR.

Quincy, 29 August, 1798.

Sir,—

I have received your letter of August 20th, I believe, though the 0 is obscure. General Knox is gone to the eastward, as I understand, to return in ten or fifteen days. But if he were in Boston, I could not send him either your official or private letter, as neither contains sentiments that I can approve.1 My opinion is and has always been clear, that as the law now stands, the order of nomination or of recording has no weight or effect, but that officers appointed on the same day, in whatever order, have a right to rank according to antecedent services. I made the nomination according to the list presented to me by you, from General Washington, in hopes that rank might be settled among them by agreement or acquiescence, believing at the time, and expressing to you that belief, that the nomination and appointment would give Hamilton no command at all, nor any rank before any Major-General. This is my opinion still. I am willing to settle all decisively at present (and have no fear of the consequences), by dating the commissions, Knox on the first day, Pinckney on the second, and Hamilton on the third. If this course is not taken, and the commissions are all made out on the same day, I tell you my opinion is clear that Hamilton will legally rank after Hand, and, I fear, even after Lee.

You speak to me of the expediency of attempting an alteration in the rank of the gentlemen in question. You know, Sir, that no rank has ever been settled by me. You know my opinion has always been, as it is now, that the order of names in the nomination and record was of no consequence.

General Washington has, through the whole, conducted with perfect honor and consistency. I said, and I say now, if I could resign to him the office of President, I would do it instantly, and with the highest pleasure; but I never said I would hold the office, and be responsible for its exercise, while he should execute it. Nor has he ever intimated a desire of the kind. He has always in all his letters said, that these points must ultimately depend on the President.

The power and authority are in the President. I am willing to exert this authority at this moment, and to be responsible for the exercise of it. All difficulties will in this way be avoided. But if it is to be referred to General Washington, or to mutual and amicable accommodation among the gentlemen themselves, I foresee it will come to me at last after much altercation and exasperation of passions, and I shall then determine it exactly as I should now,—Knox, Pinckney, and Hamilton.

There has been too much intrigue in this business with General Washington and me;1 if I shall ultimately be the dupe of it, I am much mistaken in myself.

I can sympathize with you in your ill health, and the sickness of your family. My dear Mrs. Adams has been at the point of death, and, although a little recovered, is still extremely weak and low.

I am, &c.

John Adams.

TO JOHN JAY.

Quincy, 30 August, 1798.

Sir,—

I had last night the pleasure to receive the letter your Excellency did me the honor to write me on the 21st instant, inclosing the resolutions of the senate and assembly of New York, and their unanimous address. I can scarcely imagine any event that could do me more honor, or give me greater satisfaction. The unanimity of New York, of vast importance in the Union, is a happy omen of success and prosperity to this country. I pray you, Sir, to accept of my sincere thanks for the affectionate and obliging manner in which you have communicated to me this important proceeding of your legislature.

With great respect, Sir, esteem and affection,

John Adams.

TO JAMES McHENRY, SECRETARY OF WAR.

Quincy, 3 September, 1798.

Sir,—

I pray you to put on the list of captains of infantry, Mr. Philip Church, of New York, who is very handsomely recommended by General Hamilton, and whom, from a personal acquaintance with him, I believe to be well qualified.1

I inclose to you also a letter and documents from his Excellency Governor Jackson, of Georgia, which I pray you to consider and answer according to those arrangements which you have made for the general service. We ought to give all the attention in our power to Georgia, which is not only much exposed, but of much importance in the defence of the nation.

Inclosed, also, are recommendations of Aaron Mann, of Providence, and William Hunt, of Massachusetts.

TO ALEXANDER HAMILTON.

Quincy, 4 September, 1798.

Sir,—

I have received your favor of the 22d of August, recommending Colonel Tousard to be Inspector of Artillery.

I have no reason to suspect that your entire confidence in his honor and fidelity is misplaced. But as his native country is France, and his speech betrays his origin, I am very apprehensive that in a French war neither the army nor the people would be without their jealousies and suspicions, which might be very injurious to the service.

I shall take the subject into consideration, and your judgment will have great weight. There has already been so much uneasiness expressed on account of the French officers in the artillery, that I expect much difficulty.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 4 September, 1798.

Sir,—

I return you Mr. Adams’s1 letters, Nos. 121, 122, and 123, and one not numbered, dated June 5th, together with Mr. Pitcairn’s of June 1st.

I agree with you in opinion2 concerning Mr. Adams’s idea of a contingent stipulation with Sweden, respecting neutral ships neutralizing the goods on board, and, if the heads of department agree with us, you may send an instruction to that purpose.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 10 September, 1798.

Sir,—

Inclosed is a letter from a Colonel Perkins, who has commanded Castle William these dozen years, which, after you have read it, I pray you to give to the Secretary of War, to be minuted and filed among the applications for appointments.

I wish to be informed whether you have written an answer to his Excellency Governor Sumner, accepting the offer of Castle Island; and if you have not, that you would be so good as to answer it as soon as you conveniently can; or, if you think it more proper, that you would send the papers to me, and I will answer them. It is high time we had an officer and garrison on that island. There are recruits enough in Boston, Marblehead, Portland, and Vermont, as I am informed.

The long continued sickness of Mrs. Adams distresses me very severely. She has been out of her chamber but three times since she came home, and then to ride half a mile only. Your amiable family, I hope, enjoy perfect health.

P. S. What is your opinion of Dumouriez’s Tableau spéculatif de l’Europe? Whether a general war or a universal peace should take place in Europe, I think it is plain, that in either case we ought to be prepared at all points, especially with our floating citadels; for no peace they can make, however universal it may be, can be lasting.

TO J. McHENRY, SECRETARY OF WAR.

Quincy, 13 September, 1798.

Sir,—

I have received your favor of the 6th, and approve of your determination to make out the commissions in the order of Knox on the first day, Pinckney on the second, and Hamilton on the third. This being done, you may call Generals Knox and Hamilton into service as soon as you please.

Your request, to be informed whether I attach any portion of the intrigues, which I alluded to, if any have been employed, to you, is reasonable; and I have no scruple to acknowledge that your conduct through the whole towards me has been candid. I have suspected, however, that extraordinary pains were taken with you to impress upon your mind that the public opinion and the unanimous wish of the federalists was, that General Hamilton might be first, and even Commander-in-chief; that you might express this opinion to General Washington more forcibly than I should have done; and that this determined him to make the arrangement as he did.1 If this suspicion was well founded, I doubt not you made the representation with integrity. I am not and never was of the opinion that the public opinion demanded General Hamilton for the first, and I am now clear that it never expected nor desired any such thing.

The question being now settled, the responsibility for which I take upon myself, I have no hard thoughts concerning your conduct in this business, and I hope you will make your mind easy concerning it.

I have the honor, &c.

John Adams.

TO J. McHENRY, SECRETARY OF WAR.

Quincy, 13 September, 1798.

Sir,—

I have received your favor of the 4th, and return you the blank commission signed, and all the papers inclosed in yours.

As to Major Brooks, I know not how a man can talk of fighting “French bloodhounds” who has been capable of saying, since his appointment, that things were going very well before the arrival of the despatches of the envoys, but the publication of those despatches had ruined every thing. He must have a very loose head, if he has an honest heart. I will leave it to you and Mr. Stoddert to determine this affair according to your best judgments. The gentleman is to me a total stranger. If you think it safe to trust him, I will; if not, arrange him some other way.

General North’s letter I do not admire. I mean neither to plead, stipulate, nor negotiate with him about his acceptance. I had no idea of impressing him into the service. He may accept or reject his appointment as he pleases, unequivocally. I shall give him no other command or appointment. Upon his future behavior will depend his future appointments.

I pray you to reply to the corps of horse of Warren county, North Carolina, according to your own ideas. The others are approved by your humble servant,

John Adams.

TO O. WOLCOTT, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.

Quincy, 13 September, 1798.

Sir,—

I have received your favor of the 6th, and thank you for a letter of credit on General Lincoln for $766.66, of which I shall receive from time to time such sums as I shall have occasion for, and give receipts, as you propose.

My steward is at Trenton ferry, on the Pennsylvania side of the river, at the ferry house.

The distress of the poor at Philadelphia is so great, that I pray you to subscribe and pay for me, under the title of a friend, and to let nobody know but yourself from whom it comes, five hundred dollars.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 14 September, 1798.

Sir,—

I return Mr. Adams’s letter, No. 120, with the inclosure, and Dr. Rush’s letter of September 1st, which I received in yours of the 7th of this month.

I am not at all mortified at the delay of the treaties with Prussia or Sweden, having no ardent desire of any treaties, till the crisis in Europe is more decided.

General Marshall or Bushrod Washington will succeed Judge Wilson, if you have not some other gentleman to propose, who in your opinion can better promote the public honor and interest. Marshall is first in age, rank, and public services, probably not second in talents. Although I have an ancient esteem for Judge Rush and the Doctor, it is not sufficient to make any alteration in my judgment in this case. As Virginia has no judge at present, she is as much entitled as Pennsylvania to attention.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 16 September, 1798.

Sir,—

I have received your favor of the 11th. I wish I understood better than I do the conduct both of General Pinckney and Mr. Gerry.

I shall not be guilty of so much affectation of regard to science, as to be very willing to grant passports to Dupont de Nemours or any other French philosophers, in the present situation of our country.1 We have had too many French philosophers already, and I really begin to think, or rather to suspect, that learned academies, not under the immediate inspection and control of government, have disorganized the world, and are incompatible with social order. Mr. King judges correctly of the American government, that it has no disposition to give any encouragement to the mission of the Directory. I hope he conjectures equally well of the English.

Inclosed is a letter, received last night, from Mr. Higginson, of September 18th, which I recommend to the consideration of the heads of department.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 26 September, 1798.

I had the honor of your letter of the 19th, last night, and have read the inclosures.

Dr. Rush’s letter gives me pleasure, because the number of disappointed candidates is diminished by it by one.

Mr. Sitgreaves’s letter is frank, candid, and agreeable. But, although this gentleman has merit and talents held in high esteem by his country as well as by me, I cannot help thinking that a few years of service, in stations less exalted than the bench of the United States, may reasonably be expected from him.

Mr. Lee’s letter deserves great attention. The name, the connections, the character, the merit, and abilities of Mr. Washington1 are greatly respected. But I still think that General Marshall ought to be preferred. Of the three envoys, the conduct of Marshall alone has been entirely satisfactory, and ought to be marked by the most decided approbation of the public. He has raised the American people in their own esteem, and if the influence of truth and justice, reason and argument, is not lost in Europe, he has raised the consideration of the United States in that quarter of the world. He is older at the bar than Mr. Washington; and you and I know by experience that seniority at the bar is nearly as much regarded as it is in the army. If Mr. Marshall should decline, I should next think of Mr. Washington. It is true that some regard to States ought to be always remembered; but Pennsylvania has always had a judge, Virginia has had none since the resignation of Mr. Blair. As far as States can have reasonable pretensions, therefore, those of Virginia are at least equal to those of Pennsylvania. Thus the subject appears to me. If you are of a different opinion I pray you to inform me, or if any more meritorious candidate than Mr. Marshall occurs to you, I hope you will mention him to, Sir, &c.

John Adams.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 28 September, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

I have received your letter of September 20th, and return you the commission for a Judge of the Supreme Court, signed, leaving the name and date blank. You will fill the blank with the name of Marshall, if he will accept it; if not, with that of Bushrod Washington. I cannot blame the former, if he should decline; of the latter, I have always heard the most agreeable accounts.1

I have also received your letter of the 21st, with its inclosures and the extract from General Marshall’s letter. I am of his opinion, that the world has seldom seen more extraordinary letters than those of Talleyrand.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 30 September, 1798.

I have received your favor of the 24th, and have read carefully all the inclosures. Such as ought to remain in your office I return, inclosed in this.

There is nothing that requires any remarks from me, because I think all is well considered and well done. It may not, however, be amiss to observe to Mr. Adams, that he need not be solicitous about his success in making treaties with Prussia and Sweden at present; that I am fully convinced, as he is, that both will affect to refuse any treaty upon the terms in his instructions. This will not alarm me at all, and if both powers finally refuse to agree to any stipulations without the articles in contemplation, we shall not be very uneasy. Our commerce is of more consequence to them, than theirs to us; and with or without treaties we shall have all we want. But we should be very improvident, at the moment of being forced into a war, to bind ourselves to permit France and her colonies to be supplied with every thing, even our own produce, in Prussian and Swedish or Danish ships.

John Adams.

The Constitution’s prize must be tried and fairly determined by law. I hope and believe that care will be taken that no suspicions of plundering any thing may arise.

TO B. STODDERT, SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.1

Quincy, 1 October, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

I have received your favors of the 20th, 21st, and 24th of September. I am sorry that Captain Barry has not fully answered your expectations; but I hope you will soon send him out again. The hurricanes are now passed, and there is no longer danger from them. We must sweep the West India seas, and get as many of the French seamen, as they are called, whether they are Italians, Spaniards, Germans, or negroes, as we can. Seamen are so scarce that they cannot send out large privateers.

I thank you for your humane and wise directions to the Navy Agent at Norfolk. The captives ought to have able and honorable counsel, and I rely upon the impartial justice of our tribunals, for their honorable acquittal, if the law and the truth require it. The suppression of ship’s papers is a suspicious fact. If they have cruised and plundered Americans, there cannot be much hesitation. I cannot conceive there can be any difficulty in procuring evidence to show clearly the guilt or innocence of the ship.2

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 3 October, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

Inclosed is a duplicate of a letter from Miranda, with some estimates. Read it and think of it. A number of questions and considerations occur. We are friends with Spain. If we were enemies, would the project be useful to us? It will not be in character for me to answer the letter. Will any notice of it, in any manner, be proper? I shall send it by Mr. Humphreys with Mr. Gerry’s papers.1

TO GEORGE WASHINGTON.

Quincy, 9 October, 1798.

Sir,—

I received, yesterday, the letter you did me the honor to write me on the 25th of September.2

You request to be informed, whether my determination to preserve the order of the three major-generals is final; and whether I mean to appoint another adjutant-general without your concurrence. I presume that before this day you have received information from the Secretary of War, that I some time ago signed the three commissions and dated them on the same day, in hopes, similar to yours, that an amicable adjustment, or acquiescence, might take place among the gentlemen themselves. But, if these hopes should be disappointed and controversies should arise, they will, of course, be submitted to you as Commander-in-chief, and if, after all, any one should be so obstinate as to appeal to me from the judgment of the Commander-in-chief, I was determined to confirm that judgment. Because, whatever construction may be put upon the resolutions of the ancient Congress, which have been applied to this case, and whether they are at all applicable to it or not, there is no doubt to be made that, by the present Constitution of the United States, the President has authority to determine the rank of officers.

I have been for some time prepared in my own mind to nominate Mr. Dayton to be Adjutant-General, in case of the refusal of Mr. North. Several others have occurred and been suggested to me, but none who in point of science or literature, political and military merit, or energy of character, appear to be equal to him. If you have any other in contemplation, I pray you to mention him to the Secretary at War, who may fill up his commission immediately, in case Mr. North declines.

I hope your own health and Mrs. Washington’s are perfect. Mine is very indifferent, and Mrs. Adams’s extremely low. Confined to the bed of sickness for two months, her destiny is still very precarious, and mine in consequence of it.1

With great respect, &c.

John Adams.

TO C. LEE, ATTORNEY-GENERAL.

Quincy, 10 October, 1798.

The session of Congress approaches faster than I can prepare for it in the afflicted state of my family and tottering state of my frame. I request you to consider whether Congress can meet in Philadelphia with safety to their persons, and also to write me your sentiments of the particulars which ought to be inserted in the speech. I shall be obliged, by the long continued sickness of Mrs. Adams and her consequent weakness, to remain here till the last moment, and set out only soon enough to meet Congress on the first Monday in December, which will make it desirable to me to receive your sentiments as early as possible, that I may make some arrangements in season.1

John Adams.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 14 October, 1798.

I received last night your favor of the 5th. The letter for our minister at Berlin shall be forwarded as you desire; and, thank you for despatching the instructions to the collectors and the commission to Mr. Bushrod Washington.

There were two young gentlemen, nephews to the General, who were at college when my family was in Philadelphia, and sometimes visited us, who appeared to me to be promising young men. I wish you would suggest to Mr. McHenry to make some inquiry about them, and find out whether they are proper for any appointment in the army, or otherwise, and whether they are desirous of public employment. The delicacy which has restrained the family, may do injustice to them and the public, if some precautions are not taken.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 15 October, 1798.

I have received yours of the 6th, and thank you for the intelligence from the southward.

The effervescence at Madrid, as well as the news from Naples, coincides with Mr. King’s letter; and the news from Trieste confirms or rather favors the account that Bonaparte’s destination was the Adriatic, not Egypt; but we must wait for further éclaircissements.

Mr. Sullivan’s letter gives me apprehension that our friend Benson has been stretching himself, in order to be perfectly upright, until he has bent backwards. But, according to the law and to the testimony, we must submit to the decision; but the very map they have made is a demonstration to me that our claim is just.1

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Private.)

Quincy, 15 October, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

I received your answer to the address from Virginia, concinnate and consummate. My secretary gave a hint of it to Mrs. Adams, and she insisted upon his bringing it to her bedside and reading it to her. She desires me to tell you that, weak and low as she is, she has spirit enough left to be delighted with it. She says it is the best answer to an address that ever was written. You may well suppose that I, who am so severely reflected upon by these compliments, am disposed enough to think them extravagant. I, however, think the answer excellent, and wish you had to answer all the saucy addresses I have received. I do not intend to answer any more of the disrespectful ones.1

TO RUFUS KING.

Quincy, 16 October, 1798.

The inclosed letter from the Secretary of State, I pray you to convey in safety and as soon as may be to Berlin. I ought not to omit this opportunity to thank you for the pamphlets you have sent me from time to time. They not only entertain and amuse me, but I flatter myself are useful. Our country seems to be, as we used to say in 1774, unanimous and firm. They are much more so now than they were then. New York and Pennsylvania were always a little chancelantes, but they will be kept tolerably steady. There are strong pillars in both. But, watchman, what of the night? Where is all tending? I am weary of conjectures. Will princes ever be more wise, or people more temperate or united, or aristocrats more willing to acknowledge a superior?

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 16 October, 1798.

I have received your favor of the 11th, and return you three warrants signed, which you may fill up for General Collot, Mr. Schweitzer, and the person mentioned in Mr. King’s letter, if he is to be found.

I could trust the heads of department with this power, rather than my own judgment. But, I think, we ought to give the act a strict construction, and therefore doubt the propriety of delegating the authority.1

I am cheerfully of Mr. Wolcott’s opinion, that the Secretary of State ought to be the person intrusted with the taking of the proofs permitted to be given by aliens to establish their innocence, in order to obtain licenses to remain in the United States, for all cases within a reasonable distance from the seat of government, and hereby authorize and request you to insert the Secretary of State accordingly.2

Inclosed is a power to you to attend to the business of the navy office in the absence of Mr. Stoddert.

TO JOHN JAY.

Quincy, 17 October, 1798.

I received last night your favor of the 26th of November, with a copy of an act of the legislature of the State of New York, for the further defence of the State and for other purposes. I shall transmit these papers to the Secretary at War, that a proper consultation may be had upon their contents, and a final arrangement made, according to rules which generally obtain in such cases.

In the mean time, that no moments may be lost, I shall not hesitate to comply with your Excellency’s request, so far as to authorize General Hamilton to concert with you the plan of laying out the money in question to the best advantage, and to appoint him to superintend the execution of it. I must, however, at the same time, make a reservation of this condition, namely, that this act of the executive authority of the United States shall not be understood to have any influence on any question or questions which may hereafter come before the legislature of the United States, and may be proper only for their determination.

TO ALEXANDER HAMILTON.

Quincy, 17 October, 1798.

I received last night a letter from his Excellency Governor Jay, inclosing a copy of an act of the legislature of New York for the further defence of that State, and for other purposes. The Governor observes that it appears to be the intention of that act that the money appropriated in it, $150,000, shall be laid out only in the manner which the national government will recognize as useful and advisable, and his Excellency proposes to my consideration whether it would not be expedient to authorize Major-General Hamilton, as a national officer, in whom great confidence may be placed, to concert with the Governor the plan of laying out the money to the best advantage, and to appoint the General to superintend the execution of it. I have not hesitated to comply with the Governor’s request, saving all rights of the legislature of the United States. Accordingly, I hereby request you to concert with his Excellency to superintend the execution of it, at least until some other arrangements shall be made, if any other should hereafter be thought expedient.

With great esteem, &c.

ALEXANDER HAMILTON TO JOHN ADAMS.

New York, 20 October, 1798.

Sir,—

The very obliging manner in which you were pleased to assure me of the appointment of my nephew Philip Church, and the actual appointment of my relation Captain Hamilton to a lieutenancy in the navy, which I just learn from the marine department, are circumstances from which I derive much pleasure, which I consider as conferring upon me a personal obligation, and for which I beg you to accept my very cordial acknowledgments.

With perfect respect and esteem,

A. Hamilton.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 20 October, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

There are many things which deserve to be maturely considered before the meeting of Congress. I shall mention two or three at present, concerning which I pray you to take as early measures as possible to obtain the advice of the heads of departments. One of them is, whether it will be expedient for the President to recommend to the consideration of Congress a declaration of war against France. This question supposes that France shall not have declared war against the United States. Otherwise, I suppose there will be no room for a question.

Another inquiry is, whether any further proposals of negotiation can be made with safety; and whether there will be any use or advantage, in Europe or America, by uniting minds more in our favor, by any such measure. In a message to both Houses of Congress, on the 21st day of June last, the President expressed his opinion of the impropriety of sending any ministers to France, without assurances that they shall be received. In this opinion he perseveres. But the question is, whether, in the speech, the President may not say, that in order to keep open the channels of negotiation, it is his intention to nominate a minister to the French republic, who may be ready to embark for France, as soon as he, or the President, shall receive from the Directory satisfactory assurances that he shall be received and entitled to all the prerogatives and privileges of the general law of nations, and that a minister of equal rank and powers shall be appointed and commissioned to treat with him. If any measure of this kind should be thought admissible, who shall be the man? Patrick Henry? Judge Patterson? Mr. Senator Ross? Mr. Senator Stockton? I mention these, because, while they are staunch Americans, they have not been marked or obnoxious to the French. No public speeches have been printed of theirs, which have been pointed against the French. Or shall we fix upon a man without regard to this, as Bayard, of Delaware, Harper, Sitgreaves, &c., or shall we fix upon one in Europe, as King, Smith, or Murray?1

Another thing I wish to be considered is, whether it will not be necessary to lay before Congress all the papers sent from Mr. Gerry by Mr. Humphreys; and, if it will, I pray you to have copies of them made for both Houses.

I have the honor to be, &c.

John Adams.

ELBRIDGE GERRY TO JOHN ADAMS.

Cambridge, 20 October, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

I have the honor to inform you, that there has lately been published, in the Boston gazettes, a letter signed “Timothy Pickering,” addressed to P. Johnson, Esq., of Prince Edward county, Virginia, dated the 29th of September last, wherein Mr. Pickering, speaking of the despatches of the envoys, says that “M. Talleyrand affects an utter ignorance of the persons, designated in the despatches by the letters W, X, Y, and Z; and in his letter of May 30th, with solemn grimace, requests Mr. Gerry immediately to communicate to him the names for which those letters stand. And Mr. Gerry, although he knew that Talleyrand was much better acquainted with X, Y, and Z, than he was himself, having complied with this insulting request, M. Talleyrand makes a formal record of their names,” &c.

Had Mr. Pickering waited until my return, he would, I presume, have been convinced, by my despatches, of the impropriety of forming his judgment by the representations only of M. Talleyrand, who had, by the publication of the despatches of the envoys, become my antagonist. He would have seen that I could not with propriety have refused a compliance with that insulting request, as he styled it; that the publication of the despatches of the envoys had rendered me peculiarly obnoxious to the minister because by my communications only it appeared, that he had had connection with the intriguers; that the French government, who were supposed to be implicated in this affair, had a right to demand of me, through their minister, such information as might be necessary to confirm his report respecting the names of the intriguers; and that, in such a critical state, to have refused the information, to have thus provoked the French government, and to have furnished it with a pretext for indignant measures against myself, would have been a rash and unwarrantable act. Mr. Pickering was not well informed when he asserted that the despatches of the envoys were not published in France; for they were published in some of the Northern departments of the republic. Neither is he warranted in his assertion, that “I knew that Talleyrand was much better acquainted with X, Y, and Z, than I was myself.” I presumed that this was the case with respect to Y; but Z I had known in the United States when driven from St. Domingo; and I knew nothing more of his connection, or of X’s, with M. Talleyrand, than what has been communicated to the public.

Mr. Pickering, proceeding, states that there is “one other important fact” relative to this business, not mentioned in the despatches from the envoys, which ought to be universally known, and of the truth of which he has incontrovertible evidence. It is this; “the company at the private dinner to which Mr. Gerry was invited by M. Talleyrand, consisted of X, Y, and Z. After rising from table, X and Y renewed to Mr. Gerry in the room, and in the presence (though perhaps not in the hearing) of Talleyrand, the money propositions which the envoys had before rejected,” &c.

This “important fact,” notwithstanding the “incontrovertible evidence,” which Mr. Pickering speaks of, never existed. I dined with M. Talleyrand but twice, once at his table and once at my own, whilst the other envoys were in Paris. X, Y, and Z, were at his table, and Y and Z at mine, with fifteen or twenty other persons, at each dinner. How, then, it can be said that “I was invited by M. Talleyrand at a private dinner,” and that “the company consisted of X, Y, and Z,” I am yet to learn. The proposition, which X and Y then made, was, I think, relative to the loan only. Be this as it may, it was instantly rejected by my declaring that we had neither power nor funds for the purpose. This was subsequent to the dates of the letters of the envoys, Nos. 1 and 2, in which we had detailed our conferences with X and Y on the money propositions. Nevertheless, had the envoys supposed this fact necessary to have been added to our voluminous communications on the same subject, I was ready to adopt the measure, and to have made it as “universally known” as the latter.

I shall make, Sir, no further comments on the letter referred to, because I am persuaded that your Excellency will be convinced of the errors pointed out, and will be disposed, in the most public and prompt manner, to do me justice; and because I presume that Mr. Pickering will readily promote the same measure.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, &c.

Elbridge Gerry.

TO JAMES McHENRY, SECRETARY OF WAR.

Quincy, 22 October, 1798.

Sir,—

I received, on Saturday, your favor of the 15th. When I dated the commissions of the Major-Generals on the same day, I had made up my mind, that if an acquiescence, by amicable agreement, in the opinion of General Washington should not take place, I would confirm his judgment, whatever it might be.

If I could have been at Philadelphia to receive him, I should have invited General Washington to that city long ago. I cannot go to that city, nor to Trenton, very soon.1 Mrs. Adams’s health is so low, and her life so precarious, that it will be impossible for me to force myself away from her till the last moment. The last has been the most gloomy summer of my life, and the prospect of the winter is more dismal still; for if I should not have a more melancholy separation to endure before I set out for the southward, I must then leave my family here, and pass a dreary winter alone at the seat of government. At all events, however, I must be at the opening of Congress, or give up. Nothing shall wait for me, that you send me here. If you and the Generals judge it necessary to appoint the officers of battalions before we can have an opportunity to nominate them to the Senate, you may fill up the commissions with the blanks you have, or, if you have not enough, send new ones by the post, as is every day done from the offices of State, Treasury, and of the Navy, and I will sign them without loss of time.

As to recruiting service, I wonder whether there has been any enthusiasm which would induce men of common sense to enlist for five dollars a month, who could have fifteen, when they pleased, by sea, or for common work at land.

I have no attachment to one, more than another, of the candidates for appointments. The general officers are so well acquainted with the characters, that I shall have no hesitation to appoint such as you and they recommend. It may be well, however, to let the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Navy, and the Attorney-General, if convenient, see the list, that, if they have any objection, they may mention it, or if any idea to suggest, they may propose it.

There has been no national plan, that I have seen, as yet formed for the maintenance of the army. One thing I know, that regiments are costly articles everywhere, and more so in this country than any other under the sun. If this nation sees a great army to maintain, without an enemy to fight, there may arise an enthusiasm that seems to be little foreseen. At present there is no more prospect of seeing a French army here, than there is in Heaven.1

I am, &c.

John Adams.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 26 October, 1798.

The inclosed letter to me from Mr. Gerry1 I received last night, and pray you to have it inserted in a public print. It will satisfy him, and do no harm to any one. It explains some circumstances advantageously. He came to me upon the publication of your answer to the address, and seemed uneasy at some expressions in it. I read him the extract of General Marshall’s letter to you, which was in the words you have employed. He gave me the same explanations as are contained in this letter. I advised him to put them on paper in the form of a letter to you, or, if he chose it, to me, and I would transmit it to you.

TO ALEXANDER HAMILTON.

Quincy, 29 October, 1798.

Sir,—

I have received the letter you did me the honor to write me on the 20th, and am glad to have the opportunity of consenting to the appointment of officers who will do so much credit in their stations to the service, as I believe Captain Church and Lieutenant Hamilton will do in theirs.

I have received from Hauteval a packet of addresses, one of which is inclosed. I do not think them of consequence enough to suppress them.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 29 October, 1798.

I have received your favor of October 18th, and pray you, when you see General Pinckney, to congratulate him for me on his arrival; but I would not wish him to think of a journey here to see me. I shall see him, I hope, ere long, at Trenton or Philadelphia.

The two letters returned in yours are important. The first has made a great impression on me.1 Inclosed is another letter, which I pray you to decipher and return as soon as possible. But do not write me any letter to arrive in Quincy or Boston after the 10th of November.

TO T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE.

Quincy, 2 November, 1798.

Sir,—

Yesterday Mr. Woodward came up and presented me with the inclosed memorial, which he says was presented by Dr. Logan to the French minister, and was procured for him by Mr. Richard Codman. Mr. Woodward told me that Dr. Logan told him that three persons only knew of his intentions to visit France, and these three were Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Genet, and Mr. Letombe; that Genet’s letters procured him his passport for Paris. Mr. Woodward is of opinion that Genet is still the principal conductor, under hand, of all the French affairs in this country. I send the papers and these particulars to you, that you and the other heads of department may make your reflections upon them.

The power of declaring war, by the French Constitution, is vested in the two councils. Although the Directory have made war upon Switzerland, Rome, and other powers, without any declaration by the councils, yet they may have reasons of prudence to restrain them towards the United States. And complaisant as the councils may be supposed to be to the Directory, it may not be so easy to obtain from them a declaration of war against us.

The object of Logan in his unauthorized embassy seems to have been, to do or obtain something which might give opportunity for the “true American character to blaze forth in the approaching elections.” Is this constitutional, for a party of opposition to send embassies to foreign nations to obtain their interference in elections? Logan told Woodward that all was going very well in America, the towns about Boston were all petitioning against arming, when the despatches arrived and ruined all, to such a degree that a Jacobin was become infinitely more odious than ever a Tory had been in the revolutionary war.1

T. PICKERING, SECRETARY OF STATE, TO JOHN ADAMS.

(Private.)

Trenton, 5 November, 1798.

Sir,—

I have been honored with your letter of the 26th ultimo, inclosing Mr. Gerry’s of the 20th. I am sorry that I cannot comply with your proposition “to have it inserted in a public print;” for I must then subjoin such remarks as will expose his quibbles and further wound his feelings. I shall go further, and display not his pusillanimity, weakness, and meanness alone, but his duplicity and treachery. You will start at the two last words; I verily believe they are correctly applied, and that the testimonies of General Pinckney and General Marshall (whose veracity will not be questioned) will support the imputation. I verily believe, Sir, that his conduct would warrant his impeachment; and if he should not be impeached, not his innocence, but political expediency alone, may prevent it. If Mr. Gerry should insist on the publication of his letter, let him publish it himself. I shall then take such notice of it as truth and the honor of my country require. I am, Sir, &c.

Timothy Pickering.

TO ELBRIDGE GERRY.

Philadelphia, 15 December, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

I have received your favor of 24th of November. I sent your letter to me, of the 20th of October, from Quincy to the Secretary of State, and requested him to publish it. He has returned it to me, and declines publishing it. I return it to you inclosed, as I think it will be attended with no good effect, if I should publish it. You will judge for yourself whether it is necessary for you to publish it. My opinion and advice and request are that you would not, because things stand at this time well enough. But the publication of that letter may involve controversies that had better remain at rest.

Although I am well satisfied that your conduct was upright and well intended, yet I find that General Marshall has left with Colonel Pickering his journal from day to day, and your conduct, as there represented, will be very unpopular, in several points. Your separate and secret conferences with Talleyrand, your advocating a stipulation for a loan to be paid after the war, will do no good to you or to the public. Pinckney and Marshall will attest to the correctness of the journal, and will be believed. Indeed, I do not know that there is any thing in it that you would deny.

At least, I wish you to wait until you see the communications I shall make to Congress. I hope all will be still and calm; I should hate to have any dispute excited about what is past.

My compliments to Mrs. Gerry and the little family, and believe me as ever your friend and servant.

John Adams.

TO WILLIAM S. SMITH.

Philadelphia, 19 December, 1798.

Dear Sir,—

Before you receive this, you will probably receive a letter from the Secretary of War, informing you that the general officers have proposed either you or Mr. Hammond to be a Lieutenant-Colonel commandant. This event has embarrassed me. I know not what to do. I know not whether the Senate will not negative the nomination, if I make it, nor whether you will accept the appointment, if they should advise and consent to it.

Upon this occasion I must be plain with you. Your pride and ostentation, which I myself have seen with inexpressible grief for many years, have excited among your neighbors so much envy and resentment, that, if they have to allege against you any instance of dishonorable and dishonest conduct, as it is pretended they have, you may depend upon it, it will never be forgiven or forgotten. He whose vanity has been indulged and displayed to the humiliation and mortification of others, may depend on meeting their revenge whenever they shall find an opportunity for it. They are now taking vengeance on you with a witness.

If I were to nominate you to any thing more than a regiment, according to reports and spirit that prevail, I have no doubt you would be again negatived by the Senate. If I nominate you to a regiment, I still fear it will not pass. It is a great misfortune to the public that the office I hold should be disgraced by a nomination of my son-in-law, which the Senate of the United States think themselves obliged to negative. If the disgrace should be repeated, it will be a serious thing to the public, as well as to me, and you, and our children.

I pray you, then, to write me, without loss of time, whether you wish me to make the nomination, and whether you will accept it, if made and consented to.1

My love to my daughter and Miss Caroline.

[1 ]No answers have been found to these questions, on the part of the Secretary of State or of the Treasury.

The Secretary of War, in his reply, dated the 15th of February, thought that there was a general aversion to war in the minds of the people of the United States, and a particular dislike on the part of a portion of them, to a war with France. Hence an express declaration was unadvisable, as subjecting the country to all the chances of evil from the vengeance of an excited and victorious nation. A mitigated hostility would, therefore, be most advisable, which might leave a door open for negotiation. This might consist of a truly vigorous, defensive plan, with a countenance still kept up to negotiate. Should, therefore, one or more of the commissioners remain in Europe, it might be well to leave them there, not to lose the appearance of a disposition to negotiate. If, however, they should all return, it would be too humiliating to send them back.

In this view the measures proposed to Congress should be:

1. To give permission to merchant vessels, under proper guards, to arm for defence.

2. To authorize the President to prepare, as fast as possible, twenty sloops of war, from sixteen to twenty guns each.

3. To authorize him to complete the three remaining frigates.

4. To authorize him, in case of open rupture, to provide a number of ships of the line, not exceeding ten.

5. To declare the treaties of alliance and commerce suspended.

6. To provide for an immediate army of sixteen thousand men, and an auxiliary one of twenty thousand.

7. To bring into action all the sources of revenue, and to authorize an immediate loan.

The President’s message, predicated on these measures, should recite all the inducements in a grave and dignified tone.

An embargo did not seem to be eligible.

With regard to other nations it was not expedient to enter into any formal engagements with any of them. Yet it might be well to sound Great Britain about a loan, about convoys, and a coöperation in case of open rupture, pointing to the Floridas, Louisiana, and the South American possessions of Spain. All on this side of the Mississippi, with New Orleans, to be ours in case of conquest. It might be well, too, to make a provisional negotiation for ten ships of the line, to have effect in case the President should receive the authority to provide so many. A confidential messenger to be employed to communicate these instructions to the minister, Mr. King.

The appointment of a day of national fast, proper and expedient.

The Attorney-General, assuming that the envoys had been refused an audience, thought all communications to Congress should be by message.

The envoys ought to be recalled by an order of the President.

The President should recommend a declaration of war.

An embargo should not be laid, except by way of reprisal on French vessels in our ports only.

An intimate connection with Great Britain to be avoided. Yet, through a confidential messenger, instructions might be given to Mr. King, to make stipulations to open our ports to British privateers and to prohibit all trade with France. Our own merchant ships might arm.

An additional force to the army to seize upon New Orleans, in case Spain should follow France.

The exequaturs to the French consuls to be revoked.

This opinion bears date the 8th of March.

The President’s own opinion of the policy to be pursued towards Great Britain, is sufficiently indicated by the form of the questions. Mr. Pickering invited Mr. Hamilton to encourage an alliance, offensive and defensive, but Mr. Hamilton was too wary to commit himself precipitately, though clearly favoring the idea as an ultimate measure. He especially urged the procuring “a dozen British frigates to be sent to our coast, to pursue the directions of this government.” See the letter of Mr. Pickering and the answer. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 272, p. 278.

[1 ]Mr. Forbes, out of a sense of personal obligations for the rescue of his brother from prison and perhaps from death, signed the address of the Americans at Paris to Mr. Monroe, upon his recall, which paper, in his “View of the conduct of the Executive,” that gentleman made great use of to sustain himself.

[1 ]Wilkinson.

[1 ]Colonel Smith had served in the army during the war. He received, from the Congress of the Confederation, the appointment of secretary of legation to the mission to Great Britain. He there married the only daughter of Mr. Adams. His tastes were all for military life; but, after the failure of the expedition under General Miranda, in which he was engaged, he retired to the interior of New York, from whence he was sent as a representative to Congress in 1813. He died in 1816.

[2 ]This letter is material in connection with the letter to the same person of the 19th December of this year. See p. 618 and the note.

[1 ]No answer to these questions, by the secretaries of State or of the Treasury, is found. Mr. Wolcott furnished a draft of a message which may have been his answer, and which was adopted and sent to Congress on the 19th. Mr. McHenry specifies two things as demanded by the French Directory.

1. A bribe of fifty thousand pounds sterling for the ministers and four of their corps.

2. A loan for national purposes, as a condition precedent to the suspension of the order to capture our vessels.

These demands being wholly inadmissible, and no better being likely to be offered a full disclosure to Congress, of all the facts, seems to be advisable and proper.

The objections to this course are:

1. Danger to the personal safety of the ministers.

2. It may make an insurmountable bar to any future negotiation.

3. It may be premature, as circumstances might yet change the designs of the Directory.

The first objection is thought to have but a slight foundation, as the French seem to have expected publicity. The second is better founded. But the President, in communicating to Congress, under an injunction of secrecy, the requisition of the French, devolves the responsibility of divulging it on Congress. As to the third, there seems to be no just ground to suppose any favorable change in the Directory as likely.

As to the second question, Mr. McHenry would avoid an open declaration of war; but instead of it, proposed a defensive plan, like that sketched out in his answer to the queries of the 24th January.

The Attorney-General thought it would be dangerous to the safety of the envoys in France, if the disclosure of the facts were made known before their departure should be ascertained. He was, therefore, not in favor of making the communications at this time.

To the second question he gave an affirmative answer, provided the declaration were not made until the envoys were known to have left France.

Mr. Pickering, “without the privity of any one,” as he says, communicated by two separate letters of the 25th to Mr. Hamilton all the secret information of the government. In one he answers a short letter of the 23d urging the communication of the papers to Congress, and he darkly suggests the policy of a treaty, offensive and defensive, with Great Britain, and proposes that provisional orders to that end should be sent to Mr. King. In the other, he incidentally mentions the fact that the President decided to keep back the despatches on the ground suggested by the Attorney-General. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. pp. 272-278.

Notwithstanding the President’s decision, a call was made by Congress for the despatches, on the 2d of April, and they were sent in the next day. “In this case,” writes the keen-eyed Jefferson, “there appeared a separate squad, to wit, the Pinckney interest, which is a distinct thing, and will be seen sometime to lurch the President. It is in truth the Hamilton party, whereof Pinckney is only made the stalking-horse.” See his letter to James Madison. Randolph’s Jefferson, vol. iii. p. 383.

[1 ]M. Caro did not come. Being in great haste to return home, he sent a letter, a translation of which is appended to Mr. Pickering’s letter, 21 August, 1798. He also addressed a letter to the same effect to Mr. Adams, which, as repetition, is omitted.

[1 ]Inclosed with this adroit letter came the copy of a paper formally executed by three persons, styled commissaries of an assembly of deputies of towns and provinces of South America, held at Madrid, in Spain, on the 8th of October, 1797. The purport of it was to mature a plan to effect the independence of the Spanish American Colonies, under the joint protection, and with the joint aid, of Great Britain and the United States.

Mr. Pitt had favored this project during the controversy with Spain, in 1790, about Nootka Sound, but he checked it when that country yielded the point of honor. He again favored it at this time, as the extracts from Mr. King’s letters, appended to that of Mr. Pickering of 21st August, 1798, sufficiently prove. The design was stupendous, and, if attempted, could not have failed to entangle the United States in a European war. It provided that Great Britain should, on her part, furnish the naval force, not exceeding twenty ships of the line, and the money, whilst the United States should supply a land force of five thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry, during the whole war that might ensue. In case of success, Great Britain was to have for her share the West India Islands, the exclusive supply of her own manufactures to South America, and the exclusive right of transit over the isthmus. The United States, on their part, were to be guaranteed the possession of Florida and all the territory east of the Mississippi. General Hamilton expected and desired to command the land force, a fact which supplies a motive for the enlargement of the army and the desire of the command at this time, quite independent of any apprehension of a French invasion. General Knox was likewise engaged in it, and Mr. Pickering was undoubtedly, and Mr. McHenry probably, privy to the whole movement. It fell through, because Mr. Adams declined to give any reply to this appeal of General Miranda, and the turn of affairs in the peninsula soon after qualified the earnestness of the British in his behalf. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. pp. 343, 347, 348, 368. See, also, an interesting article evidently drawn up from original sources of information, in the Edinburgh Review, vol. xiii. pp. 277-311. An important letter of Miranda to Mr. Hamilton is there printed, which is not in Hamilton’s Works.

The relations which France and Spain had contracted with each other by the treaty of St. Ildefonso, of the 19th of August, 1796, embraced a guaranty of the dominions of each other both in the old and the new world. Of course, any hostile demonstration against the Spanish colonies, must have led to a general war.

[1 ]Sparks’s Washington’s Writings, vol. xi. p. 241.

[1 ]On the 12th of July Mr. McHenry wrote to Mr. Adams from Mount Vernon, expressing his belief that General Washington would accept the appointment, with the condition that he was not to be called into active service until his presence should be absolutely needed. He further says:

“He has shown me the copy of a letter he had written to me, and which must have got to Philadelphia the day I left it, in which he treats on several points that will require your attention. I have, therefore, desired it to be delivered to you, and shall obtain from him the names of the persons he considers the best qualified for his confidential officers, and without whom, I think, he would not serve.”

The manuscript shows the last sentence to have been added after the letter was completed. General Washington, in his letter of the 16th of September, says, that this was inserted at his desire. Mr. Hamilton’s letter, hereafter to be noticed, of which Mr. McHenry was the bearer, had then been just received.

There is no evidence that General Washington ever voluntarily assumed the delicate office of dictating to the executive of the Union. He naturally desired the selection of such persons for his staff as were agreeable to him and as he could trust, and this he must have had at any rate. All that seems beyond this in his action, was the work of others. See the note to page 588 of this volume.

[1 ]Mr. Adams has been censured for the sudden manner of making this nomination. He had written to General Washington on the 22d of June, intimating his intention, and no answer had been received. Congress was on the point of adjournment, and the whole army remained to be organized. General Washington himself expected it. See his letter to Mr. McHenry, 5th July, Sparks’s Washington, vol. xi. p. 255. Such was the state of the popular feeling that, had it been longer postponed, another species of censure would have arisen from many of the very persons who, as it was, blamed his precipitation. The difficulty seems to have been that he did not wait for the conditions, as it respected other nominations, which were maturing for him, through the agency of General Washington. Mr. Hamilton had been leading to this as early as the 2d of June, when he specified his own appointment. See his letter to General Washington of that date. Hamilton’s Works, vol vi. p. 294.

[1 ]The law was passed on this day, 7th of July, 1798.

[2 ]These queries and answers do not seem to have been published before.

[1 ]This letter is inserted as essential to a complete view of the much disputed question of rank at this period.

[1 ]This was in answer to General Washington’s letter of inquiry, addressed to the Secretary of War, on this point. Sparks’s Washington’s Writings, vol. xi. p. 277.

[2 ]Mr. McHenry, after recapitulating the difficulties of his situation, had said in his letter:

“I hope, Sir, after considering this summary view of a part of my business, that you will give me leave to call effectually to my aid the Inspector-General, and likewise General Knox, and to charge them with particular branches of the service.”

Colonel Pickering and Mr. Wolcott had anticipated Mr. McHenry in the same application as early as the 8th instant.

[1 ]Mr. Bristed says that this project failed, because Mr. Adams declined to give an immediate answer. See Hints on the National Bankruptcy of Great Britain, pp. 410-413. There can be no doubt that the bare suggestion of this alliance with Great Britain materially contributed to modify the policy towards France, although Mr. Adams was not then informed of the extent of the sympathy which General Miranda had succeeded in enlisting among some leading federalists. Miranda had been in the United States previous to the close of the revolution, had been inspired there with the desire of effecting the independence of South America, and had established many friendships in the army, which he continued to cherish with that view.

[2 ]Benjamin Brooks, of Maryland. The charge consisted in a statement made by Bishop Carroll, that he had expressed himself “in a manner highly disorganizing and inflammatory,” in a local election preceding this time.

[1 ]Governor Sumner’s letter gives a curious account of a rumored French invasion of the district of Maine, and of the presence of some agent disseminating treason. All this, based upon the deposition of a single person! It furnishes a remarkable illustration of the disturbed condition of the times.

[1 ]An extract of the letter to General Hamilton is to be found in the Edinburgh Review, vol. xiii. p. 291. It is quite obvious from the late publication of his works, that he, as well as the members of the cabinet in his confidence, contemplated an offensive war against Spain, both in the West Indies and South America. Hamilton to Gunn, Hamilton’s Works, vol. v. p. 184, at the bottom of the page. McHenry to Hamilton, p. 283, and Hamilton to McHenry, same date, same page. Hamilton to Otis, vi. 391. Wilkinson’s Memoirs of my own Times, vol. i. p. 440.

A remarkable indication of Mr. McHenry’s acquaintance with these projects is seen in his answer to General Hamilton’s letter, recommending General Wilkinson to promotion. Entertaining the suspicion, then common, that that officer was in the interest, if not in the pay of Spain, he declared him not fit to be trusted with the knowledge of any project of attack upon the possessions of that country. McHenry to Hamilton, vol. iv. p. 282.

[1 ]Mr. McHenry, in writing these two letters, was merely following the dictation of Mr. Hamilton, who furnished the draft of one, and suggested the matter for the other. See his letter to Mr. McHenry 19th August, and the draft inclosed. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 338, 339.

[1 ]Mr. McHenry took offence at this, as aimed at himself. He sought and obtained a disclaimer. But though not probably meant for him, the facts, as now disclosed, do not entirely acquit him of participation in the censure.

The purpose of this note will be to show that the remark itself was entirely just; and to a much greater extent than Mr. Adams himself had any conception of. The proof to sustain each of the following propositions is furnished from the testimony of the parties themselves.

Mr. Wolcott, who seems to have had no share in the matter, though by no means partial to Mr. Adams, admits in two successive letters that the difficulty grew out of mismanagement. See the letters in Gibbs’s Federal Administrations, vol. ii. pp. 99, 101.

The facts appear to be these:

1. That on the 7th of July Mr. Adams addressed to General Washington a letter, informing him of his appointment to the chief command. See page 575.

2. That he charged Mr. McHenry, Secretary of War, with the care of this letter, and with instructions which were drawn up and dated on the 6th July. See page 573.

3. That Mr. Pickering, the Secretary of State, knowing what was done on the 6th, and that Mr. McHenry was not to go till the 8th, anticipated the mission, by sending a letter, on that very day, the 6th, by the post, to General Washington, urging upon him the selection of Mr. Hamilton as second in command, and invoking him to “intimate his opinion” to the President, in such a way as to force the appointment. See Sparks’s Washington, vol. xi. Appendix, p. 530.

4. Mr. Pickering’s low estimate of General Washington’s military capacity is well understood, and, if doubted, can be established beyond question. In making this movement, he avowed his purpose to be that Mr. Hamilton should be the virtual Commander-in-chief. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 344.

5. Mr. Hamilton came to Philadelphia on the 7th of July, before Mr. McHenry had left for Mount Vernon. He was then informed by Mr. Pickering of what had been done, and he saw a copy of the secret letter. Hamilton’s Works, Pickering to Hamilton, vol. vi. p. 325. Also Pickering to Jay, p. 330.

6. Mr. Hamilton, instead of expressing any displeasure at this clandestine attempt to control the President, in his favor, wrote a letter on the 8th of July, fortifying the argument of Mr. Pickering, and disparaging the judgment of the President, and sent it by the hands of the President’s own messenger, Mr. McHenry, who certainly was cognisant of its purpose. This was, to direct all the appointments to be made by the President. Sparks’s Washington, vol. xi. Appendix, p. 533.

7. General Washington, although anxious to secure the services of Mr. Hamilton, and to give him the post he had himself selected in a preceding letter of the 2d of June, that of Inspector-General, did not contemplate making him the second in command. His design had been to make Mr. Pinckney second, and Mr. Hamilton third in rank, and this for reasons which he explained directly to Mr. Pickering, and as delicately as possible to Mr. Hamilton himself. With this last letter Mr. Adams was made acquainted. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 294. Sparks’s Washington, vol. xi. pp. 257-260, 263-266.

8. Mr. Pickering, on first receiving a report of General Washington’s state of mind, from Mr. McHenry, was disposed to claim for his letter of the 6th the merit of turning the scale for Mr. Hamilton; but apparently discouraged for the moment by the contents of General Washington’s reply to him, dated the 11th, he communicated the substance of it to Mr. Hamilton on the 16th, and sounded his disposition to give way. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 325, p. 330.

9. Mr. Hamilton replied on the 17th, expressing a reluctant assent to the possible priority of Knox, but objecting to the precedence of Pinckney, and concluding with a proposition that the relative rank might be left open for future settlement. This letter, though received by Mr. Pickering in season to meet the wishes both of the President and of General Washington, was by him suppressed until after the list of officers, as originally arranged by General Washington, had been sent to the Senate. In that list Mr. Hamilton’s name had been placed first, although it is now clear that General Washington did not mean to settle his rank by the act. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. pp. 326, 343.

The Senate did not, however, know this, when they ratified the nominations. There is reason to believe they were left with the impression that he did intend it.

10. General Washington was prevailed upon to overcome his “fears of the consequences” of placing Hamilton first in his list, by the representations made to him through the channel of Mr. McHenry, that such was “the declared will of the federal characters of Congress.” This he expressly states in his letters to General Knox. Sparks’s Washington, vol. xi. pp. 268, 282. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 330.

11. General Knox wrote a warm remonstrance. In it, among other things, he says: “I have understood, that when the list was presented to the Senate, some members, from a mere sense of justice, were desirous that the seniority I held the last war should be considered; but they were silenced by the observation, that the list was yours, and therefore it could not be altered. To you, it was declared to be the public estimation.” Sparks’s Washington, vol. xi. Appendix, p. 535.

12. General Washington, on the 9th of August, sent this letter to Mr. Hamilton, with a letter of his own, delicately intimating a disposition favorable to Knox. This hint had the effect of procuring a reluctant acquiescence of Mr. Hamilton “in any arrangement which Washington might deem for the general good.” Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. pp. 336-8, 342.

13. The President did not consider the order of nominations to the Senate as in itself deciding the priority of the officers named. And so doubtful was Mr. Pickering of the issue, that it led to a renewal of efforts to rouse General Washington to interfere, as he was looked to finally to control the President. To this end Mr. Pickering wrote, on the 21st of August, to stimulate Mr. Hamilton “to take such steps with the General, as he might think proper, to fix him in the station which the essential interests of the country require.” Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 346. On the other hand Mr. Hamilton, on the 29th, wrote to stimulate Mr. Pickering to make the General “well understand that New England would rather see high command in his hands than in those of General Knox.” Vol. vi. p. 355.

14. It is to be noted that Mr. Hamilton, in addressing General Knox many months after the decision, endeavored to throw off the responsibility of it from himself upon others. “Be persuaded, also,” he says, “that the views of others, not my own, have given shape to what has taken place, and that there has been a serious struggle between my respect and attachment for you and the impression of duty.” Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 403.

15. It likewise appears that Mr. Pickering in a letter of the same date as that last cited, covered the confidential letter of Miranda to Mr. Hamilton of the 6th of April, announcing the successful progress of his enterprise in England; and the reply of the latter to Miranda, dated the 22d of August, besides describing a plan of coöperation, announces that “we are raising an army of about twelve thousand men,” and that he is “appointed second in command.” Miranda’s application to the President had been received by him on the 25th of August. He knew the fact that Mr. Hamilton had received a letter, but nothing more. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. pp. 343, 348.

The curious reader is left carefully to compare these propositions with the letters quoted to verify them, and then form his own opinion, whether Mr. Adams was right or wrong in saying, “there has been too much intrigue in this business with General Washington and me.” He is, also, to judge how far the project of Miranda contributed to stimulate the desire of Mr. Hamilton and his friends to secure for him the virtual command of the army.

[1 ]Mr. Hamilton, in his letter, says of this application in behalf of his nephew:

“Under these circumstances, very contrary to the general rules by which I govern myself, I take the liberty to request his appointment as a personal favor to myself, and I venture to undertake for him that he will not discredit it. The appointment will also lay himself and all his friends under a particular obligation.

Let me at the same time beg you to be persuaded, Sir, that I shall never on any other occasion place a recommendation to office on a similar footing.”

[1 ]J. Q. Adams.

[2 ]Mr. Pickering had written on the 28th of August, as follows:

“Mr. Adams’s idea of a contingent stipulation with Sweden, respecting neutral ships neutralizing the goods on board, strikes me as very eligible; and, as he observes, will prevent our becoming the victims to the rule, that free ships make free goods, if our enemy does not adhere to it.”

[1 ]A striking confirmation of this suspicion is found in Mr. Pickering’s letter to Mr. Jay, in which he gives Mr. McHenry’s report to him of the visit to Mount Vernon. It seems that McHenry admitted that “General Washington was some time balancing between the priority of Colonel Hamilton and General Pinckney; weighing the high respectability and importance of the latter in the three southern States, against the superior talents of the former; the latter finally preponderating.” The fact is fully established by Washington’s own letters since printed. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 330.

Mr. Pickering goes on to claim the decision as the result of his letter of the 6th, sent in advance of Mr. McHenry, which he says General Washingtondid not mention to that gentleman. But he did not probably know of the secret letter sent by Mr. Hamilton, through McHenry himself—a letter, the objects of which McHenry must have understood, and which his desire for Hamilton’s success undoubtedly fortified through his conversation. Hence the probability is that the position finally taken by General Washington was the result of all three influences combined. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. pp. 352, 355.

[1 ]Mr. Pickering had written thus:

“Dupont de Nemours and some other French philosophers, “a delegation from the National Institute,” had applied, through Sir Joseph Banks, for passports from the English government, the Directory having given them passports to go to the United States, with the view to improve and extend the sciences. Mr. King understands the intention of the mission is to form an establishment high up the Mississippi, out of the limits of the United States, and within the boundaries of Spain. Mr. King supposes that neither the American nor English government will be disposed to give any encouragement to this mission of the Directory.”

[1 ]Bushrod Washington.

[1 ]Mr. Washington was appointed. Mr. Marshall declined. In his letter to the Secretary of State, dated 28 September, he says:

“I pray you to make my respectful and grateful acknowledgments to the President for the very favorable sentiments concerning me, which are indicated by his willingness to call me to so honorable and important a station as that of a Judge of the United States. The considerations, which are insurmountable, oblige me to decline the office. I can assure you, that I shall ever estimate properly, both the dispositions of the President, and the polite and friendly manner in which you have communicated them.”

[1 ]The navy department had been organized in the month of May preceding, and Mr. Stoddert of Maryland, had been made the first secretary.

[2 ]This was a ship of twenty-four guns sent into Hampton roads by Captain Nicholson, on a suspicion of piracy. Mr. Stoddert was inclined to believe the vessel filled with French refugees under British protection. In his letter, he says:

“I have written to the Navy Agent at Norfolk, to liberate, on parole, the officers and owners, if they are confined, unless there are stronger reasons than I am informed of, to suspect them of piracy; and to tell them they have nothing to apprehend, if innocent. And I have desired him to recommend them to able and honorable counsel, which I have no doubt will meet with your approbation.”

[1 ]On the 11th, Mr. Pickering acknowledges the reception from Mr. Humphreys, of “the despatches of Mr. Gerry and others,” but he takes no notice of the questions.

[2 ]Sparks’s Washington’s Writings, vol. xi. p. 304. A marked difference is visible in the tone and sentiment of this letter and of that addressed to Mr. Hamilton on the 14th of July. Vol. xi. p. 265. In the latter, General Washington clearly designates Mr. Pinckney as the next to him in command; in the former, he says he intended the rank to be in the order of the names on his list. In the one, he complains of any variation from his list as an infraction of the condition of his acceptance, in the other, he distinctly alludes to the President as having a right to use his pleasure in the last resort. One explanation of this change is to be found in the gradual action of third persons upon General Washington, by naming individuals, known to be much disliked by him, as likely to obtain appointments.

[1 ]This letter was probably the consequence of one addressed to Mr. Adams by Mr. Wolcott, on the 17th of the preceding month, wherein an earnest effort was made to heal a misunderstanding, which was widening into a breach, between the President and General Washington. On the 19th, Mr. Wolcott wrote to Mr. Hamilton, urging him to remain quiet, and expressing the conviction that “the embarrassment might have been entirely avoided.” In this Mr. Wolcott is doubtless correct, and by his more skilful tact Mr. Adams was ultimately induced to concede the point. But an imperfect draft of a letter, designed to be a reply to Mr. Wolcott, remains among the papers, which shows how accurately Mr. Adams understood the true position which General Washington had, at first, intended to occupy, and the uses that had been made of both. As explaining his views and feelings, the greater part of it is not without interest. Mr. Wolcott’s letter is printed in full in Mr. Gibbs’s work, vol. ii. pp. 93-99.

Quincy, 24 September, 1798.

I have received your favor of the 17th, and read it over and over again, with all the attention I am master of. The long continued dangerous sickness of my best friend, and her still precarious destiny, have thrown my mind into a state of depression, agitation, and anxiety, which will not admit of a full discussion of the various points on which you and I appear to differ in opinion. I will hint at a few things, which I see in a different light from that in which you have placed them.

In the first place, I am under no apprehension at all for the honor, personal influence, or character of the chief of our nation, whether he places General Knox first or General Hamilton. If he thought for one moment that both those generals together could hurt his honor, diminish his personal influence, or injure his character, he would resign his office at once. This point, therefore, I hope is settled between you and me forever.

You are perfectly correct in your opinion, that General Washington has never disclosed a wish to interfere with any of the powers constitutionally vested in the President. However perfect the concert between the President and Commander-in-chief, it will remain for time to discover, whether such jealousy, rivalry, and animosity will not be produced by the conflicting passions of powerful individuals, as no authority in this country can possibly compose. That is to say, in other words, it is a problem whether our Constitution can possibly command an army and conduct a war.

Whether General Washington was, or was not, nominated to command the armies without any previous consultation or notice, is nothing to the present questions, nor has any one, that I know of, any motive or authority to inquire into this point. I had evidence enough to convince me that he expected it, that he wished it, and that he would accept it. Otherwise I never would have nominated him.

That General Washington formed a list out of names that I had committed to paper to be laid before him, is true; that after mature deliberation he settled the rank, which, in his judgment, the officers in question ought to enjoy, I do not admit and cannot believe. It was never the advice of General Washington, as I understood it, that the Inspector-General should be the first Major-General. He never expressed any such idea to me. His list contained no such idea. When Mr. McHenry proposed to me to nominate him to the Senate as first Major-General, I positively refused to do it. On the contrary, in the letter from General Washington to General Hamilton, which Mr. McHenry showed to me and which has never escaped my memory, General Washington’s expectation and inclination, that General Pinckney should be the first Major-General, was not equivocal. And besides, he expressly says: “After all, the whole must depend upon the President.”* Not one circumstance ever indicated that General Washington’s advice or wish was that General Hamilton should be first Major-General. On the contrary, his expectation and desire were clear to me that Pinckney should be first.† As to the expectation of the public, I have had longer experience and better opportunities to know both than you have, and I am not so clearly of your opinion.

General Washington’s list gave no command to Hamilton, but as Inspector-General. The Commander-in-chief might occasionally give him command. It was plain to me from his list, that General Washington meant to leave the rank to be settled by friendly agreement among the gentlemen, or by subsequent orders of the Lieutenant-General, or by a subsequent appeal to the President. I am persuaded that no personal considerations, distinct from the public interest, have influenced General Washington, and I know that none have influenced me. General Knox is no favorite of mine, any more than General Hamilton. I have no kind of attachment to him or affection for him, more than for Hamilton. He never was my intimate nor my friend, and he has no kind of attachment to me, more than Hamilton. If you are not informed, I am, that Knox never served my interest, fame, or promotion more than Hamilton. Nay, further, I know he has opposed me more than ever Hamilton did, although in the earlier part of his life I contributed more than any man, perhaps, to recommend him, merely on public principles, to General Washington, Lee, &c., who first promoted him so rapidly. Knox, however, went through the war with honor and dignity; and he is universally acknowledged to be brave, cool, attentive, and able at all times, and good humored, as well as alert, active, and undaunted in the day of battle. I know not why such an officer should be disgraced or degraded.

The resolutions of the old Congress are not the only grounds, nor the principal ground, of my opinion, that, as matters now are circumstanced, Hamilton is the last in rank of the Major-Generals. The office of Inspector-General gives no rank. The rank of Major-General, given him in his nomination and commission, will give him rank before Brigadiers, but after every Major-General commissioned on the same day. The rank of Major-General, and the office and command of Major-General, are different things. As the case now stands, Hamilton will rank after Lee and Hand as well as Pinckney and Knox. This is not my intention. This may be remedied by dating the commissions of Lee and Hand after that of Hamilton, it is true; but if something is not done, you will find the pretensions of Lee and Hand set up.

I have seen more of General Washington’s letters upon this subject than you have, or Mr. McHenry; and in my opinion it would be more discreet to say less about him upon this occasion than has been said.*

I am not of your opinion, that either Knox or Hamilton will refuse, whatever may be their relative rank.† If I were sure that both would refuse, it should make no alteration. For, be assured, I stand in no awe of either.

You seem to consider the affair as a measure of finance, and if I was fully convinced that the appointment of Hamilton would produce economical regulations of any great consequence, it would have great weight with me. For, be assured, there is not a democrat in the world who affects more horror than I really feel, at the prospect of that frightful system of debts and taxes, into which imperious necessity seems to be precipitating us.

If I should consent to the appointment of Hamilton as second in rank, I should consider it as the most responsible action of my whole life, and the most difficult to justify. Hamilton is not a native of the United States, but a foreigner, and, I believe, has not resided longer, at least not much longer, in North America, than Albert Gallatin. His rank in the late army was comparatively very low. His merits with a party are the merits of John Calvin,—

  • “Some think on Calvin heaven’s own spirit fell,
  • While others deem him instrument of hell.”

 

I know that Knox has no popular character, even in Massachusetts. I know, too, that Hamilton has no popular character in any part of America.

I have given so much attention to your representation, that I have dated the commissions to Knox, Pinckney, and Hamilton, all on the same day, in hopes that under the auspices of General Washington the gentlemen may come to some amicable settlement of the dispute. The rank of the other Major-Generals, as well as of the Brigadiers, must be settled by the date of their commissions. I shall do all in my power to persuade Knox to accept.

This hasty letter, written in deep affliction, is fit only to be private and confidential; but I hope it will appear wherever yours appears.

[1 ]1 A similar form was addressed to all the other cabinet-officers. Mr. Pickering answered it on the 5th of November, submitting the heads only of what he should recommend for the message. These were: 1. A review of Mr. Gerry’s transactions in France. 2. The final settlement of the St. Croix boundary. 3. The commencement of the fixing the boundary with Spain on the South. 4. Determined preparations for war, which may prevent it.

The replies of Mr. Wolcott and of Mr. Stoddert are published in the work of Mr. Gibbs. The former consists of the draft which had been prepared after consultation with Mr. Hamilton. Vol. ii. p. 115, pp. 168-171.

Mr. McHenry’s letter is dated the 25th of November. It urges the composition of such a message as would lead Congress to a declaration of war with France; it suggests the mention of the surrender by Spain of two posts on the east bank of the Mississippi, and a recommendation of the investment in the President of full power to take possession of Louisiana and the Floridas, on behalf of Spain, in case of danger of their being seized by the French.

Mr. Lee’s answer is dated the 27th of October, and relates to the place of meeting of Congress. He recommends Baltimore, in case the fever should continue in Philadelphia. In a later paper he dilates mainly upon the alien and sedition laws.

[1 ]This relates to the decision of the commissioners, of whom Mr. Egbert Benson was one, upon the boundary, named as the river St. Croix, in the treaty of 1783.

[1 ]As Mr. Pickering has quoted this note, it is deemed but just to insert it in the present collection. But at this distance of time the praise appears to savor too much of partisan feeling. The sharp reply to the address placed Mr. Adams, on the one side, in the attitude of combat with the opposition, and on the other, involved him with Mr. Gerry. The course marked out at the close of the letter commends itself to the judgment in all similar cases. But addresses and answers have, very properly, gone entirely out of vogue.

[1 ]This was in answer to the following application by Mr. Pickering:

“I have now the honor to inclose some copies of an order for requiring the departure of aliens, pursuant to the act of Congress, passed the 25th of June last. If the form of the order meets your approbation, I respectfully submit to your consideration, whether, during your absence from the seat of government, it may not be expedient to authorize the heads of departments to confer and decide on such alien cases as shall appear to require despatch. Should you think the law admits of this delegation of authority, and it should at the same time appear to you expedient, you will be pleased to sign and return the blank orders now inclosed.”

[2 ]A second letter of the same date suggested that, in case of the President’s having a doubt of the expediency or legality of delegating the power under the alien law, he should sign orders for the three persons designated; and it further mentioned the opinion of Mr. Wolcott, which Mr. Adams confirms.

[1 ]This letter is of great importance, as showing not only the state of Mr. Adams’s mind at this time, upon the most disputed question during his administration, but the early knowledge of it on the part of his cabinet officers, who yet complained of his sudden determination in the nomination of Mr. Murray, four months later. It now seems to explain the cause of the measures of counteraction to which they resorted. Instead of sending any answer, or entering into a discussion of the questions involved, a consultation was had, denominated by Mr. Jefferson “a military conclave,” from the presence of some of the general officers then assembled at Philadelphia, and especially of Mr. Hamilton, at which a draught of a message was prepared, obviously designed to preclude the President’s action upon the suggestions herein contained. This draught was probably made by Mr. Wolcott under the dictation of Mr. Hamilton, and it is conceded by Mr. Gibbs to have been intended to “leave no loophole for retreat.” Yet Mr. Hamilton must at the time have had in his hands Rufus King’s private letter to him, from London, assuring him “that there would be no war,” and that France would propose to renew negotiations. The failure of this attempt to coerce the President, his substitution of a sentiment directly the opposite of the one submitted to him for adoption, and the subsequent appeal to the federal members of Congress to force the party into a declaration of war, which likewise failed, are treated more at large in another part of this work. Randolph’s Jefferson, vol. iii. p. 186. Gibbs’s Federal Administrations, vol. ii. p. 186-7. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 359. The reader must contrast the original passage in Mr. Wolcott’s draught, as it is found printed in italics in Mr. Gibbs’s work, vol. ii. p. 171, with the substituted paragraph, and also with the paragraph in the above letter on the same subject, in order fully to perceive the purpose of its framers.

[1 ]Mr. McHenry in his letter had urged the President to come to the seat of government for the purpose of facilitating the organization of the new military forces.

[1 ]At this day, it seems to be matter of astonishment that the truth of this proposition should not have been universally recognized. It is difficult to resist the belief that an organization was by some contemplated, as Mr. Adams described it, “to appoint a General over the President.” Sedgwick to Hamilton, Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 394.

[1 ]See page 610.

[1 ]This is the first of the important private letters of Mr. Vans Murray, which, for the sake of clearly showing the nature of the impressions gradually made upon Mr. Adams’s mind, have been placed together in the appendix to this volume. See Appendix A. No. 1 and No. 2.

[1 ]Dr. Logan’s mission to France excited the jealousy of the federal party in a high degree, as an attempt to operate upon the elections of the country through a foreign agency. But for Mr. Jefferson’s privity, it is not probable that it would even then have been so unfavorably interpreted. It was the characteristic of that gentleman to give clandestine encouragement to every movement, and to be always surprised at the effect which followed the almost inevitable disclosure of his agency. Yet there is reason to believe that Dr. Logan’s representations contributed to soften the temper of the rulers in both countries. General Washington, whose partisan feelings never ran higher than at this time, has given his own account of his interview with Dr. Logan. It makes one of the very few lifelike pictures we have left of him. Sparks’s Washington, vol. xi. p. 384, note.

Dr. Logan’s visit to Mr. Adams took place after the date of this letter. Time has completely vindicated his motives from suspicion. But it has not yet done due honor to his action. He tried a similar experiment many years afterwards in the case of Great Britain, with less success.

[1 ]The publication of this letter is made necessary, in order to explain the course of Mr. Pickering in the case of Colonel Smith. The facts will now be briefly given, with the authorities to sustain every particular.

1. Colonel Smith’s military standing throughout the revolutionary war is fully vouched for by General Washington, then Commander-in-chief, and General Lincoln, acting as Secretary of War, in certificates given by them in 1782. See the Diplomatic Correspondence, from 1783 to 1789, vol. v. pp. 372-373. It is also sustained by General Hamilton. Hamilton’s Works, vol. v. p. 431. In the organization of the new army, General Washington placed his name on his own list of officers, as the third of four Brigadiers, and one out of three from whom to select an Adjutant-General. Sparks’s Washington, vol. xi. p. 264.

2. At the moment when General Washington’s list was placed before the President, that is, on the 17th of July, 1798, Mr. Pickering, then acting as Secretary of War, was with him. He heard him decide upon altering it so far as to give Dayton the precedence over Smith as a Brigadier, and to make Smith Adjutant-General. Colonel Smith had served in a similar capacity to the corps of General Lafayette, in 1779. Pickering’s Review, &c., p. 145.

3. Knowing the President’s will, through his confidential relation to him, Mr. Pickering went up immediately to the Senate, announced to some of the Senators that such a nomination was about to be sent in, and urged a rejection of it upon grounds stated by himself, and without giving Colonel Smith a chance of a hearing in his defence. Pickering’s Review, p. 145.

4. On the 18th of July, being the morning of the day the nominations were sent in, Mr. Pickering wrote a confidential letter to General Hamilton, giving all the particulars of the President’s action, and, besides expressing his opposition to Colonel Smith, intimated a wish that all the nominations of Brigadiers might be postponed until the autumn, when “a better arrangement might be made.” Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 327.

5. Colonel Pickering, in another letter, ten days later, admitted that the President knew nothing of the charges against Colonel Smith, and affirmed that he was acting upon a totally mistaken estimate of his military talents. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 330.

Mr. Adams, in writing to his wife on the 31st December, 1798, says; “If Smith has forfeited his honor, I wish some kind friend would have given me the facts and the proof. In such a case I would not nominate him to be a lieutenant. But no such fact or proof has been presented to me.”

6. On the 19th of July, the Senate confirmed the entire list of nominations as sent in by the President, excepting that of Colonel Smith, which they rejected on the representations of the President’s own cabinet officer, made without his knowledge, and sustained by no evidence. Journal, Executive Proceedings Senate U. S. vol. i. p. 293. Pickering’s Review, p. 146.

7. Colonel Pickering, not content with this success, seems to have pursued his hostility to Colonel Smith down to the moment when his name was proposed to the general officers for the commission of Lieutenant-Colonel. He affirms that they declined to recommend him to the President. The fact is, that they reported him as one of two candidates, in case he could clear himself from the charges made against him. Colonel Smith sent his defence. He was thereupon nominated to the Senate by Mr. Adams, very unwillingly, because he thought the place beneath his deserts, and only after having consulted him, through the above letter, with the view of his declining it. The opposition of Colonel Pickering was still carried on, but the Senate this time received Colonel Smith’s defence, and they confirmed the nomination without a division. Pickering’s Review, p. 148. J. A. to his wife. Ms. 31 Dec. 1798. Journal, Executive Proceedings Senate U. S. vol. i. p. 303.

It is believed that no similar instance of disclosure of and interference with the action of the President, by a cabinet officer in his confidence, has ever occurred under the present form of government. It is due to Mr. Pickering to add that, without appearing to have carefully analyzed the moral objections to his course of proceeding, he expressed serious misgivings at one time about its propriety. See his letter to J. Jay. Hamilton’s Works, vol. vi. p. 330.

[1 ]This letter was probably the consequence of one addressed to Mr. Adams by Mr. Wolcott, on the 17th of the preceding month, wherein an earnest effort was made to heal a misunderstanding, which was widening into a breach, between the President and General Washington. On the 19th, Mr. Wolcott wrote to Mr. Hamilton, urging him to remain quiet, and expressing the conviction that “the embarrassment might have been entirely avoided.” In this Mr. Wolcott is doubtless correct, and by his more skilful tact Mr. Adams was ultimately induced to concede the point. But an imperfect draft of a letter, designed to be a reply to Mr. Wolcott, remains among the papers, which shows how accurately Mr. Adams understood the true position which General Washington had, at first, intended to occupy, and the uses that had been made of both. As explaining his views and feelings, the greater part of it is not without interest. Mr. Wolcott’s letter is printed in full in Mr. Gibbs’s work, vol. ii. pp. 93-99.

Quincy, 24 September, 1798.

I have received your favor of the 17th, and read it over and over again, with all the attention I am master of. The long continued dangerous sickness of my best friend, and her still precarious destiny, have thrown my mind into a state of depression, agitation, and anxiety, which will not admit of a full discussion of the various points on which you and I appear to differ in opinion. I will hint at a few things, which I see in a different light from that in which you have placed them.

In the first place, I am under no apprehension at all for the honor, personal influence, or character of the chief of our nation, whether he places General Knox first or General Hamilton. If he thought for one moment that both those generals together could hurt his honor, diminish his personal influence, or injure his character, he would resign his office at once. This point, therefore, I hope is settled between you and me forever.

You are perfectly correct in your opinion, that General Washington has never disclosed a wish to interfere with any of the powers constitutionally vested in the President. However perfect the concert between the President and Commander-in-chief, it will remain for time to discover, whether such jealousy, rivalry, and animosity will not be produced by the conflicting passions of powerful individuals, as no authority in this country can possibly compose. That is to say, in other words, it is a problem whether our Constitution can possibly command an army and conduct a war.

Whether General Washington was, or was not, nominated to command the armies without any previous consultation or notice, is nothing to the present questions, nor has any one, that I know of, any motive or authority to inquire into this point. I had evidence enough to convince me that he expected it, that he wished it, and that he would accept it. Otherwise I never would have nominated him.

That General Washington formed a list out of names that I had committed to paper to be laid before him, is true; that after mature deliberation he settled the rank, which, in his judgment, the officers in question ought to enjoy, I do not admit and cannot believe. It was never the advice of General Washington, as I understood it, that the Inspector-General should be the first Major-General. He never expressed any such idea to me. His list contained no such idea. When Mr. McHenry proposed to me to nominate him to the Senate as first Major-General, I positively refused to do it. On the contrary, in the letter from General Washington to General Hamilton, which Mr. McHenry showed to me and which has never escaped my memory, General Washington’s expectation and inclination, that General Pinckney should be the first Major-General, was not equivocal. And besides, he expressly says: “After all, the whole must depend upon the President.”* Not one circumstance ever indicated that General Washington’s advice or wish was that General Hamilton should be first Major-General. On the contrary, his expectation and desire were clear to me that Pinckney should be first.† As to the expectation of the public, I have had longer experience and better opportunities to know both than you have, and I am not so clearly of your opinion.

General Washington’s list gave no command to Hamilton, but as Inspector-General. The Commander-in-chief might occasionally give him command. It was plain to me from his list, that General Washington meant to leave the rank to be settled by friendly agreement among the gentlemen, or by subsequent orders of the Lieutenant-General, or by a subsequent appeal to the President. I am persuaded that no personal considerations, distinct from the public interest, have influenced General Washington, and I know that none have influenced me. General Knox is no favorite of mine, any more than General Hamilton. I have no kind of attachment to him or affection for him, more than for Hamilton. He never was my intimate nor my friend, and he has no kind of attachment to me, more than Hamilton. If you are not informed, I am, that Knox never served my interest, fame, or promotion more than Hamilton. Nay, further, I know he has opposed me more than ever Hamilton did, although in the earlier part of his life I contributed more than any man, perhaps, to recommend him, merely on public principles, to General Washington, Lee, &c., who first promoted him so rapidly. Knox, however, went through the war with honor and dignity; and he is universally acknowledged to be brave, cool, attentive, and able at all times, and good humored, as well as alert, active, and undaunted in the day of battle. I know not why such an officer should be disgraced or degraded.

The resolutions of the old Congress are not the only grounds, nor the principal ground, of my opinion, that, as matters now are circumstanced, Hamilton is the last in rank of the Major-Generals. The office of Inspector-General gives no rank. The rank of Major-General, given him in his nomination and commission, will give him rank before Brigadiers, but after every Major-General commissioned on the same day. The rank of Major-General, and the office and command of Major-General, are different things. As the case now stands, Hamilton will rank after Lee and Hand as well as Pinckney and Knox. This is not my intention. This may be remedied by dating the commissions of Lee and Hand after that of Hamilton, it is true; but if something is not done, you will find the pretensions of Lee and Hand set up.

I have seen more of General Washington’s letters upon this subject than you have, or Mr. McHenry; and in my opinion it would be more discreet to say less about him upon this occasion than has been said.*

I am not of your opinion, that either Knox or Hamilton will refuse, whatever may be their relative rank.† If I were sure that both would refuse, it should make no alteration. For, be assured, I stand in no awe of either.

You seem to consider the affair as a measure of finance, and if I was fully convinced that the appointment of Hamilton would produce economical regulations of any great consequence, it would have great weight with me. For, be assured, there is not a democrat in the world who affects more horror than I really feel, at the prospect of that frightful system of debts and taxes, into which imperious necessity seems to be precipitating us.

If I should consent to the appointment of Hamilton as second in rank, I should consider it as the most responsible action of my whole life, and the most difficult to justify. Hamilton is not a native of the United States, but a foreigner, and, I believe, has not resided longer, at least not much longer, in North America, than Albert Gallatin. His rank in the late army was comparatively very low. His merits with a party are the merits of John Calvin,—

  • “Some think on Calvin heaven’s own spirit fell,
  • While others deem him instrument of hell.”

 

I know that Knox has no popular character, even in Massachusetts. I know, too, that Hamilton has no popular character in any part of America.

I have given so much attention to your representation, that I have dated the commissions to Knox, Pinckney, and Hamilton, all on the same day, in hopes that under the auspices of General Washington the gentlemen may come to some amicable settlement of the dispute. The rank of the other Major-Generals, as well as of the Brigadiers, must be settled by the date of their commissions. I shall do all in my power to persuade Knox to accept.

This hasty letter, written in deep affliction, is fit only to be private and confidential; but I hope it will appear wherever yours appears.

[* ]The words are: “For after all, it rests with the President to use his pleasure.” See the whole letter, Sparks’s Washington, vol. xi. pp. 263-267.

[† ]See page 586, note, for a summary of the evidence on this point.

[* ]This seems to imply a knowledge of General Washington’s letters to General Knox of the 16th July and the 9th of August, in which the former clearly shows that the appointment of Hamilton, to be second, was not his original purpose. See Sparks’s Washington, vol. xi. pp. 268, 282.

[† ]In this he proved mistaken. General Knox did decline to serve under Hamilton.