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LOT #42070 |
Starting Bid: $15,000
John Adams Letter Signed...
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Description
John Adams Discusses the Expansion of the Army During the Quasi-War with France: "At present there is no more prospect of seeing a French army here, than there is in Heaven"
John Adams Letter Signed ("John Adams"). Three pages
of a bifolium, 7 7/8 x 9 7/8 inches; Quincy; October 22, 1798.
Docketed on the verso.Writing to Secretary of War James McHenry during the Quasi-War with France, Adams discusses the fortification of the U. S. Army and the newly created Department of the Navy. He had only recently appointed Washington the commander of the army, a position the sixty-six-year-old former President begrudgingly accepted under the condition that he be permitted to appoint his own subordinates. At the same time, Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists were pressing Congress to expand the size of the army in preparation for full-scale war with France. This letter finds Adams in the midst of addressing the mounting crisis. Adams writes, in full:
"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 on the opinion of General Washington should not take place, I would confirm his judgement, 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. Mrs. Adam'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 a 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 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 office of State, of Treasury and of the Navy and I will sign them without loss of time.
As to the recruiting service, I wonder whether there has been any enthusiasm, which would induce men of common sense to inlist for five dollars a month, who could have fifteen when they please by sea or for common work at land? I have no attachment to one, more than another of the candidates for appointment. 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, Navy, and Attorney general, if convenient, see the list, that if they have any objection they may mention it or any idea to suggest, they may propose it.
There has been no rational plan that I have seen as yet formed for the maintenance of the army. One thing I know, that regiments are costly articles every where and more so in this country than in 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.
I am Sir your most obedient
John Adams."
With France at war with England following the French Revolution, Adams' administration faced mounting pressure to join a side in the conflict. Public opinion remained with America's Revolutionary ally, while Hamilton and the Federalists supported the British. Adams wanted to continue Washington's policy of staying out of the war, but because of the Jay Treaty, the French saw America as Britain's junior partner and began seizing American merchant ships that were trading with the British. America, still wanting to avoid an actual declaration of war, responded by pursuing a strategy whereby America harassed French ships in an effort to stem the French assaults-thus beginning the Quasi-War in the summer of 1798.
By October, fears that this conflict would break out into war were rising. Adams, however, was skeptical; he openly questions the practicality of recruiting soldiers at low wages in a thriving wartime economy and emphasizes the enormous cost of maintaining an army without any real evidence that the troops would see combat. In June, he had appointed Washington head of the army in the hopes that the experienced general would quell the Federalists' desire for escalation. Instead, in late September, Washington threatened to resign if Hamilton was not made his second-in-command. Backed into a political corner and worried about Abigail Adams' poor health, Adams capitulated, though with bitter resentment as evidenced in the tone of this letter.
A compelling and candid presidential letter that offers a revealing window into Adams' decision-making during the most important diplomatic crisis of his administration.
Condition: In overall very fine condition, the paper lightly toned with standard folds commensurate with age. An adhesive strip affixed along right edge of all pages, resulting in minor staining; mounting strip at right edge on verso. Very small separation at the bottom of the integral fold.
References: "From John Adams to James McHenry, 22 October 1798," Founders Online, National Archives.
Auction Info
2026 June 19 The John H. Freund Americana Collection Signature® Auction #6331 (go to Auction Home page)
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