1. The resolution was introduced in the Senate by George Troup of Georgia on 27 Jan. 1817 and was agreed to on the following day (Annals of Congress description begins Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States […] (42 vols.; Washington, D.C., 1834–56). description ends , 14th Cong., 2d sess., 83, 84, 86).

2. Enclosure A is an extract from an 11 May 1815 letter from Monroe to John Quincy Adams, complaining of the failure of British naval officers to return slaves taken during the War of 1812 and held on “British Ships of war in our waters.” Adams was directed to seek either restitution of, or compensation for, the slaves in question from the British government. Monroe included a copy of his 1 Apr. 1815 note to Anthony St. John Baker outlining the American position that “all the Slaves and other private property which were in the possession of the British forces, within the limits of the United States” should be returned “whether they were in forts or British ships of war.” Baker replied on 3 Apr. 1815 that he had not been instructed on this matter and that he would transmit copies of Monroe’s letter “to England, and, to the Naval Commander in Chief on this station.”

Enclosure B is a copy of George Graham to Monroe, 28 Feb. 1815, forwarding copies of letters exchanged between American commissioners Thomas M. Bayly, George Graham, and John S. Skinner and British navy Capt. John Clavelle between 23 Feb. and 15 Apr. 1815 relating to the return of slaves and other private property taken by the British in the Chesapeake. Clavelle responded on 23 Feb. 1815 that as none of the slaves on Tangier Island had been captured there, he was not “at liberty to deliver them up” and far less could he “give up those now serving on board his Britannic Majesty’s Ships, as, by entering into the service they made themselves free men.” The American commissioners, on 23 Feb. 1815, rejected this interpretation of the first article of the Treaty of Ghent and requested Clavelle to furnish them “with an account of all slaves and other private property of Citizens of the United States which may have been removed from the Chesapeake […] since the date of the ratification of the treaty” as well as “an account of all artillery or other public property” which had been captured prior to that date. In his letter of 24 Feb. 1815 Clavelle adhered to his interpretation of the treaty but agreed to the taking of “an Inventory of all slaves and other private property of the citizens of the United States within the waters of the Chesapeake, […] now in the possession of his Britannic majesty’s forces.” He assured the Americans “that no slaves or other private property,” had been removed from the Chesapeake since the ratification of the peace treaty, nor any public property. On 13 Apr. 1815 Bayly wrote to Clavelle requesting his decision on the restoration of slaves and other private and public property as he had heard that Clavelle intended to leave the Chesapeake. Clavelle replied two days later, stating that his determination was “not to restore any slaves, private or public property, captured before the exchange of the ratification of the treaty of peace […] agreeable to [his] instructions from rear admiral Cockburn on that head.” On 18 Apr. 1815 Bayly informed Monroe that Clavelle and three British naval vessels had left Tangier Island for Bermuda the previous day.

Enclosure C is a copy of a 16 Mar. 1815 letter sent to Brig. Gen. John Floyd by American commissioners Thomas M. Newell and Thomas Spalding, describing their conversations with Rear Adm. George Cockburn about the implementation of the peace treaty at Cumberland Island, Georgia, and enclosing their correspondence with Cockburn between 6 and 13 Mar. 1815. Cockburn questioned the validity of the copy of the peace treaty he was shown and stated that he would only return slaves and other property on Cumberland Island but not slaves and property taken elsewhere. He added that this response had been “approved” by Vice Adm. Alexander Cochrane. Newell and Spalding requested an inventory of the property taken on Cumberland Island, which Cockburn provided on 11 Mar. 1815, listing by name seventy-seven slaves, “Twenty two Bales of Cotton,” “A Number of Horses and Mules,” and “Some Horned Cattle.” The Americans protested this interpretation of the peace treaty and demanded the restoration of property not only from Cumberland Island but also from “the Rivers and waters adjacent to the same, at the Ratification of the Treaty.” They informed Cockburn that they would refer the matter to their government, and on 13 Mar. 1815 Spalding sent Cockburn a further note pointing out that several of the slaves had not been delivered as promised and that others would undoubtedly attempt to escape to the British.

Enclosure D is a copy of a May 1815 letter sent by Spalding to Monroe from Bermuda, where he had gone in search of slaves and other property carried away by the British. He enclosed copies of his correspondence with Rear Adm. Edward Griffith on 22 and 23 May 1815, in which Spalding had outlined the American position and listed the property to be restored. Griffith had responded that he was unable to discuss these matters as Spalding lacked proper authority for his mission, his letter of appointment having come not from the president of the United States but from Maj. Gen. Thomas “Pinkney” (Pinckney), who was not a “regular channel” for communications between governments. Spalding informed Monroe that Griffith was “a mild and Gentlemanly man” who was unable to assist him with his mission, “most of the Slaves having been sent to Halifax.” Spalding also described an intemperate conversation with Bermuda governor Sir James Cockburn, who declared “that he would rather Bermuda, and every man, woman and child in it, were sunk under the Sea, than surrender one Slave, that had sought protection under the flag of England.”

Enclosure E consists of copies of extracts from twenty-six letters John Quincy Adams exchanged with Monroe, Lord Castlereagh, and Lord Bathurst between 23 June 1815 and 28 Sept. 1816 regarding compensation for the slaves removed from the Chesapeake and Cumberland Island. Much of this correspondence turned on the meaning of the first article in the Treaty of Ghent and the differing interpretations by the American and British diplomats who had been responsible for its drafting. Castlereagh suggested that the matter might be included in the negotiations for the 1815 Anglo-American commercial convention, but the negotiators had “received no instructions relative to it,” and on 9 Aug. 1815, Adams informed Castlereagh that he would seek “payment of the value of those [slaves] carried away contrary to” the peace treaty stipulations. In his correspondence with Lord Bathurst, Adams pressed the case of Raleigh W. Downman, who sought compensation for eleven slaves carried off from the Rappahannock River during a flag of truce with British navy Capt. Robert Barrie. Barrie denied that any slaves had “forcibly been taken from the shore,” and Rear Adm. Cockburn, who was also consulted, had no recollection of the episode at all. Adams concentrated, first, on establishing the principle that “the British Government will pay for the Slaves carried off” and “the manner of liquidating the claims is the next point to be arranged.” He suggested that the dispute be settled by “a board of Commissioners,” but as he came to doubt whether the British government would agree, he proposed, in a letter to Castlereagh dated 17 Sept. 1816, that the dispute “be submitted to the decision of some friendly sovereign.” In acknowledging this last letter on 28 Sept. 1816, Castlereagh mentioned that he would be absent in Ireland until the middle of November.