To George Washington from Ternant, 17 May 1793
From Ternant
Philadelphia May the 17th 1793
sir
I have just handed to the secretary of State an official information of my recall and of the appointement of Citizen Genet to be Minister of the french Republic near the United States1—Though I have reasons to hope the official answer to my letter on the subject, may do justice to my conduct, yet I cannot help wishing to obtain from you a personal and private assurance, that notwithstanding the violent agitations, and great vicissitudes experienced by the government of my country, I have always uniformly2 attended to the interests entrusted to my care, and that my public and private conduct throughout the whole of my mission, has appeared unexceptionable to you—I hope the expression of such a wish may neither prove desagreable to you, nor remain without effect.3 With lively sentiments of respect and attachement, Beleive me sir your most obedient and very humble servant.
L, DLC:GW.
1. For the recall of Ternant and appointment of Edmond Genet, see Provisional Executive Council of France to GW, 30 Dec. 1792, and note 2. Genet arrived in Philadelphia on 16 May and presented his letter of credence to GW two days later ( 143).
2. On the manuscript page the word “uniformly” appears directly above the word “faithfully.” Although there is no insertion mark, the copyist presumably intended to delete “faithfully” and insert “uniformly.”
3. See GW to Ternant, 17 May, and source note.