To James Madison from William Charles Coles Claiborne, 4 December 1806
N. O. December 4th 1806.
Secy. of State.
You will perceive my Dear Sir, the delicacy of the Communication inclosed, and I beg that it may not be made public, unless it should be deemed essential to the public’ safety, which must supersed every private consideration.
When a full account of this unprincipled Combination, shall be made public, General Wilkinson will be greatly obnoxious to the associates; but his fidelity to his Country, cannot fail to be justly appreciated by the good and virtuous. Perhaps a speedy disclosure might endanger the personal safety of the General, I wish it may be avoided.
Signed Wm. C. C. Claiborne
Printed Source--Dunbar Rowland, ed. Official Letter Books of W. C. C. Claiborne, 1801-1816. 6 vols. (Jackson, MS: State Department of Archives and History, 1917)..