Thomas Jefferson Papers
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To Thomas Jefferson from William C. Jenckes, 14 June 1804

From William C. Jenckes

Baltimore June 14th 1804

Sir

From being obliged to leave the City of Washington I fear I have delayed the communication which you had the goodness to promise me upon the subject of my dismission,1 from the service of the U. States, as a Lieutt of the Navy—Permit me to Observe that there can be no circumstance so likely to inflict a lasting wound upon the reputation of any man, as the one to which I have alluded and I am sure you will consider the importance of the Matter to me as a sufficient apology for the trouble I now give—It gave me great pleasure to learn from you that you had given no authority to the secretary to revoke my Commission—and I hope you have had an Oppertunity of making the enquirey you mentioned. Should you discover that the proceedings upon which my dismission was grounded, were precipitate informal and altogether contrary to the spirit of our free government, (which request all persons who are dismised shall have proper notice of the Charges brought against them and also be allowed full time to make there defence) I hope you will not sanction2 a Step which has been taken without your Authority—

If Your many great and important engagements will permit you to attend to this subject I shall be highly Obliged if you will inform me of the result by a letter addressed to me at this place—

I am Sir Your Obet. humble Servant

Wm. C. Jenckes

RC (DLC); at foot of text: “President of the U. States”; endorsed by TJ as received 16 June and so recorded in SJL.

William C. Jenckes (d. 1815) received a commission as a lieutenant in the navy in 1799 and served in the Mediterranean between 1801 and 1803 on board the Boston, Enterprize, Constitution, and Adams. After Jenckes’s commission was revoked following a court of inquiry in May 1804 that found his conduct with a civilian unofficerlike, he entered the merchant marine and captained a privateer during the War of 1812. Jenckes later drowned when his vessel capsized during a gale (NDBW description begins Dudley W. Knox, ed., Naval Documents Related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers, Washington, D.C., 1939-44, 6 vols. and Register of Officer Personnel and Ships’ Data, 1801-1807, Washington, D.C., 1945 description ends , Register, 28; abstract of proceedings of court of inquiry, 26 May 1804, DNA: RG 45, LSO; New York Evening Post, 8 Sep. 1815).

revoke my commission: on 28 May, Robert Smith wrote to Jenckes, “I am instructed by the President to inform you that he has revoked your Commission” (DNA: RG 45, LSO).

1. MS: “dismssion.”

2. MS: “secretion.”

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    Jefferson Papers
    Title
    To Thomas Jefferson from William C. Jenckes, 14 June 1804
    Author
    Jenckes, William C.
    Recipient
    Jefferson, Thomas
    Date
    14 June 1804

    Reference

    Cite as
    “To Thomas Jefferson from William C. Jenckes, 14 June 1804,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-43-02-0480. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 43, 11 March–30 June 1804, ed. James P. McClure. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017, pp. 587–588.]