To James Madison from Stephen Pleasonton, 7 August 1815
From Stephen Pleasonton
Department of State August 7. 1815
Sir,
Agreeably to an arrangement suggested by the Secretary of State, I have the honor to inclose for your perusal, on their passage to him, a highly interesting letter from Mr. Russell,1 two letters on different subjects from Mr. Baker,2 and some others from individuals of minor importance. Mr. Crawford having accepted the appointment to the War Department, as you will perceive by a note from him inclosed,3 I completed his commission, with the exception of Mr. Monroe’s signature, and delivered it to him a few days ago. As Mr. Cathcart is now here and wishes soon to embark for Cadiz, I shall prepare and deliver to him a Commission as Consul there, conformably to Mr. Monroes directions, on leaving here.4
You will perceive by the papers all the news of interest, of which we are in possession. From the account, in the Intelligencer of this morning, brought by a vessel from Naples, there appears to be no room to doubt that a brig and a Schooner of our Squadron have captured an Algerine frigate of 44 guns, and that another division of the Squadron had taken a brig of the same Regency. There are sanguine hopes entertained too that others of the Algerine Squadron will fall into our hands as they are reported to be out of port Cruizing. With the highest respect, & Esteem I have the honor to remain, Sir, your most ob Ser.
S. Pleasonton
RC (DLC). Docketed by JM. For enclosures, see nn. 1–3.
1. Pleasonton probably enclosed Jonathan Russell’s 27 May 1815 letter from Stockholm to James Monroe (DNA: RG 59, DD, Sweden and Norway; 9 pp.; partially in code, with interlinear decoding). Russell reported that Swedish crown prince Charles John (formerly Jean Bernadotte) wished to negotiate secret treaties of commerce and alliance with the United States in order to limit Great Britain’s naval power, was reluctant to join the European alliance against Napoleon, and believed that the Bourbon government of France had intended to declare war on the United States.
2. Pleasonton probably enclosed Anthony St. John Baker’s letters to Monroe of 31 July and 3 Aug. 1815 (DNA: RG 59, NFL, Great Britain). In the former (3 pp.), Baker enclosed depositions supporting his complaint that a U.S. officer was persuading British soldiers stationed in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, and on the nearby Moose Island, to desert; in the latter (3 pp.; printed in , Foreign Relations, 4:24), he conveyed an apology from the British government for the massacre of American prisoners at Dartmoor (see JM to Monroe, 12 June 1815, and n. 3), blaming the incident on an overreaction by militia guards and offering compensation to families of the victims.
3. William Harris Crawford wrote this note to Monroe (1 p.) on 4 Aug. 1815 from Washington (DNA: RG 59, DD, France).