To James Madison from John Montgomery, 22 July 1801
From John Montgomery, 22 July 1801
Alicante 22 July 1801
Sir
My Brother being under the necessity ⟨of⟩ making a Tour to England on account of the health of his Family; I have the honour to announce to your Excellency, his having appointed me for his ⟨re⟩presentative during his absence in the execution ⟨of⟩ his official business.
By request of Richd. OBrien Esqr. I beg leave ⟨to⟩ wait upon you with Copy of his Letter to us & ⟨o⟩ur reply to him.
Notwithstanding the reports of the Tripolian Cruizers having put to Sea, none of them has yet made their appearance on these Coasts.
The Arrival of a Swede from the Westward advises ⟨us they⟩ have Seen three of Our Frigates off Gibraltar but I cannot place Sufficient dependance in th⟨is⟩ authority.
This Court and that of Portugal have arranged their differencies, and it is reported that the English forces are in possession of Egypt. I have the honour to be Sir Your Obt. Huml. Servt.
R. John Montgomery
PS Since writing the above I have the pleasure to adv⟨ise⟩ your Excellency that Mr. J Gavino of Gibr. informs m⟨e⟩ that three United States Frigates & Schooners had a⟨rrived⟩ there. His Letter is dated the 29th. Ulto.
The preceding is the full transcription of a document that was previously abstracted in The Papers of James Madison, Secretary of State series. The original abstract contains additional annotation and source information.