To John Jay from Silas Talbot, 4 June 1781
From Silas Talbot1
Mill Prison Plymouth June 4th 1781
Sir
Your Excellency will find by the date hereof that it comes from a prisoner, and which is the cause of my present address, theirfore on the Confidence of your favour, beg leave to inform you, that in October last being then in, and having the Command, of the Arm’d Ship of war, called the Genl. Washington, in which Vessel had the Misfortune to be Captured by his Brittannick Majesty’s Ship Culloden, and taken into N. York from whence in consequence of orders from Admiral Rodney, seventy men with myself mostly Capital officers of arm’d ships of the united States, were, put on Board the Ship Yarmouth and Brought to this place, where I am deprived of every friendly connection whereby I might receive some Relief in this my present unhappy condition of Captivity, have theirfore in consequence of your Excellencys favors taken the Liberty of thus addressing you, in hopes that you may be pleased to contribute toward my releif, a Request which the nature of my Situation, I trust, will sufficently apologize for this, and least your Excellency should not immediately, Recollect my person and Rank, beg leave to acquaint you that am the same pirson who had the honor to receive from Congress several Considerable promotions of Rank and Honor, the last of which was a Captance in the Navy during your Excellency[’s] Presidency in Congress, the difrent appointments in the Military Line (as well that of the navy) was in consequence of my singular and distinguished services, and as all manner of correspondance and Negotiation between this Country and the United States of America at present stopt, and for the want of an Honorable Credit here, I am deprived of those necessary Supplies which the peculiar nature, of my present distressed State of Captivity doth Require, am thereby induced to Request your Excellency will favor me with a sum of about Fifty Pounds Sterling which may be charged to me in account of my Service either in the Millitary or Navle Departments, in both of which, the United States are considerably in Arrearages to me, otherways if pleased to advance me this som on my own privet account.—2 In hopes of your Excellencys speedy, and effectual relief, I have the honor to be, with all due Respect, Your Excellencys obliged humble and Obedient servant
Silas Talbot
His Excellency John Jay Esqr.
ALS, NNC (EJ: 12995). Addressed: “His Excellency John Jay Esqr. / Plenipotentiary, &ca. for the United States / of America at / Madrid.” Endorsed: “ . . . Copy Recd, & ansd 14 July 1781.” ALS, marked “Copy”, dated 11 June1781, NNC (EJ: 7158). Addressed: “His Excellency John Jay / Plenipotentiary for the United / States of America to the Court / of Spain.” Stamped “Paris” and marked “pour Espagne.” Endorsed: “ . . . ansd 14 July 1781.”
1. Silas Talbot (1751–1813), a New Englander, was a lieutenant colonel in the Continental army before being commissioned a naval captain in 1779. He was captured in October 1780, confined at both Dartmoor and Mill prisons, and exchanged in 1781. H. T. Tuckerman, The Life of Silas Talbot (New York, 1859), reprinted in Magazine of History 30, no. 4 (1946): 203–57.
2. Talbot wrote very similar letters to BF on this date and to JA on 5 June (, 35: 122–23; , 11: 355–56). JJ was too embarrassed financially to make an advance from public funds and so informed BF in a letter of 9 July (below), in which he enclosed a copy of the present letter. In his reply to Talbot of 14 July, Dft, NNC (EJ: 8820), JJ indicated that if BF could not come to his assistance, JJ would, if necessary, advance funds from his private account through Jonathan Williams Jr. (1750–1815), BF’s grandnephew, a merchant at Nantes and sometime agent of the American ministers. Talbot’s reply of 14 Aug., ALS, NNC (EJ: 8611), criticized BF for inattention to prisoners.
As early as 1777, without congressional authorization, BF had provided funds for American prisoners and had established a cartel with Britain, the first prisoner exchange taking place on 1 Apr. 1779. BF advanced both private and public funds to American prisoners regardless of rank but had to act circumspectly because of the frequency of requests. He had Talbot’s allowance increased and supplied him with further aid when he reached Paris in November 1781. See also Catherine M. Prelinger, “Benjamin Franklin and the American Prisoners of War in England during the American Revolution,” 32 (1975): 261–94; and Tuckerman, Life of Talbot, 242. JJ himself, while in Spain, also advanced funds for American prisoners in Europe. For an account of his payments and those made by Richard Harrison for prisoners in Spain, see DNA: RG 39, Foreign Ledger of Public Agents in Europe, pp. 189, 192 (EJ: 11828).