To James Madison from Benjamin W. Crowninshield, 11 September 1815
From Benjamin W. Crowninshield
Salem Sept. 11. 1815
Sir,
I rece’d your letter a few days past, directing me to make an offer to Capt Stewart, of the navy, a seat at the navy Board,1 which has been done, but no answer returned from him, I believe he is at Pha.
Mr. Homans transmitted to me Despatches from Come Decatur, dated 19 Je. & 5 July, & states, the original of the 5 July was sent to you;2 by which it appears that, the Commissioners, have made a Peace with the Dey of Algiers, upon their own terms, if it be not a good one, then they are to blame; I congratulate You, Sir, on this event, as well, also, upon the commercial Treaty which has been concluded with GB, & hope it is such a one as can be accepted with honor.
Comre. Decatur thinks a respectable force aught to be keep in the Mid’n., without stating the Amt.; he was, I think Ordered to visit the ports of Tunis & Tripoli, to see how those powers were disposed to treat us, & after which, if peace was concluded with Algiers, to leave one or two frigates, with a few small vessells to cruize in the streights, & to return to the U States with the remainder of his squadron; & the same instructions was repeated to Come Bainbridge.
Should you conceive of any other instructions, or advice necessary to be given to them, & will write me a line, I will obey, with much cheerfullness. I am, with great respect & esteem, yr. Ob St
Bw Crowninshield
RC (DLC). Docketed by JM.
2. In addition to reporting that he and William Shaler had dictated a peace treaty with Algiers and opining that “the presence of a respectable naval force in this sea will be the only certain guarantee for its observance,” Capt. Stephen Decatur’s 5 July 1815 letter to Crowninshield (, Naval Affairs, 1:396) stated that he had sent into Cartagena an Algerian brig captured by his squadron but had agreed to return it and another captured ship to the dey in order to avoid the expense of fitting the vessels for the voyage to the United States, where they could likely not be sold. He was sending the brig Epervier home, Decatur wrote, with dispatches and the ten American prisoners released by the dey, and planned to sail to Tunis and Tripoli with the remainder of the squadron.