From Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 20 July 1800
To James Madison
Monticello July 20. 1800.
Th:J. to J. Madison
Since you were here I have had time to turn to my accounts, and among others undertook to state the one with you: but was soon brought to a non-plus, by observing that I had made an entry Aug. 23. 99. of nails delivered for you, but left the particulars & amount blank till mr Richardson should give them in to me. whether he omitted this, or I to enter them I cannot tell, nor have either of us the least recollection what they were. I am in hopes I may have sent you a bill of them, as I generally do if I see the messenger before departure. but sometimes I omit this. at any rate I am in hopes that either from the bill or the recollections of those who used them you may be able to fill up the blank in the inclosed account, conjecturally at least. I recieved from Mr. Barnes in Jan. a credit of 69.23 D on your account. not having the amount of nails, I could not tell what I ought to have recieved, but I remember that my idea at the time was that it must be a good deal more than you owed me, & that of course there would be a balance to return you: this shall be instantly done on recieving either your statement or conjecture of the amount, which I pray you to do.
I see in Gale’s paper of July 8. an account of the 4th. of July as celebrated at Raleigh. the Governor presided at the dinner. among the toasts were the following. the U.S. may they continue free, sovern. & indepdt. not influenced by foreign intrigue, nor distracted by internal convulsions. the Pres. of the US. may his countrymen rightly appreciate his distinguished virtue patriotism, & firmness. the V.P. of the US. the militia of the US. may the valor of the souldier be combined with the virtue of the citizen. the Navy of the US. the benifits which have arisen from it’s infant efforts is a just presage of it’s future greatness & usefulness. the freedom of the press without licentiousness. the friends of religion & order. may they always triumph over the supporters of infidelity & confusion. & c my respects to mrs. Madison. Adieu affectionately
| James Madison to Th: Jefferson for nails | Dr. | |||
| £ s d | ||||
| 1799. July 25. to | 23 ℔ IVs. |  |
@ 14½ d | 1– 9– 0 |
| 1. ℔ inch brads | ||||
| 500. 1½ I. brads @ 12½ d pr. ℔ | 3– 8 | |||
| 26. ℔ Xs. @ 11½ d | 1– 4– 11 | |||
| 35. ℔ XVId. brads @ 10½ d | 1–10– 7½ | |||
| Aug. 23. to | ||||
| Cr. | ||||
| 1800. Jan. 28. By credit with J. Barnes 69.23 D = | £20–15–5 | |||
RC (DLC: Madison Papers); addressed: “James Madison junr. Orange”; nail account written by TJ on verso of cover. PrC (DLC); lacks second page; endorsed by TJ in ink on verso.
For TJ’s blank entry of nails delivered to Madison, see Nailery Account Book, 1796–1800 at CLU-C.
Joseph Gales, a native Englishman who had settled in Philadelphia in 1795, established in North Carolina the Republican Raleigh Register, and North-Carolina Weekly Advertiser to counter Federalist sentiment in the state and to be a rival publication to William Boylan’s Minerva. Gale’s paper first appeared with the 22 Oct. 1799 issue and after the General Assembly awarded him the public printing contract, its title changed to the Raleigh Register, and North-Carolina State Gazette on 25 Nov. 1800. TJ paid for a year’s subscription to the Raleigh Register on 15 May (Robert Neal Elliott, Jr., The Raleigh Register, 1799–1863 [Chapel Hill, N.C., 1955], v, 20–1, 25; , 2:774–5; , 104–6; , 2:1019).
The 8 July 1800 issue of the Raleigh Register gave a local account of the 4th. of July. The festival, announced by a cannon charge, featured a gathering of about sixty citizens at Captain Rogers’s spring. Governor Benjamin Williams and Colonel Polk presided for a reading of the Declaration of Independence, a dinner, and a series of sixteen toasts interspersed with patriotic songs and more cannon charges. Other toasts listed but not mentioned in TJ’s letter above included: to the auspicious Fourth of July, to the memory of George Washington, to both houses of Congress, to agriculture and commerce, to envoys Davie, Ellsworth, and Murray, to the state of North Carolina, to the University of North Carolina, and to the American fair “may their smiles excite deeds of valor in the youth of their country.” The evening concluded as the group gathered at the state house “to meet the ladies of the city, where an elegant collation was provided, and ‘the mazy dance’ succeeded to the ‘flowing bowl.’”
A credit of 69.23 D: see , 17:407.
A letter from Madison to TJ, dated 18 June and received on 24 June 1800, is recorded in SJL but has not been found.