To James Madison from Benjamin W. Crowninshield, 28 December 1814
From Benjamin W. Crowninshield
Salem 28th. Decr. 1814.
Sir,
At the special request of my political friends, & the permission of my family, I have prevail’d on myself to accept your very honorable appointment of Secretary of the Navy of the U States; if you have not named any other person for that office to the Honl. Senate, in consequence of my letter of 26th. Inst.
I will come on to washington in a week at farthest; this reconsideration I hope you will not think dishonorable.1 Very respectfully Sir Yr Obt he St
B W Crowninshield
RC (DLC).
1. Crowninshield sent Richard Cutts a letter the same day, stating that he had written to JM accepting the post but that Cutts “must make a condition, which I did not think proper to put in, which is that a Navy Board, or such other assistance as m[a]y be necessary shall be granted, & if my health or inability shall make it too uneasy for me to fill the duties I shall be permitted to retire from the office in a reasonable time” (owned by Charles M. Storey, Boston, Mass., 1961).