To George Washington from Elbridge Gerry, 7 February 1781
From Elbridge Gerry
Boston Feby 7. 1781
Dear sir,
Having lately seen an intercepted Letter of the 20th of November last, written by Mr Lovell, & published in Rivingtons Gazette, I wish to be indulged on making a few Observations on the Subject.1
When General Knox was here, he informed me, that the paragraph of the Letter which respected a person’s being “popular,” was supposed by some to refer to your Excellency;2 but the Date of the Letter from whence Mr Lovell’s quotation was made, being a few Days after the general Election of this Commonwealth, must, I think, convince every attentive Reader, that the paragraph related to a civil officer who was then elected.3 this will more fully appear to every person acquainted with the Circumstances of the Election itself, the Popularity of the officer mentioned, & the Preference I publickly gave to his Competitor.4 If however I could conceive, that your Excellency veiwed the paragraph in the Light first mentioned, I would desire Mr Lovell, as I have not a Copy of my Letter to him, to send You the original; but should be exceedingly mortified to find, that any Transaction of mine had produced in your Excellency’s Mind, a Doubt of my Friendship towards You.5
Mr Lovell promised in a former Letter to send me a curious Motion, made by a Gentleman lately from the Army, whom I then supposed to be General Sullivan, but no Mention was made of the purport of the Motion, or that it respected Your Excellency.6
The paragraph in Mr Lovell’s Letter subsequent to the Motion, is so enigmatical, that I have no Idea of his Intention, whether favorable or not.7 indeed, I have no Reason to suppose the latter from his former Conduct, which has ever appeared to me both friendly & respectful to your Excellency; but admitting that he has otherwise expressed himself in the intercepted Letter, surely, the Direction of it to a person unacquainted with the Contents, should not infer a Suspicion of his Want of Friendship for your Excellency. And here a question may arise, whether it is inconsistent with Friendship to receive a confidential Letter, containing Strictures on the Conduct of a Friend? the person in this Case who receives the Letter, is in a delicate Situation; for by rejecting the Letter, he looses one Friend, by receiving it, may disaffect the other. Is it not the most eligible Mode of Conduct, under such unfortunate Circumstances, to hear confidentially what one Friend has to say again[s]t another, & to endeavour to cure the Animosity by a candid Consideration & State of the Facts? I must confess, that this has been my practice, & it has frequently afforded me an opportunity of restoring the Confidence of contending parties. if nevertheless, any Person however friendly, to me, was publickly to reflect on the Character of another Friend, I should think it my Duty as publickly to resent such Conduct.
I have been thus explicit on the Subject because I should be exceedingly unhappy to find, that the intercepted Letter had produced in your Excellency’s Mind any unfavorable Sentiments respecting myself; but should this be the Case, I shall still continue to enjoy that disinterested Friendship & Respect, and that affectionate Regard, which I have ever entertained for your Excellency.8 I remain sir with every Sentiment of Friendship & Esteem you[r] most obd. & very hume sert
E. Gerry
ALS, docketed by GW, PHi: Gratz Collection; ADfS, docketed by Gerry, DLC:GW.
1. For this letter from Massachusetts delegate James Lovell to Gerry of 20 Nov. 1780, see , 16:363–66. The letter, along with others from New England delegates, was intercepted by the British and subsequently published in James Rivington’s Royal Gazette (see the source note to John Sullivan to Meshech Weare, 15 Nov., in , 16:338–41).
2. For Brig. Gen. Henry Knox’s mission to the New England states, see GW to Knox, 7 Jan. 1781.
3. Gerry refers to Massachusetts governor John Hancock.
4. Gerry most likely refers to James Bowdoin, Hancock’s chief opponent in the election.
5. Referring to Hancock, Gerry had used the word “popular” in a letter to Lovell that had prompted Lovell’s reply of 20 Nov. 1780 (see n.1 above).
6. In his letter to Gerry of 5 Sept., Lovell had promised to give Gerry “a most scandalous Motion the product of Camp Education of some of our Members, the next Time I write” (, 16:20–21). As he made clear in his letter to Gerry of 20 Nov., Lovell was referring to a motion put forward in Congress by John Mathews, who had been a member of Congress’s committee at headquarters, to grant GW large powers to raise men for a 25,000-man army and to procure arms, ammunition, clothing, and provisions (see n.1 above; see also Mathews to GW, 15 Sept., and n.6 to that document).
7. Immediately after quoting the above motion in his letter to Gerry of 20 Nov., Lovell wrote: “I will endeavor to get some Decency for Genl. W——if it is only plump Denial of Justice.” Lovell, though, had been referring to James Warren, not GW (see n.6 to Lovell to Gerry, 20 Nov. 1780, in , 16:366).