George Washington Papers
Documents filtered by: Recipient="Washington, George" AND Period="Washington Presidency"
sorted by: date (descending)
Permanent link for this document:
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-21-02-0336

To George Washington from William Jackson, 22 February 1797

From William Jackson

[Philadelphia]1 February 22nd 1797.

Sir,

With a sense of gratitude, which words can but feebly express, I transmit to you the just account of an obligation, infinitely endeared by the manner, in which it was conferred, and the delicacy with which it has been mentioned.2 Renewing to you the assurance of an inviolable attachment, I am Sir, Your much obliged, faithful, and affectionate Servant3

W. Jackson

ALS, DLC:GW.

1A lawyer in Philadelphia, Jackson most likely wrote this letter from that city, where his address was listed at 187 South Third Street (see Philadelphia Directory, 1797 description begins Cornelius William Stafford. Philadelphia Directory, For 1797. … Philadelphia, 1797. description ends , 97).

2The enclosure has not been found. Jackson likely transmitted the letter of 10 Oct. 1796 that he received from William Petty, marquis of Lansdowne, and its enclosure, a letter from Thomas Coutts to Lansdowne, also dated 10 October. Both letters pertained to Louis-Philippe, duc d’Orléans (1773–1850), a former French army officer who sailed for the United States in 1796 and sought discreet recommendations to GW. Lansdowne’s letter to Jackson, written from Bowood Park in Wiltshire, England, reads: “I trouble you with the enclosed letter, from a very particular friend of mine, who is in every respect to be depended upon.

“General Washington may perhaps not be sorry to know the circumstances contained in it—in which case, I am sure they cannot find their way to him through a more discreet channel than yours. He best knows the degree of importance which may attach to the personage in question, which is … considerable; and I am certain that his magnanimity and wisdom render all solicitation on this, or any such occasion, altogether impertinent.” Lansdowne concluded the letter by asking Jackson to also transmit the enclosure (the letter from Thomas Coutts to Lansdowne) to U.S. senator William Bingham.

The letter, dated 10 Oct. 1796 at “Clifton” from British banker Thomas Coutts to Lansdowne, reads: “I believe I have had occasion to mention to your lordship the intimate acquaintance I have with the eldest son [Louis-Philippe, duc d’Orléans] of the late [Louis-Philippe-Joseph] Duke of Orleans; … He has constantly written to me since the French Revolution, and his conduct has been exemplary. He fought and behaved bravely, for the liberties of his country, till the murder of the king. He then left the army, and has lived in the greatest obscurity, on the most slender means. … He has, to my knowledge, been hiding himself in Lapland, unknowing and unknown to almost everybody—at the same time that pamphlets and newspapers have placed him at Hamburgh and elsewhere, contriving with [Charles-François du Périer] Dumourier plans of ambition—which he never thought of.” Coutts added that two of Louis-Philippe’s younger brothers were released from prison and bound for the United States. He further claimed that Louis-Philippe “set sail in an American ship lately from Hamburgh, for Philadelphia.” Noting Louis-Philippe’s desire for “privacy,” Coutts added: “I am confident your lordship would be glad to serve him—and it may be of great service, if you can procure for him a good recommendation to General Washington—also, that you would recommend him to any of your friends in the mercantile, or other respectable lines of life, at Philadelphia” (Balch, Letters and Papers Relating to Provincial Pennsylvania description begins Balch, Thomas, comp. Letters and Papers Relating Chiefly to the Provincial History of Pennsylvania, with Some Notices of the Writers. Philadelphia, 1855. description ends , 303–5).

3No reply to Jackson from GW has been found. Louis-Philippe’s younger brothers, Antoine-Philippe d’Orléans, duc de Montpensier, and Louis-Charles d’Orléans, comte de Beaujolais, had arrived in Philadelphia around 7 Feb. (see Timothy Pickering to David Humphreys, 17 Feb., in DNA: RG 59, Diplomatic and Consular Instructions, 1791–1801). In late March 1797, Bingham acknowledged GW’s “previous Acquaintance” with Louis-Philippe and his younger brothers, and recommended that GW receive them as guests at Mount Vernon (Bingham to GW, 25 March 1797, and n.1 to that document, in Papers, Retirement Series description begins W. W. Abbot et al., eds. The Papers of George Washington, Retirement Series. 4 vols. Charlottesville, Va., 1998–99. description ends 1:48). The three exiled Frenchmen visited Mount Vernon for four days in April 1797, and one of them dined there in October of that year (see Diaries description begins Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, eds. The Diaries of George Washington. 6 vols. Charlottesville, Va., 1976–79. description ends , 6:265–66).

Index Entries