To Thomas Jefferson from Robert Montgomery, 24 July 1791
From Robert Montgomery
Alicante, 24 July 1791. He has this moment received news from Algiers that at 6 a.m. on the 12th the Dey died and was immediately succeeded by Ali Hassan, who has been “in many instances our perticular friend,” about which he will write more fully by the next post to Lisbon and Cadiz.
RC (DNA: RG 59, CD); endorsed by TJ as received 27 Oct. 1791 and so recorded in SJL.
John Montgomery, by special request of his brother, also informed TJ that the Dey of Algiers had died; that his successor “was always Mr. Montgomery’s friend”; and that “Sior. Seliman an Algerian Noble Man who paid him a Diet at Alicante” had been promoted. He added that “Mr. Montgomery has no doubt that Something might be done towards a peace at this Critical period, if proper measures was now adopted by Congress” (John Montgomery to TJ, Boston, 14 Oct. 1791; RC in DNA: RG 59, MLR; endorsed by TJ as received 22 Oct. 1791 and so recorded in SJL).