RC (DLC: Short Papers); incomplete text in the hand of George Taylor, Jr., with complimentary close, signature, and one or two clerical corrections by TJ; endorsed by Short; estimated first four missing pages supplied from Dft (see note 16 below). Dft (DLC); written by TJ ca. 20–22 June 1793 and revised by him at various times down to 30 June 1793; contains numerous emendations, only the most important being noted below. Tr (CtY); in Taylor’s hand; at foot of first page: “To Messrs. Carmichael & Short.” PrC (DLC). Tr (DNA: RG 46, Senate Records, 3d Cong., 1st sess.). Tr (Lb in same, TR). FC (Lb in DNA: RG 59, DCI). Recorded in SJPL. Sent with this letter was a separate list of the enclosures described below entitled “Documents accompanying the letter from the Secy. of State of this day, to Messrs. Carmichael & Short,” dated 30 June 1793 (MS in DLC: Short Papers, in Taylor’s hand, with a line drawn above the last two entries, the second of which is canceled, and bearing a later note at foot of text pertaining to the other: “this latter enclosed in a letter of 12th. July 1793. written in cypher”; PrC in DLC, lacking cancellation of last entry and note at foot of text, but containing later marginal note by Taylor in ink: “these were the sub. of a partr. 1er.”; FC in Lb in DNA: RG 59, DCI, consisting of unrevised list). The last two entries in question were documents TJ received on 2 July 1793 from Edmond Charles Genet pertaining to the opposition of the French government under Louis XVI to American claims to a right of navigation on the Mississippi: “Note sur les principes de l’Espagne relativement à la Navigation du Missisipi” and “Extrait des instructions données au Cte. de Moustier le 30. 7bre. 1787.” After the President, and possibly the Cabinet, considered them on 11 and 12 July 1793, TJ sent only the first one to the American commissioners in Spain (enclosure to TJ’s first Memorandum to George Washington, [11 July 1793]; TJ to Carmichael and Short, 12 July 1793; Washington, Journal description begins Dorothy Twohig, ed., The Journal of the Proceedings of the President, 1793–1797, Charlottesville, 1981 description ends , 191, 194). Enclosures: (1) Josef de Jaudenes and Josef Ignacio de Viar to TJ, 12 and 18 June 1793, and enclosures. (2) John Sullivan to William Brown, Charleston, 24 Sep. 1787, urging Brown to take up land on the Tennessee river in the state of Franklin, as “we will be speedily in possession of New Orleans,” to keep this letter secret, and to reply immediately about his intentions; with subjoined 6 Nov. 1787 attestation by Robert and Gouverneur Morris. (3) Extract of Governor William Blount to Henry Knox, 28 July 1791, enclosing a dependable report by Captain David Smith of Nashville stating that on 22 May 1791 he observed Spaniards under Governor Gayoso’s direction building a fort at Walnut Hills. (4) Extract of Timothy Barnard to Creek Indian Agent James Seagrove, Flints River, 13 July 1792, stating that the Cusseta king accepted his account of Bowles, that the Spanish planned to meet at Pensacola and Mobile with the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Creeks to arm them against Americans, and that despite his efforts to plant doubts about Spanish motives, the Cusseta king asserted that he planned to meet with the Spanish because matters with Georgia could not be settled until toward fall. (5) Extract of Knox to Brigadier General Josiah Harmar, War Office, 16 Oct. 1787, stating that, in consequence of the publication of a letter of 1 Mch. last from John Sullivan to Don Diego de Gardoqui, Congress was ordering Harmar to seize and confine Sullivan if he came into federal territory and to report this to Knox when it happened for Congress’s information and orders. (6) Extract of same to same, 14 Nov. 1787, enclosing a copy of No. 2 and ordering Harmar to prevent any attacks on New Orleans by western settlers as suggested therein. (7) Extract of same to same, 19 Dec. 1787, stating that although a person from Franklin has assured him that there is no plan to attack New Orleans as suggested in No. 2, Harmar should still be on the alert to prevent one, and that western settlers may rely on protection from the union for their legal pursuits. (8) Extract of same to same, 24 Apr. 1788, stating that Harmar had done well to visit Monsieur Cruzat, the Spanish commandant at St. Louis, that he should strive to convince all Spanish officers of American good will toward Spain, and that there seemed to be no foundation to the intelligence about Sullivan’s design on New Orleans, though Harmar should observe the congressional resolves about arresting Sullivan in federal territory. (9) Extract of Knox’s Instructions to Captain Henry Burbeck, 8 Apr. 1790, enjoining him to maintain good relations with the nearby Spanish garrison. (10) Extract of Knox to Seagrove, 29 Apr. 1792, enjoining him to maintain good relations with the Spanish government and interest along the southern border, and to inform the Spanish of any other desperado like Bowles or of any hostile Indian designs against them. (11) Extract of Knox’s Instructions to Major Henry Gaither, 11 Aug. 1792, ordering all officers on the St. Marys river to respect the Spanish officers and government. (12) Extract of Knox’s Instructions to Major General Arthur St. Clair, 21 Mch. 1791, discussing two proclamations designed to prevent Dr. James O’Fallon from raising troops in Kentucky to settle Indian lands purchased by private companies from the state of Georgia in violation of United States treaties, and stating that if this approach failed the federal government was considering the use of military force to deter O’Fallon. (13) Extract of The Turkey to Governor Blount, Turkey Town, 2 Sep. 1792, stating that only the five lower towns of the Cherokees on Big river were determined to go to war with the United States on 8 Sep. 1792, that these towns had been armed by the Spanish, and that even though the Spanish insisted that these arms were to be kept in reserve and not used for war, they were to blame for this situation. (14) Extract of John Thompson to same, Turkey Town, 2 Sep. 1792, stating that the five lower towns of the Cherokees planned to go to war on 8 Sep., that Blount could rely on the Creeks to do their part, and that the Spanish were blameworthy for arming the hostiles, even if they did claim that they gave them the weapons to keep in reserve and not to make war. (15) Extract of Cherokee Indian Agent Leonard D. Shaw to same, 29 Aug. 1792, stating that on 24 Aug. the Creeks killed Mr. Ramsay and a person just arrived from Charleston, that the day before the Creeks came close to killing Moses Price, even though he was accompanied by the Kingfisher and his wife, that it is the Creeks’ “open and avowed intention” to kill every white man they meet, and that all this is attributable to the arming of the Indians by the Spanish. (16) Extract of Information from the Cherokee Red Bird, enclosed in a 15 Sep. 1792 letter of Governor Blount, stating that John Watts had brought home with him from Pensacola seven horseloads of ammunition and accoutrements to equip 200 horsemen, that Watts had been appointed to command the Creeks and Cherokees called to war, and that a Creek council had accepted Watts’s appointment. (17) Extract of Ben James to Governor Blount, Choctaw Nation, 30 June 1792, stating that every white man among the Choctaws must be dependent on the Spanish government, and that Alexander McGillivray’s current visit to New Orleans was good neither for the United States nor the Choctaws. (18) Extract of Information from the Hanging Maw, enclosed in a 7 Oct. 1792 letter of Governor Blount, stating that, based upon information from the reliable half-breed John Boggs, the Creeks were on their way to attack the Cumberland settlement in the Mero District, that they were joined by 100 to 200 Cherokees, among them John Watts, who had been armed by the Spanish, that Richard Findleston and a Frenchman had passed from Pensacola to Cumberland to obtain intelligence of that country, and that the five lower towns of the Cherokees were expelling those wanting peace and welcoming migrants from the upper towns who favor war. (19) Extract of Mr. Wallace’s Report, 15 Dec. 1792, enclosed in a 16 Dec. 1792 letter of Governor Blount, stating that he delivered Blount’s message to the Cherokee towns of Chilhowee and Tallassee warning them to refrain from violence against nearby whites, that the head man of Chilhowee pleaded his inability to prevent the Creeks and the lower towns of the Cherokees from passing through his towns to kill frontiersmen and steal their horses, that Watts had 1,600 men ready to fight in the lower towns, and that the Spanish had offered land and weapons to the head man’s town, even to boys under twelve. (20) Extract of a Conference of Governor Blount, John Sevier, and others with the Cherokees, Knoxville, 26 Dec. 1792, in which the Hanging Maw described how Governor Arturo O’Neill at Pensacola had shown the Hare magazines of ammunition for the Indians, saying they would have plenty and that the Americans, “great rogues,” would give them very little for a high price. (21) Extract of Information given to Governor Blount by James Carey, United States interpreter in the Cherokee nation, Knoxville, 3 Nov. 1792, transmitted in Blount to Knox, 8 Nov. 1792, stating that in May 1792 John Watts had received a letter from Mr. Panton, written at the home of Mr. McDonald, inviting Watts and the Bloody Fellow in Governor O’Neill’s name to bringten packhorses to Pensacola to carry weapons to the Cherokees; that in the same letter Panton also promised to supply goods to the Cherokees; that with McDonald acting as interpreter Panton invited the Little Turkey to Pensacola for the same reason, offered to supply his people with goods much cheaper than before, and assured him that the Creeks had agreed to allow the Spanish to erect a fort at the Alabama fork a mile below McGillivray’s house to store arms and ammunition for the protection of the Creeks and Cherokees; that Watts and the Bloody Fellow visited McDonald, who wrote two letters to O’Neill, one highly recommending Watts and his uncle Talteeske and the other (in the name and at the request of the Bloody Fellow) announcing that the Bloody Fellow, having decided to break with the United States and align with Spain, wanted Watts to return with arms and ammunition from Pensacola and would later visit O’Neill with the Little Turkey and some other chiefs; that Panton dissuaded the Bloody Fellow from appearing before a Cherokee council to report on his negotiations with the federal government in Philadelphia; that at this same June council Spanish influence led the Little Turkey to demand a boundary with the United States at the ridge between the Cumberland and Green rivers; that after his return from Pensacola late in August Watts informed the Cherokees of O’Neill’s promise to arm the Indians in the middle of October at Pensacola with matériel sent by the King of Spain, of O’Neill’s assurances that Spain had no interest in acquiring Indian lands, of O’Neill’s argument that it was a propitious time for the Southern Indians to strike while the United States was at war with the Western Indians, and of O’Neill’s announcement that Spain was going to build a fort at the Alabama forks with Creek consent and would build a magazine for the Cherokees at Wills Town; and that in consequence of Watts’s overtures the Creeks had decided to send some warriors to Pensacola to acquire arms and others to James Seagrove at Rock Landing to obtain as many presents as possible until the Creeks were ready for war. (22) Extract of James Seagrove to George Washington, Rock Landing, 5 July 1792, stating that the account of the Spanish officer mentioned in No. 23—a Frenchman named Captain Olivier who had been appointed by Baron de Carondelet to succeed McGillivray, with his support, as Spanish agent to the Creeks—was untrustworthy; that during McGillivray’s current visit to New Orleans Olivier forbade the Creeks to run a boundary line with Georgia and sell land to, or have anything to do with, the United States, furnished them with goods and ammunition, and urged them to treat with the Spanish at Pensacola; that the Creeks believed the Spanish would seek permission at the Pensacola conference to build forts and establish garrisons in their lands; that the Spanish are playing a double game with William Augustus Bowles in regard to the United States, having treated him leniently and dispatched him to Spain; that McGillivray is unfaithful to the United States and has probably withdrawn to the Spanish so that Olivier can lead active Creek opposition to it; and that McGillivray’s evasions with Seagrove and the Secretary of War about carrying out the Treaty of New York apparently resulted from the influence of his Spanish and English friends, and not from Indian opposition to it. (23) Alexander McGillivray to Seagrove, Upper Creeks, Little Tallassee, 18 May 1792, stating that his efforts to carry out the Treaty of New York were frustrated by the appearance among the Creeks of Bowles, who before his arrest by the Spanish promised British aid and encouraged a majority of the towns to oppose ceding more than the east side of the Oconee river to Georgia, of Indians from New Orleans, and of a Spanish officer who tells the Creeks that he is under orders to prevent them from running a line or dealing with the Americans and who invites them to a meeting at Pensacola in September; that the Indians are distracted, being tampered with on every side, and he is “in the situation of a Keeper of Bedlam and nearly fit for an Inhabitant”; that Randall has been sent to the Cusseta chiefs with a talk urging them to run the line, though their compliance is doubtful; and that to avoid a horrid war the Indians should not be asked for more land cessions at present. (24) Extract of Seagrove to Washington, 27 July 1792, stating that the Spanish were conspiring to involve the four Southern Indian nations in a war with the United States, and enclosing the sworn testimony of James Leonard, a respectable citizen of Massachusetts new to this country, attesting to the new perfidy of Spain and the unfaithfulness of McGillivray. (25) Message from Knox to the Chickasaws, 27 Apr. 1793, stating that the President was aware of their great need for arms, ammunition, and corn; that the President commended the way of peace to them; and that the United States was about to negotiate for peace with the hostile Western Indians but was ready to go to war with them if negotiations failed (PrCs of Trs in DLC: TJ Papers, 89: 15410–14, 96: 16505–16, 16532–40, 16517–31, 16541–2, in various clerical hands, with attestations by John Stagg, Jr., chief clerk of the War Department; Trs in Lb in DNA: RG 59, DCI). Enclosed in TJ to Thomas Pinckney, 11 Sep. 1793.

TJ’s letter reflected the growing crisis in Spanish-American relations resulting from the efforts of Francisco Luis Hector, Baron de Carondelet, the governor of Louisiana and West Florida, to halt further American expansion in the southwest through the formation of a confederation of Southern Indian tribes under Spanish auspices (Bemis, Pinckney’s Treaty description begins Samuel Flagg Bemis, Pinckney’s Treaty: America’s Advantage from Europe’s Distress, 1783–1800, rev. ed., New Haven, 1960 description ends , 174–85; and Whitaker, Frontier description begins Arthur P. Whitaker, The Spanish-American Frontier: 1783–1795, Boston, 1927 description ends , 153–6, 163–70). It was specifically occasioned by a letter of 18 June 1793 from the agents of the Spanish government in Philadelphia warning of the possibility of war between Spain and the United States because of allegedly hostile American interference with these tribes. In response to this communication, the President and the Cabinet met two days later, when the agents’ letter was read and the Cabinet decided that TJ should prepare a full statement of American relations with the Southern Indians and the Spanish for Carmichael and Short to transmit to the Spanish court. Meeting again on 22 June, they approved “with some alterations” the text of such a statement, presumably the draft of the letter above (as well as TJ’s brief reply to the Spanish representatives of 11 July). Thereafter, judging from its 30 June 1793 dateline, TJ evidently continued to work on the draft until it was ready for his chief clerk to copy on that date. TJ waited for the President to return to Philadelphia from Mount Vernon on 11 July before entrusting the dispatch and its enclosures on the following day to a special messenger to Madrid, but there is no evidence that he showed the final text of the letter to Washington or the Cabinet (Jaudenes and Viar to TJ, 18 June 1793; Cabinet Opinion on Relations with Spain and Great Britain, 20 June 1793; TJ to Viar and Jaudenes, 11 July 1793; TJ to James Blake, 12 July 1793; Washington, Journal description begins Dorothy Twohig, ed., The Journal of the Proceedings of the President, 1793–1797, Charlottesville, 1981 description ends , 183, 186–7, 190–1, 194–6). For the reception of TJ’s letter in Spain, see Bemis, Pinckney’s Treaty description begins Samuel Flagg Bemis, Pinckney’s Treaty: America’s Advantage from Europe’s Distress, 1783–1800, rev. ed., New Haven, 1960 description ends , 187–90.

The 1790 Treaty of New York was the agreement the Creeks negotiated at the seat of the General Government (ASP description begins American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, of the Congress of the United States, Washington, D.C., Gales & Seaton, 1832–61, 38 vols. description ends , Indian Affairs, i, 81–2). In conjunction with his efforts to create an independent Creek-Cherokee state under his leadership and in alliance with Great Britain, the flamboyant adventurer William Augustus Bowles, a loyalist from Maryland and a half-pay British officer who became a Creek chief after the American Revolution, had incited tribal opposition to this treaty during his stay among the Creeks in 1791–92. Although Bowles was not an official agent of the British government, unofficially his enterprise enjoyed the support of Lord Grenville, the British foreign minister, and Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of the Bahamas. Early in 1792 Bowles was arrested by Spanish officials in Florida, who feared that his projected Indian state threatened Spain’s position in the region. Despite his subsequent efforts to convince Carondelet and Luis de Las Casas, the governor of Cuba, that his plan was actually consistent with Spanish interest in creating an Indian buffer between the United States and their American empire, soon thereafter Bowles was sent to Spain, where he was currently being held as a political prisoner (Coker and Watson, Indian Traders, 148–56; J. Leitch Wright, Jr., William Augustus Bowles: Director General of the Creek Nation [Athens, Ga., 1967], 3–18, 27–8, 37–8, 52–80).

TJ’s letter to Carmichael and Short of 14 Oct. 1792 was the former occasion when he informed them of Henry Knox’s instruction to Creek Indian agent James Seagrove to preserve peace between these Indians and the Spanish, though at that time he did not actually enclose a copy of Knox’s letter to this effect. Ecores Amargas: Ecores à Margot, or Chickasaw Bluffs, a site on the Mississippi river at modern-day Memphis, Tennessee, that Carondelet himself was actually planning to fortify in order to prevent American settlement in the area and on which he had a fort erected in 1795 to foil the settlement plans of one of the Yazoo land speculation companies (Whitaker, Spanish-American Frontier, 214–16; Coker and Watson, Indian Traders description begins William S. Coker and Thomas D. Watson, Indian Traders of the Southeastern Spanish Borderlands: Panton, Leslie & Company and John Forbes & Company, 1783–1847, Pensacola, 1986 description ends , 171–2, 175, 181). For the Washington administration’s opposition to the South Carolina Yazoo Company—the large association of our citizens which sought to create an independent state in Choctaw country on the basis of a land grant from Georgia and with Spanish support—see John C. Parish, “The Intrigues of Doctor James O’Fallon,” MVHR description begins Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 1914–64 description ends , xvii (1930), 238–56. The Spanish claim to some parts of that country is discussed in Bemis, Pinckney’s Treaty description begins Samuel Flagg Bemis, Pinckney’s Treaty: America’s Advantage from Europe’s Distress, 1783–1800, rev. ed., New Haven, 1960 description ends , 41–5.