To James Madison from Captain Armstrong, 21 June 1811
From Captain Armstrong
21 June 1811
Father and brothers
We your brothers and children Send this letter by our grandson and relation, having first talked with him and one of our White brothers, and now desire that you would listen, and accept the good wishes of myself and My chiefs, and of all your children at Green Town.1
Father & brothers
You have often Wished me and my Chiefs to come and See you, as I have been told by my White brothers; We have now thought of doing So, and are ready, and on that account am glad that my grandson and relation has called on me, on his way to See you; and I take this opportunity to Write to you. Now my father and brother We have determined to come and See you With my chiefs and captains, and wish you to send me an answer by my Grandson and relation and hope that you, our father and brother Will provide for us what may be necessary; as we wish to meet with no hindrance on the way, as our White brothers, near me, Say that you will do it; and we would have come and seen you before but did not know how to proceed untill now; and we hope you will send a letter to us by our Grandson and relation that we may know your Mind.2
Thomas Lyons
Wolf
Capt Pipe
Abraham Williams
RC (DNA: RG 107, LRUS, A-1811). Headed “Capt Armstrong chief of the Delawares at Green Town to our great father and brother the president of the U. States.” Cover marked “favd by James Logan”; docketed by a War Department clerk as received 12 July 1811.
1. The letter was probably written from Greenfield, a town in Indiana Territory between the east and the west forks of the White River, where the main body of Delaware Indians had settled after the Revolution (Handbook of North American Indians: Northeast, vol. 15 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant [9 vols. to date; Washington, 1984—], p. 223).
2. JM did not encourage his correspondents. Writing to the Indian agent John Johnston on 21 Sept. 1811, Eustis noted that several Indians from the western regions had wished to visit Washington, but he added that “the general answer has been … that during the winter and while congress is in session, the concerns of the nation will so occupy the mind of the President, that he will not have time to attend to those of the Indians: th⟨e⟩ agent[s] have, therefore, been instructed to postpone the intended visits until the spring of the year or until further advised” (DNA: RG 75, LSIA).