The Writings of Samuel Adams Volume IV Part 4

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILADE July -- 1778

MY DEAR SIR

Capt Manley1 has obligd me with your favor of the 5th. He and McNeil are both here with different Views. The one to obtain another Ship, and the other to get the Sentence of the Court Martial by which he is censurd & broke, reversd. Perhaps both may be disappointed. I have receivd a Number of Letters by both. One from you. To this I shall pay a very particular Regard, because I am well satisfied you never suffer Prejudices to divert your Attention from the great object--the publick Good. "Manly is a blunt, honest and I believe brave officer.' I observe your Caution; and I admire it because I think it is a proof of your Integrity. Manlys Bravery is an Article of your Beliefe. His Bluntness& Honesty, of Certainty. I have not yet lookd into the Papers; but I recollect, when they were read in Congress, to have heard the Want of Experience imputed to him, and some thing that had the Appearance of blameing him for not giving out any Signals for the Direction of the Ships under his Command. This it must be ownd, strongly implys the Want if not the total Absense of Discretion. Now I would ask my Friend, whether the Character of a blunt & honest officer ent.i.tles him to the Command of one of our Capital Ships if he is "deficient in point of Experience & Discretion." The Characteristick of a Sailor is the blunt honest Tar. They carry this Character to an inimitable Height. But surely every honest blunt or even brave Tar is not fit for Command in our Navy. I some times fear there was an Error in the beginning. Thus much for Manly. "His Address (viz Mc Neils) is insinuating. His a.s.surance great. He may tell you fine Storys" &c. How contemptible does he appear. I should think he had taken a Lesson from Hutchinsons political Book, if I had not Reason to believe that he used to despise him most heartily. But I advert to a Letter from another of my Friends to whose upright opinions I have always given Weight; there I find "He is open & sincere'' Synonimous Terms with blunt & honest. "His Temper is naturally warm which he has sometimes indulgd in speaking his Mind freely of Persons in office"--This you know has always been deemd an unpardonable Sin, and I am affraid it always will be. To be sure it always will be so deemd by that Kind of Men in office who meet with none to hinder them from persisting in the most expensive Blunders but the open sincere and warm Friends of our Country. I am warrented in supposing this Character belongs to Capt Mc Neil, because my worthy Correspondent in whose Veracity & Judgment I have before told you I place a Confidence, has affirmd to me, that he knows his Sufferings for our glorious Cause. Has not Mc Neil struck upon this Rock? It is possible he has. Says my friendly Correspondent "We all know his Zeal & Sufferings for our glorious Cause." Such a Character commands my Friendship; but it has no Consideration in the present Appeal. Has he had a fair Trial? I pay a proper Regard to the Decisions of a Court martial, & shall not give my Vote for altering them in any Instance but when Error Fraud or partiality shall appear plainly to my own Satisfaction.

Our Navy officers must not expect to pick & chuse for themselves. They ought to be content with the Appointments given to them. It is true Appointments should be made with more Discretion than I think they can be by any Men at three or four hundred Miles Distance. For this Reason I moved that they should be made by the Navy Board, which obtaind in a certain Degree as you have seen or will see by a Letter from the Marine Committee. Had this been the Case before Olney would have remaind in the , Resistance & Bush must have waited for another. If the Queen of France is a better Vessel it will turn out not to the Disadvantage of Olney. While we have more officers in Commission than Ships, there must be Disappointments, Envy, & Suspicions (oftentimes unreasonable) of each other. This is the Make of Man, and we may as well think of stopping the Tide as altering it. The Appointment of Landais affords an ample Subject for the Observations of Speculatists and the Resentment of Navy officers. I think he is, as you observe an ingenuous & well behaved Man, and if he is an able & experiencd officer, as we are a.s.sured he is by those whose Duty it is to give us the best Intelligence, it is a pity that two very good Lieutenants shd have the Ship & the Service on that account. I hope others may be found to fill their places. "It is an opinion that I was Landais' chief Patron." On this occasion you discover your self, as you are disposd to do on every occasion, partial in my favor. If I was in any Degree instrumental in promoting Capt Landais, it was because I really thought he would be of eminent Use to our Navy. And I question whether it would not have been thought a well judgd Appointment, if there had not been a fanciful Predilection in favor of Another. Even the Name of the Ship may have given Disgust to some Men. I hope when Manly is provided with such a Ship as will please him the Difficulties or Obstructions in the Way of getting the Alliance manned will be removd. I am very sure your Exertions will not be wanting to promote the Service.

Adieu,

1 Recently of the Ship Hanc.o.c.k. The record of his court martial was laid before the Continental Congress on August 5, and ordered to be referred to the Marine Committee for filing among its papers.

TO JAMES WARREN.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILADA July 1778

MY DEAR SIR/

It is but seldom I can find Leisure to write a long Letter. You must excuse me if I give you my Thoughts as I am able to recollect and adjust them into any Order. I find -------- to be an excellent Member of Congress.

He is a thorough and zealous Republican, and an able Supporter of the publick Liberty. I am satisfied it would be for the great Benefit of our Country, if you and he were to form an intimate Connection with each other. This I am very desirous of, because I have no Idea of your being long secluded from the publick Councils. He will go home shortly.

I have not yet answerd your Letters of the 26th and 28th of June. I am in Pain about the Ship in your Harbour. Her Owners neglect to put her into Repair, and I fear a great Number of her Officers and Crew for Want of Skill or Experience will be at a LOSS what to do with her if she meets with a Storm. What a Pity is it, that an honest old Pilot has lately been dischargd, who used to steer successfully through Rocks & Quick sands! And that he should suffer this hard Usage, only because, unknown to him one who was a hearty Well wisher to the Voyage, and was anxious that Capacity & Merit might always govern Promotions, had vent.u.r.d to declare him the fittest Man to take the Command. Ambition, or rather Vanity, and Avarice--an insatiable Thirst for Places and Preferment, without Ability or Intention to fulfil the Duties of them, tends to the Ruin of any Country, and if not eradicated, will soon effect it. It would be the Glory of this Age, to find Men having no ruling Pa.s.sion but the Love of their Country, and ready to render her the most arduous and important Services with the Hope of no other Reward in this Life than the Esteem of their virtuous Fellow Citizens.

But this, some tell us, is expecting more than it is in the Power of human Nature to give. Be it as it may. There are some Men to whom the publick Confidence most certainly ought to be refused. I mean those who in perilous Times have never dared to avow the publick Sentiments.

Last Sat.u.r.day1 Congress recd another Letter from the British Commissioners. You have it inclosd with a short Resolution2 in Consequence of it. This shuts the Door until they will be pleased to open it. Governor Johnstone has acted so base a part as to hint the offer of Bribes not only to the President but every other Member of Congress, as you will see by the Inclosd Letter to Mr R. Morris. By this he has in my opinion forfeited the Character of an honest Man & justly exposd himself to Contempt. I hope some Strictures will be made in the Newspapers on this as well as the disrespectful & even insolent Language in the Commissioners Letter, not so proper to be noticed by Congress. I am a.s.sured that a Bribe of 10,000 Guineas has been offerd to a Gentleman of Station & Character here. He refusd it as you might suppose with suitable Resentment, telling the Lady who negociated this dirty Business, that the British King was not rich enough to purchase him.

Mr D3 of whom I may perhaps hereafter have much to say to you is arrivd with the Sieur Gerard. I have long ago formed my opinion of the American Commissioner & have not yet alterd it. That of the french Minister is, a sensible prudent Man, not wanting in political Finesse & therefore not to be listned to too implicitly. The french Squadron lies off Sandy Hook. I have inclosd the Names & Rates of the ships together with the Spanish Ships in N York as deliverd to us by a Prisoner lately escaped from thence. Their Force bears no proportion to each other. The Question in my Mind is whether the french Admiral will risque his large Ships to be workd, as they must be in an Engagement, in the Narrows --the Width of the Channel is and its Depth at low Water. I am told that this is a favorite Expedition of Count d'Estaing himself, proposd by him & not Mr D, to the french Court, and that his Reputation as a Politician as well as an Admiral is at Stake. From the Character I have recd of him, I make no Doubt he will answer the highest reasonable Expectations of the King his Master and of America. Mr Ds political Friends, some of whom I suppose are in Boston, are disposd to give him great Eclat on Account of the Aid afforded us in sending this Squadron. His interest with the french Ministry is represented as very forceable in procuring it and the Newspapers mention the favors conferd on him even by the King himself. The Truth as I conceive it is, the total overthrow of Burgoyns Army was an Event which it was thought would produce Overtures from Britain, and France was apprehensive of our listening to Terms & compromising Matters. Hence it was, more than from any other Cause or the Interest of any Individual that a Treaty was facilitated & agreed to and to secure us in their Alliance & support us in sending this Squadron, and the Purpose of M Gerards Mission. We are informd that Eleven Sail of Merchantmen & a Frigate have fallen into his Hands.

I have declind answering your Letter of the 26 of June till I could a.s.sure you that the Sum you wishd for was granted for the Use of your Department. I now have the Pleasure of informing you that it will be orderd as soon as it arrives from York Town. It is every hour expected.

The Marine Committee have agreed that the Navy Board shall appoint Commanders for Vessels of War under Twenty Guns.

1 July 18; the letter was dated July 11.

2 "That no answer be given to the letter of the nth instant from the British commissioners."

3 Silas Deane; Congress on July 11 was notified by him of his arrival on the Languedoc.

TO SAMUEL PHILLIPS SAVAGE.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILAD Augt 11 -78

MY DEAR FRIEND

I yesterday had the pleasure of receiving your favor by the post, covering the News papers and a Letter, as you emphatically express it, "from one of my closest Friends"; for all which I thank you most heartily.

You ask me what occasiond the very sudden return of Mr H.----1. I answer in his own Word to me, His own Want of Health & the dangerous Illness of his Lady. You say he arrivd quite unexpected--you must surely be mistaken; for he publickly said he had Leave of Absence from his Const.i.tuents.

You add, various are the Conjectures for the true Cause. It is the Lot of a great Man to have every Movement he makes critically scanned, and the strangest Constructions are oftentimes put upon those parts of his Conduct which may be most easily explaind. You have so many Twistings in your Typography and my Eyes are grown so dim with Age that I cannot well discover whether you inform me that his Friends say the Air or Airs of Philadelphia doth not suit him; though I must conclude the former from your usual Correctness in Grammar, for there is an evident false Concord in admitting the latter. Pray let me know whether the News Papers have not done him Injustice in announcing that he made his Entrance into Boston on Sunday. I should think they had; for a well bred Man will carefully avoid counteracting the vulgar Prejudices or injuring the Feelings of the People where he may happen to be.

I congratulate you on the present happy Appearance of our publick Affairs, & joyn with you in Praying that Heaven may still prosper them.

I shall take it as a favor if you will deliver the inclosd Ma.n.u.script, without suffering a Copy to be taken, to Mrs A. I told her, I would send it to her as being not an unfit Subject for female Inspection & Criticism.

I am very affectionately,

Yours,

1 Hanc.o.c.k; cf. page 41.

TO PETER THACHER.1

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILAD Augt 11 -78

MY DEAR SIR

I am quite ashamd that I have not yet acknowledgd the two Letters which I have had the Pleasure of receiving from you since I left Boston; you will excuse me when I tell you, I have many Letters, which are daily acc.u.mulating, unanswerd, and very little Leisure. This by the Way, must convince you how unfit a Person I am even if I were otherwise qualified, to undertake the important Task you require of me in your last. While I am giving you the true Reason of my Silence, I hope it will not prevent your writing to me by every opportunity. Herein you will lay me under great obligations.

By the late Publications, you have seen, and doubtless have made your own Comments on the epistolary Correspondence between the British Commissioners & Congress. The short Resolution on their last Letter, has put an End to it. Last Week the Minister from France had an Audience in Congress. The Manner of conducting this Ceremony, together with a Letter from his most Christian Majesty and the Speeches of the Minister and the President are publishd in the inclosd News Paper. I have had several opportunitys of seeing him at his own House, and a few days ago he made a Visit to the Delegates of the Ma.s.sachusetts who live together. He is easy and polite in his Manners and converses freely without much Ceremony.

Nothing can equal the barefaced Falshood of the Quakers & Tories in this City, unless perhaps their Folly, in giving out that M. Gerard does not come in the Character of a publick Minister, but only to obtain Pay for the Stores we have receivd from that Country. These Quakers are in general a sly artful People, not altogether dest.i.tute, as I conceive, of worldly Views in their religious Profession. They carefully educate their Children in their own contracted Opinions and Manners, and I dare say they have in their Hearts as perfect a System of Uniformity of Worship in their Way, and are busily employd about spiritual Domination as ever Laud himself was, but having upon professed Principles renouncd the Use of the carnal Weapon, they cannot consistently practice the too common Method made use of in former times, of dragooning Men into sound Beliefe. One might submit to their own inward Feelings, whether they do not now & then secretly wish for fire from Heaven in support of their Cause, in order to bring them upon a footing with. those whose Consciences dictate the kindling fires on Earth for the pious Purpose of convincing Gainsayers, and who keep the Sword in their Hands to enforce it. He who in the Spirit of the Apostle professes to wish Peace to all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ in Sincerity, must discover an unmortified Pride & a Want of Christian Charity to destroy the peace of others who profess to have that sincere Affection to the Common Master, because they differ from him in Matters of mere opinion. But the Post is just going. I must therefore conclude with a.s.suring you that I am affectionately,

Yours,

1 A clergyman, of Maiden, Ma.s.s.

TO JAMES WARREN.

[MS., Samuel Adams Papers, Lenox Library.]

PHILAD Sept 1 -78

MY DEAR SIR