RC (DNA: RG 233, PM, 7th Cong., 1st sess.); endorsed by clerks of the House of Representatives. PrC (DLC). Recorded in SJL with notation “Berceau.” Enclosures (all Trs in DNA: RG 233, PM, 7th Cong., 1st sess., in clerks’ hands): (1) Stephen Higginson & Co. to secretary of the navy, 19 Nov. 1800, extract, about landing the captured crew of the Berceau. (2) Same to same, 5 Dec. 1800, extract, about accommodation of the prisoners. (3) Same to same, 12 Dec. 1800, extract, about condemnation and advertised sale of the corvette by the district court, and giving a general report of its condition. (4) Secretary of the navy to Higginson & Co., 19 Dec. 1800, ordering purchase of the corvette; printed in NDQW description begins Dudley W. Knox, ed., Naval Documents Related to the Quasi-War between the United States and France, Naval Operations, Washington, D.C., 1935–38, 7 vols. (cited by years) description ends , Dec. 1800-Dec. 1801, 39. (5) Higginson & Co. to secretary of the navy, 22 Dec. 1800, extract, reporting that the physician who treated the prisoners wishes to have his account settled and that the marshal has postponed the sale. (6) Same to same, 16 Jan. 1801, extract, reporting that on 15 Jan. their agent purchased the Berceau for $8,000 and its guns and maritime stores for an estimated total of $12,000. (7) Secretary of the navy to Higginson & Co., 17 Feb. 1801, ordering the transfer of prisoners to Philippe de Létombe. (8) Secretary of the navy to Létombe, 17 Feb. 1801, informing him that orders have been given to transfer to him 150 French prisoners at Boston, 25 at Providence, R.I., 100 in Connecticut, “8 Blacks” at New York, “90 do.” at Frederick, Md., and 8 at Charleston, S.C.; printed in NDQW description begins Dudley W. Knox, ed., Naval Documents Related to the Quasi-War between the United States and France, Naval Operations, Washington, D.C., 1935–38, 7 vols. (cited by years) description ends , Dec. 1800-Dec. 1801, 125. (9) Létombe to secretary of state, 10 Ventose Year 9 (1 Mch. 1801), extract, stating that the officers of the Berceau are in “deplorable” condition and the agents of the French government cannot act as “commissaries of prisoners”; the United States must provide the officers’ subsistence, for which the government of France “is holden for the reimbursement”; see Vol. 34:668n. (10) Levi Lincoln, as acting secretary of state, to Létombe, 10 Mch. 1801, concerning details of the transfer of prisoners. (11) Secretary of the navy to Higginson & Co., 10 Mch. 1801, ordering that before they are transferred the French prisoners are to receive “cheap clothing” as necessary and each officer is to receive money equal to $2 for each week that he has had to pay for his own subsistence. (12) Same to same, 14 Mch. 1801, ordering that the French prisoners at Boston be sent to New York. (13) Louis André Pichon to secretary of state, 28 Ventose Year 9 (19 Mch. 1801), informing him that the first consul of France has issued orders for implementation of the convention between the United States and France even though the pact has not yet received final ratification; Pichon wishes to know the intentions of the United States regarding execution of the convention; see Vol. 33:349n; Vol. 34:668n; enclosing a list of decisions of the French Council of Prizes concerning 12 captured American vessels (with erasure and overwriting of one word possibly by TJ); enclosing also an extract of Pierre Alexandre Forfait, French minister of the marine and of the colonies, to agents of the French government in the colonies, 21 Vendémiaire Year 9 (12 Oct. 1800), informing them of their responsibility to begin enforcing the convention between the two countries and warning particularly against allowing privateers to interfere with the commerce of friendly and allied nations (in English; English date added by TJ); enclosing also an extract of Talleyrand, minister of foreign relations, to Pichon, 14 Nivose Year 9 (3 Jan. 1801), stating that he has ordered the Council of Prizes to postpone indefinitely any decisions relating to U.S. vessels; this decision is not intended to prevent restitutions but “to render them both more prompt & more certain”; once the convention is ratified France will issue a decree “which shall replevy for the Americans all the prizes, the restitution of which, has been engaged for” (in English; English date added by TJ). (14) Secretary of the navy to Higginson & Co., 20 Mch. 1801, stating that the Berceau is to be restored to France under the Convention of 1800 “with all her guns, ammunition, apparel & every thing belonging to her,” and stating that “This business should be done as if no reluctance accompanied the restoration. We are now at peace with France, & we should act as if we returned to a state of amity with pleasure. Let there be no cause of complaint against the Government or it’s Agents”; printed in NDQW description begins Dudley W. Knox, ed., Naval Documents Related to the Quasi-War between the United States and France, Naval Operations, Washington, D.C., 1935–38, 7 vols. (cited by years) description ends , Dec. 1800-Dec. 1801, 150. (15) Same to same, 20 Mch. 1801, ordering that payment for subsistence of the officers of the corvette be made from their statement of account of actual expenses rather than at the rate of $2 per week. (16) Same to Samuel Brown, 1 Apr. 1801, extract, ordering him to ascertain the state the corvette “was in at the time of her Capture, as to her armament stores & provisions, & to cause her to be put in the same condition before she is delivered up to the French Government”; printed in NDQW description begins Dudley W. Knox, ed., Naval Documents Related to the Quasi-War between the United States and France, Naval Operations, Washington, D.C., 1935–38, 7 vols. (cited by years) description ends , Dec. 1800-Dec. 1801, 171). (17) Pichon to secretary of state, 13 Germinal Year 9 (3 Apr. 1801), requesting that the United States provide for the subsistence of all the French prisoners from the various locations until they can be embarked; the expenditure should be “placed to the account of the French Republic” and Pichon will arrange for repayment; see Vol. 34:668n. (18) Secretary of the navy to Brown, 10 Apr. 1801, regarding disposition of the prisoners; printed in NDQW description begins Dudley W. Knox, ed., Naval Documents Related to the Quasi-War between the United States and France, Naval Operations, Washington, D.C., 1935–38, 7 vols. (cited by years) description ends , Dec. 1800-Dec. 1801, 185. (19) Pichon to secretary of state, 1 Floreal Year 9 (21 Apr. 1801), asserting that French officials in the West Indies are implementing the Convention of 1800 and preparing to make restitution for prizes captured since the convention was signed; for TJ’s notations in the margin of the original letter, see Vol. 34:570–1n. (20) Monsieur Bourcier at Puerto Rico, the delegate of French agents in the Windward Islands, to Létombe, 4 Floreal Year 9 (24 Apr. 1801), extract, stating that upon receipt of official word of the convention, he released all captured vessels that were not yet sold and “took measures for defending the interests of the Americans, who might have claims for restitution to establish” (dated in TJ’s hand: “Apr. 29. 1801”). (21) Secretary of the navy to Brown, 4 May 1801, regarding payment to the physician who attended the French prisoners from 15 June 1799 to 1 Apr. 1801.(22) Same to same, 18 May 1801, regarding 69 French prisoners sent to New York for transportation to Boston and transfer to the custody of French officials. (23) Pichon to secretary of state, 18 June 1801, extract, acknowledging that France is responsible for $15,000 advanced by the U.S. for the aid of refugees from Saint-Domingue as well as for advances made for the subsistence of prisoners; when the United States prepares accounts for all such expenditures “I shall think myself sufficiently authorized to settle and adjust them”; summarized in Madison, Papers description begins William T. Hutchinson, Robert A. Rutland, J. C. A. Stagg, and others, eds., The Papers of James Madison, Chicago and Charlottesville, 1962–, 32 vols. Sec. of State Ser., 1986–, 8 vols. Pres. Ser., 1984–, 6 vols. Ret. Ser., 2009–, 1 vol. description ends , Sec. of State Ser., 1:327. (24) Brown to secretary of the navy, 24 June 1801, extract, reporting that the Berceau was returned to French custody on 22 June; the captain of the corvette has asked for silver and china for his cabin, but Brown will not furnish those items without authorization, since he doubts that they were on board at the time of the vessel’s capture. (25) Secretary of the navy to Brown, 3 July 1801, extract, stating: “There is no doubt that the Berceau has been sufficiently repaired & furnished: of course no more expence must be incurred on the part of the United States on her account”; requesting a statement of repairs and supplies furnished for the vessel “& the precise state & condition she was in as to her equipments of every kind, on her delivery to the officers appointed on the part of the French republic to receive her”; printed in NDQW description begins Dudley W. Knox, ed., Naval Documents Related to the Quasi-War between the United States and France, Naval Operations, Washington, D.C., 1935–38, 7 vols. (cited by years) description ends , Dec. 1800-Dec. 1801, 266. (26) Secretary of the navy to Pichon, 8 July 1801, enclosing a statement showing that the U.S. navy agent at Boston expended $870.83, equal to 4,750 livres, for the pay of the officers of the Berceau; this expenditure being separate from payments made for the officers’ subsistence while they were prisoners (with statement of payments in hand of and signed by Thomas Turner, accountant for the Navy Department, 9 Apr. 1802). (27) Pichon to secretary of state, 10 July 1801, extract, concerning restitutions (at head of text in TJ’s hand: “July 10. 1801. Extracts of a letter from mr Pichon to the Secretary of state”); for TJ’s notations in the margin of the original letter, see Vol. 34:570n. (28) Brown to secretary of the navy, 13 July 1801, extract, reporting that the French do not yet have the Berceau ready for sea, which prolongs the period in which the United States advances funds for subsistence of the crew (endorsed); enclosing Brown to Marc Antoine Alexis Giraud, commissary of the French government at Boston, 30 June 1801, reiterating that he is not authorized to furnish any article that was not on board the corvette “anterior to her coming into possession of the United States” and stating that all items to be furnished by the U.S. are ready to be placed on board the vessel (endorsed). (29) Brown to Lincoln, [4 Aug. 1801], extract (in Meriwether Lewis’s hand; at head of text: “Extract of a letter from Samuel Brown navy Agent at Boston to Levi Lincoln esqr. without date, but recieved August 27th. 1801”); see TJ to William Branch Giles, 6 Apr. 1802. (30) Pichon to Madison, 6 Vendémiaire Year 10 (28 Sep. 1801), reporting that Rear Admiral Jean Baptiste Raymond Lacrosse, governor of Guadeloupe, has referred to the French government the cases of restitutions for prizes taken after the signing of the convention; enclosing an extract of a letter from Lacrosse to Pichon, 14 Fructidor Year 9 (1 Sep. 1801), stating that American ships are “carrying away our black cultivators”; that one ship captain has been arrested and convicted; yet regarding “general measures upon this subject,” Lacrosse suggests, as “a proof of the indulgence of the French government towards the subjects of a nation with which we ought to be intimately connected,” that Pichon confer with the U.S. secretary of state because Lacrosse is “convinced beforehand” that the secretary of state “will find no measures severe enough for punishing such a violation of the laws of our territory”; printed in Madison, Papers description begins William T. Hutchinson, Robert A. Rutland, J. C. A. Stagg, and others, eds., The Papers of James Madison, Chicago and Charlottesville, 1962–, 32 vols. Sec. of State Ser., 1986–, 8 vols. Pres. Ser., 1984–, 6 vols. Ret. Ser., 2009–, 1 vol. description ends , Sec. of State Ser., 2:148–9. (31) Brown to secretary of the navy, 31 Oct. 1801, providing, as instructed, an account of the repairs to the Berceau; stating that due to the quality of the work and materials, “there cannot be a doubt” that the vessel was returned to the French in better condition than it was in immediately before the battle in which it was captured; enclosing a summary statement that the original cost of the corvette was $13,349.44, the commission on the purchase was $266.98, and the repairs cost $32,839.54 for a total of $46,455.86; noting that the convention was signed 30 Sep. 1800, ratified by the United States with exceptions, 18 Feb. 1801, agreed to by Bonaparte, 31 July, and promulgated by the president on 21 Dec. 1801; enclosing also a detailed statement of payment by Higginson & Co. to the district court for the purchase of the vessel and items of equipment sold separately for $13,349.44; enclosing also a detailed “Abstract of the Repairs & Expenditures on the French Corvette Le Berceau” including $18,345.10 in goods from the public property and $14,210.24 in cash payments for a total of $32,839.54. (32) List of judgments by the French Council of Prizes in cases involving American ships to 3 Brumaire Year 10 (25 Oct. 1801), from Fulwar Skipwith, possibly enclosed with this message (among enclosures to TJ to the House of Representatives, 20 Apr. 1802; printed in ASP description begins American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, of the Congress of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1832–61, 38 vols. description ends , Foreign Relations, 2:438–9, as the last of the enclosures listed above); see Madison, Papers description begins William T. Hutchinson, Robert A. Rutland, J. C. A. Stagg, and others, eds., The Papers of James Madison, Chicago and Charlottesville, 1962–, 32 vols. Sec. of State Ser., 1986–, 8 vols. Pres. Ser., 1984–, 6 vols. Ret. Ser., 2009–, 1 vol. description ends , Sec. of State Ser., 2:211, and Skipwith to TJ, 30 Oct. 1801. Message and enclosures printed in ASP description begins American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, of the Congress of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1832–61, 38 vols. description ends , Foreign Relations, 2:428–39.

RESOLUTION OF THE 6TH. INSTANT: see TJ to William Branch Giles, 6 Apr. The House of Representatives received this message from Meriwether Lewis on 16 Apr. After the message was read, the House appointed William Eustis, Benjamin Tallmadge, Philip R. Thompson, John Campbell, and John A. Hanna a committee to examine the documents relating to the Berceau. On 23 Apr., Roger Griswold proposed a resolution whereby the committee would “be instructed to inquire whether any further appropriations are necessary to cover the expense which has arisen for the purchase and repairing that vessel for the French Government, and for advancing to her officers their monthly pay.” Samuel Smith moved to amend the resolution to remove the reference to the French government, but at Giles’s request Smith withdrew his motion “in order to save time.” Griswold’s resolution then passed without discussion or a roll call. The session ended without further action by the House on the expenditures for the Berceau (JHR description begins Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1826, 9 vols. description ends , 4:204–5, 219; Annals description begins Annals of the Congress of the United States: The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States … Compiled from Authentic Materials, Washington, D.C., Gales & Seaton, 1834–56, 42 vols. All editions are undependable and pagination varies from one printing to another. The first two volumes of the set cited here have “Compiled … by Joseph Gales, Senior” on the title page and bear the caption “Gales & Seatons History” on verso and “of Debates in Congress” on recto pages. The remaining volumes bear the caption “History of Congress” on both recto and verso pages. Those using the first two volumes with the latter caption will need to employ the date of the debate or the indexes of debates and speakers. description ends , 11:1232).