To Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Law, 28 July 1804
From Thomas Law
Washington July 28. 1804.
Sir.
As the enclosed replies of Mr. Snodgrass to questions on naval architecture confirm your sentiments of the propriety of covering the frigates from Sun & rain, I take the liberty of enclosing them for your perusal.
I remain With respect Your most Obedt. Humble Servant.
Thomas Law.
RC (DLC); endorsed by TJ as received 2 Aug. and so recorded in SJL. Enclosure not found, but see below.
Gabriel Snodgrass, the late Surveyor of the British East India Company, recommended in 1795 that the British government construct ships under cover, “by which means the ships would last from eighteen to twenty years, instead of only eleven years and three quarters, which is said by the Navy Board to be the average duration of ships of the present Navy” (Naval Chronicle, 5 [1801], 130).