Part 4

In the course of this affair, we have been perfectly satisfied with the French Ministry. They have proved candid and moderate. Mr Jay will write about Spain. Very little is to be said of her, and by her very little is to be done. It appears Holland is going on well, and I believe Mr Adams is satisfied, except upon the affair of money, which is the difficult point, and goes on very slowly.

By all I can see, I judge that if America insists on a share in the fisheries, she will obtain it by the general treaty; this point is too near my heart to permit me not to mention it.

The news of Count de Grasse's defeat has been very much felt in France, and the whole nation was made truly unhappy by this disagreeable event. The general cry of the people was such, that I do not believe any French Admiral will, in any case take upon himself to surrender his own ship. The people at large have perhaps been too severe, and government have not pronounced, as there is to be a court martial. But I was happy to see a patriotic spirit diffused through every individual. The States of several Provinces, the great cities, and a number of different associations of men, have offered ships of the line to a greater number than have been lost. In the meanwhile, government are using the greatest activity, and this has given a spur to the national exertions. But independent of the stroke in itself, I have been sighing upon the ruin of the plans I had proposed towards a useful co-operation upon the coasts of America. My schemes have been made almost impracticable, and my voyage (the case of negotiations excepted) has not been so serviceable to the public, as I had good reasons to expect.

The Spaniards are going at last to besiege Gibraltar. Count d'Artois, the King of France's brother, and the Duc de Bourbon, a Prince of the blood, are just setting out to serve there as volunteers. They intend to begin in the first days of September; so that we may expect one way or other to get rid of that encumbrance, and let the siege succeed or miscarry, we may expect hereafter to make use of the combined forces of the House of Bourbon.

We are waiting for intelligence from the East Indies, where it appears we have got a superiority, and are entitled to expect good news from that quarter. The enemy had some despatches by land, but either our operations are of a later date, or they only have published a part of their intelligence.

_Paris, June 29th._ Dr Franklin and Mr Jay will acquaint you with Count de Vergennes's answer to Mr Grenville, and also with what Mr Grenville has said respecting the enabling act. This act and also the answer to Count de Vergennes, are every day expected in Paris, and the way in which both will be expressed may give us a pretty just idea upon the present intentions of the British Ministry. The only thing that remains for me to inform you of, is, that under the pretence of curiosity, admiration, or private affairs, England will probably send emissaries to America, who cannot hope to insinuate themselves under any other but a friendly appearance.

With the greatest regard, &c.

LAFAYETTE.

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ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON TO M. DE LAFAYETTE.

Philadelphia, September 18th, 1782.

You should not, my Dear Sir, have been thus long without hearing from me, had I not persuaded myself, that I should see you before a letter could reach you. I still entertain this hope from a passage in Dr Franklin's letter, but have been in this often disappointed; I will not indulge it longer, so far as to let it arrest my pen.

The Count de Segur delivered me your letters of April. I thank you sincerely for having made him the bearer of them, since you know the eagerness with which I embrace your friends, even without taking into consideration, that merit which makes them so. The Count leaves town for the army today, so that I shall not have the full benefit of your introduction to him till next winter, when I flatter myself you will join our circle. The Prince de Broglio told me last night, that he had a letter from you to me. I expect to see him here this morning.

I cannot help remarking the just estimate you made of the British Ministry. Late events have fully justified it. They are made up of heterogeneous particles, and, as might naturally be expected, they begin to fly off from each other. You have nothing to apprehend from your adopted country. We are immovably fixed in our determination to adhere to our allies, in spite of every endeavor to change our sentiments. I am sorry that I have not leisure to enlarge. My horses wait to carry me to the banks of the Hudson, while I write; let me however inform you of the misfortune that has happened to Chevalier de Latouche; his frigate being pursued by the enemy was run on shore in the Delaware, and is lost. The gentlemen, his passengers, are however happily saved, together with the money and papers. Everything else is lost, and what is most to be lamented, he himself must have fallen into the hands of the enemy. The flag that went to inquire his fate is not yet returned.

The fleet of the Marquis de Vaudreuil has also sustained a loss in the sinking of the Magnifique, in the harbor of Boston. Congress have endeavored to repair this, by presenting the America to his Majesty.

The troops from Virginia have joined those on the Hudson. Our army is in noble order at present; you will be charmed to see our countrymen well dressed, since you used to admire them even in their rags.

I send you the papers for a month back; they contain all our public news, and some particulars worthy your attention.

I am, my Dear Sir, &c.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

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ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON TO M. DE LAFAYETTE.

Philadelphia, November 2d, 1782.

Dear Sir,

The confusion occasioned by the misfortune of the Eagle, and the delay that the gentlemen who saved their baggage experienced in getting here, prevented my receiving your favor of the 25th and 29th of July till the last of September, although I had acknowledged the receipt of the letters, by the same conveyance, much earlier.

Your letter contained so much important matter, that it was laid before Congress, for knowing it would be advantageous to you and place your assiduity and attention to their interests in its strongest point of light. I choose to consider most of yours as public letters; this last was particularly acceptable, as neither Dr Franklin nor Mr Jay had been so explicit, as we had reason to expect. Our system of politics has been so much the same for a long time, tending only to one point, a determination to support the war till we can make peace in conjunction with our allies, that the whole history of our Cabinet amounts to nothing more than a reiteration of the same sentiments in different language; and so plain is our political path, so steadily do we walk in it, that I can add nothing to what I have already written you on that subject.

The events of the campaign are as uninteresting; the inactivity and caution of the enemy have given us leisure to form the finest army this country ever saw, while they conspire to render that army useless for the present. The troops are gone into winter quarters; ours at Fishkill, West Point, and its vicinity; the French as far east as Hartford.

This day we are informed from New York, that fourteen sail of the line, one of forty guns, and seven frigates, sailed from thence on the 26th. We cannot learn that they had troops on board or under convoy.

The Magnifique is lost, I believe without hope of recovery. She will, however, be well replaced by the America, which all accounts concur in calling a fine ship. But unless your fleet is very considerably strengthened in those seas, another campaign may slip away as uselessly as the last; for I see no reason to suppose, while Lord Shelburne is at the head of Administration, that the negotiations for peace will wear a serious aspect. I believe with you, that his royal master is set upon risking everything, rather than acknowledge our independence, and as he possesses the art of seduction in a very eminent degree, it will require more firmness to resist his solicitations, than is generally found among courtiers. I am very much pleased to hear that the siege of Gibraltar is at last undertaken, with some prospects of success. This I sincerely wish. England has found in that single fortress a more powerful ally than any other she could make in Europe. It has for the most part employed the navy of Spain, and cost them five ships of the line.

You need feel no anxiety on the score of an apology for your absence; everybody here attributes it to its true cause, and considers it as a new proof of your attachment to the interests of America.

The papers I send with this will serve to confirm this assertion. I thank you for the acquaintance of the Prince de Broglio and the Count de Segur; they handed me your letters the day I was unfortunately obliged to leave town. They have, however, promised to be here this winter, and to give me an opportunity of consoling myself for your absence by the attention they will enable me to show to those you love. Your brother-in-law is gone I find to the siege of Gibraltar. I beg you to write particularly to remind him of his American friends. He shall hear from me by the first opportunity; in the meanwhile, tell him he will not do justice to our expectations if he neglects to promote the great object, which we discussed together a little before he left this country, foreseeing then that he would ere long be called to Spain. I ought not to conclude this without informing you, that the chair of state is transferred to Mr Boudinot, Mr Hanson's term having expired.

I am, my Dear Sir, &c.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

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TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONGRESS.

Brest, December 3d, 1782.

Dear Sir,

I have the honor to beg the attention of Congress upon a subject, which, though it appears personal, may bring about events of public utility.

On a past voyage I have had the happiness to return with such means as proved useful to the United States, and when I embarked last, I had a leave of absence till such a time as I would think proper.

What has been done respecting former demands of money, has been communicated to Congress. As to the late ones, I leave it to the Ministers of Congress to give an account of those transactions.

I have the heartfelt happiness to think, that I did not leave Versailles until I had, to the utmost, exerted every means in my power; and I wish they had been an aid to promote every view of Congress and every interest of the United States.

The Ministers of Congress in Europe have in former letters acquainted them with the request they made, that I should defer my departure to America. They thought I might serve her in the political field, and I yielded to their opinion.

Now, Sir, that I am going to embark, I have done it by their advice. Upon the voyage, the mode and the time of it, I have taken their opinion, and it has been, that I was acting consistent with the interests of America, and the instructions of General Washington. But I could not submit to think, that any member of Congress, might, from public report, imagine that I enlarge so far their permission, as to follow pursuits, that would not particularly promote the views of America; and as they do not choose being intruded upon with minute details of military plans, let it suffice to say, that I beg leave to refer them to the opinion of General Washington.

With a heart bound to America by every sentiment of a grateful, an everlasting, and, I may add, a patriotic love,

I have the honor to be, &c.

LAFAYETTE.

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ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON TO M. DE LAFAYETTE.

Philadelphia, January 10th, 1783.

Dear Sir,

I was honored by yours of the 14th of October last. It contains much useful information, and upon the whole exhibits a pleasing picture of our affairs in Europe. Here the scene is more chequered with good and evil; the last I think predominates. The want of money has excited very serious discontents in the army. They have formed committees. A very respectable one, with General McDougal at their head, is now here. Their demands, though strictly just, are such as Congress have not the means of satisfying. The states upon whom they call, complain of inability. Peace is wished for with more anxiety than it should be; wearied out with the length of the war, the people will reluctantly submit to the burdens they bore at the beginning of it; in short, peace becomes necessary. If the war continues we shall lean heavier upon France than we have done. If peace is made she must add one obligation more to those she has already imposed. She must enable us to pay off our army; or we may find the reward of her exertions and ours suspended longer than we could wish.

Charleston is at length evacuated; the enemy made a convention with General Greene and were suffered to depart in peace. In one of the papers I send you, you will see the general orders at going off.

The embarkation of your army, before the war in this country had closed, gave me some pain. Their stay might have answered useful political purposes, had they been at hand to operate against New York, which they will not otherwise quit.

Congress saw this in its true light, but were too delicate to mention it; I enclose their resolutions on being apprized of it. You speak of operations in America. I agree with you, that they are devoutly to be wished, both by France and by us; but if they are to depend upon operations in the West Indies, it is ten to one but they fail. The machine is too complex. If it is to be worked in any part by Spanish springs, the chance against it is still greater, for whatever the latter may be in Europe, in the West Indies they lose their elasticity.

The great cause between Connecticut and Pennsylvania has been decided in favor of the latter. It is a singular event. There are few instances of independent States submitting their cause to a Court of Justice. The day will come, when all disputes in the great republic of Europe will be tried in the same way; and America be quoted to exemplify the wisdom of the measure.

Adieu my Dear Sir, continue to love this country, for though she owes you much, she will repay you all with interest, when in ages to come she records you with her patriots and heroes.

I have the honor to be, Dear Sir, with the sincerest esteem and regard, &c.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

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TO WILLIAM CARMICHAEL, AT MADRID.

Cadiz, January 20th, 1783.

Dear Sir,

Your letter of the 14th has this day come to hand. The occasion of it I lament, but it becomes my duty to answer it.

From an early period, I had the happiness to rank among the foremost in the American revolution. In the affection and confidence of the people, I am proud to say, I have a great share. Congress honors me so far as to direct, that I am to be consulted by their European Ministers, which circumstances I do not mention out of vanity, but only to show, that in giving my opinion, I am called upon by dictates of honor and duty, which it becomes me to obey.

The measure being right, it is beneath me to wait for a private opportunity. Public concerns have a great weight with me, but nothing upon earth can intimidate me into selfish considerations. To my opinion you are entitled, and I offer it with the freedom of a heart that ever shall be independent.

To France you owe a great deal; to others you owe nothing. As a Frenchman, whose heart is glowing with patriotism, I enjoy the part France has acted, and the connexion she has made. As an American, I acknowledge the obligation, and in that I think true dignity consists; but dignity forbade our sending abroad political forlorn hopes, and I ever objected to the condescension; the more so, as a French treaty had secured their allies to you; and because America is more likely to receive advances, than to need throwing herself at other people's feet.

The particulars of the negotiation with Spain I do not dwell upon. In my opinion they were wrong, but I may be mistaken. Certain it is, that an exchange of Ministers ought to have been, and now an exchange of powers must be, upon equal footing. What England has done is nothing, either as to the right or the mode. The right consisted in the people's will, the mode depends upon a consciousness of American dignity. But if Spain has hitherto declined to acknowledge what the elder branch of the Bourbons thought honorable to declare, yet will it be too strange, that England ranks before her in the date and the benefits of the acknowledgment.

There are more powers than you know of, who are making advances to America; some of them I have personally received; but you easily guess that no treaty would be so pleasing as the one with Spain. The three natural enemies of Britain should be strongly united. The French alliance is everlasting, but such a treaty between the friends of France is a new tie of confidence and affection. The Spaniards are slow in their motions, but strong in their attachments. From a regard to them, but still more out of regard to France, we must have more patience with them than with any other nation in Europe.

But peace is likely to be made, and how then can the man, who advised against your going at all, propose your remaining at a Court where you are not decently treated? Congress, I hope, and through them the whole nation, do not intend their dignity to be trifled with, and, for my part, I have no inclination to betray the confidence of the American people. I expect peace, and I expect Spain to act by you with propriety; but should they hesitate to treat you as a public servant of the United States, then, however disagreeable the task, Mr Carmichael had better go to Paris where France may stand a mediator, and through that generous common friend, we may come to the wished for connexion with the Court of Spain.

With a high regard and sincere affection, &c.

LAFAYETTE.

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TO ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

Cadiz, February 5th, 1783.

Dear Sir,

On the 7th of December, I had the honor to write to you from Brest, and my letters down to that date have contained accounts of our political affairs. Since which time, I have been taken up in preparations of a plan that would have turned out to the advantage of America; indeed, it exceeded my first expectations, and to my great surprise, the King of Spain had not only consented his forces should co-operate with us, but on the consideration of obtaining a necessary diversion, he had been induced by Count d'Estaing to approve my being detached into Canada with a French force. Nay, had the war continued, I think that, if not for love, at least on political motives, they would have consented to offer pecuniary assistance.

The conditions of the peace I do not dwell upon. I hope they are such as will be agreeable in America. They have no doubt been sent from France, and the part that respects the United States will have been immediately forwarded for their ratification. I do not hope to send you the first tidings of a general peace. Yet I have prevailed upon a small vessel to alter her course, and my own servant is going with the despatches, to prevent either neglect or other accidental delays.

On the moment of my arrival at Cadiz, I began a close correspondence with Mr Carmichael. It at first respected money matters, but soon took a still more important turn. Having been officially asked my advice upon his future conduct, I gave it in a letter, of which the enclosed is a copy. Whatever light my opinion may appear in at Madrid, or elsewhere, I think it is consistent with the dignity of the United States. Now, Sir, while enjoying the hope of being in a few weeks on the American shore, I have a letter from Mr Carmichael, wherein he requests my assistance at Madrid. How far it may serve him I do not know; but since I am thought useful, I shall yield to my zeal for the service of America, I readily give up personal gratifications. On my arrival at Madrid, I shall have the honor to give you my opinion of our situation there. Among the Spaniards we have but few well wishers, and as they, at the bottom, hate cordially the French, our alliance, though a political, is not a sentimental consideration with them. But I wish a settlement of boundaries may remove the more immediate prospects of dispute. It is, I believe, very important to America; the more so, as she became a national ally to France, a national enemy to Britain. But the Spaniards will be forever extravagant in their territorial notions, and very jealous of the increase of American wealth and power. But it is good policy for us to be upon friendly terms with them, and I wish on my return to Paris, that I may carry for Mr Jay some hopes of better success in his Spanish negotiation.

I have just heard that both Floridas were given to Spain. This accounts for Lord Shelburne's condescension in fixing our Southern limits. The people of Florida will, I hope, remove into Georgia. But the Spaniards will insist upon a pretended right to an extent of country all along the left shore of the Mississippi. Not that they mean to occupy it, but because they are afraid of neighbors that have a spirit of liberty. I am sorry those people have the Floridas. But as we cannot help it, we must endeavor to frustrate Lord Shelburne's views, which I presume are bent upon a dispute between Spain and the United States. A day will come, I hope, when Europeans will have little to do on the northern continent; and God grant it may ever be for the happiness of mankind and the propagation of liberty.

On the perusal of my letter to Mr Carmichael, I beg you will remember it is calculated to undergo the inspection of both cabinets at Versailles and Madrid; and to be a proof against the unfriendly connexions of a Spanish Ministry. Be pleased to tell Mr Morris, that I remember his want of money extends further than occasions of war. At the time of my leaving France, I had been made to hope, but do not know for the present what has taken place. On my arrival at Madrid, I will be very attentive to that point, but shall take care to preserve the dignity of the United States, of which I have a proper and exalted sense.

In my determination to go to Madrid, I have consulted with Mr Harrison, a gentleman whose residence at this place enables him to know a great deal about the Spaniards. He has to this moment acted as a consul in this place; so far at least, as to serve his countrymen, and spend his own money; for he has no public character, and what he has done he undertook at Mr Jay's request. There ought, I think, to be a consul at this place, and if the appointment is deferred, several inconveniences will be laid upon the American trade. There is no gentleman, exclusive of what his voluntary services deserve, who could better fill the place than Mr Harrison, and was I to take the freedom to advise, I would warmly recommend him for the appointment.

So far as we know of the Spanish preliminaries, they give up their claim upon having Gibraltar, but keep Mahon, and have the two Floridas. The islands of Providence are returned to England. We hourly expect a French courier. Tobago excepted, they gave up their conquests in the West Indies, and have St Lucia again. Before the vessel is gone I hope to be more particular. As to the American preliminaries, they have long ago been sent to Philadelphia.

While I am writing a French courier is arrived. Enclosed you will find an extract of the preliminaries, such as they are, sent to me. May I beg you will please to communicate my letter to General Washington, though it is a public one, I may ask the favor from you, as I would otherwise have sent him a copy of it.