Thomas Jefferson Papers
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To Thomas Jefferson from Robert Smith, 22 November 1804

From Robert Smith

[22 Nov. 1804]

Mem—

We possess already but two gun boats—and in the general Estimate provision is made for the expences of only these two

The costs of the gun Boats cannot yet be accurately ascertained. I am rather inclined to think that each Boat will cost from 5000 to 6000 Dol—The Ship builder in Kentucky asked 9000 Dol—

RS—

RC (DLC); undated; endorsed by TJ as received from the Navy Department on 22 Nov. 1804 and “Gunboats” and so recorded in SJL.

Gallatin’s general Estimate for the 1805 naval expenditures only included the projected expenses for the two gunboats already constructed. On 19 Nov., Joseph H. Nicholson, who headed the House committee tasked with harbor defense, asked TJ how many additional gunboats the administration wanted Congress to approve (Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, Transmitting a Report and Estimates of the Appropriations Which Appear to Be Necessary for the Service of the Year 1805 [Washington, D.C., 1804], 7-8; Nicholson to TJ, 19 Nov.).

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    Jefferson Papers
    Title
    To Thomas Jefferson from Robert Smith, 22 November 1804
    Author
    Smith, Robert
    Recipient
    Jefferson, Thomas
    Date
    22 November 1804

    Reference

    Cite as
    “To Thomas Jefferson from Robert Smith, 22 November 1804,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-45-02-0069. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 45, 11 November 1804 to 8 March 1805, ed. James P. McClure et al. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2021, p. 61.]

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