To Thomas Jefferson from Pierre Samuel Du Pont de Nemours, 3 April 1802
From Pierre Samuel Du Pont de Nemours
New York 3 avril 1802
Monsieur le Président,
J’ai oublié dans ma lettre d’hier de vous exposer ce que le service des Etats unis a couté à notre cher La Fayette.
J’ai sous les yeux une note du Citoyen Morisot Avocat au Parlement qui dirigeait ses affaires d’interêt.—Cette note constate que depuis 1777 jusqu’en 1783 il a vendu pour Sept cent trente trois mille francs, ou environ cent quarante mille dollars de ses terres, et qu’il a en outre employé aux dépenses relatives au même service tant en Amerique qu’en Europe cent mille écus, pris sur son revenu.
Ainsi c’est environ un million de francs ou deux cent mille dollars dont son Zêle a fait hommage à la Liberté des Etats unis.
Il ne lui reste à present que quinze cent dollars de revenu avec lequel il lui est impossible de payer vingt mille dollars de dettes dont il est encore chargé.
Telle est la position de notre honorable ami
Salut et respect.
Du Pont (de Nemours)
Editors’ Translation
New York 3 Apr. 1802
Mister President,
I forgot in my letter of yesterday to show you what his service to the United States has cost our dear Lafayette.
I have under my eyes a note of Citizen Morizot, counsel to the Parlement, who managed his affairs in this matter. This note proves that from 1777 to 1783, his lands were sold for seven hundred thirty-three thousand francs or about one hundred and forty thousand dollars, and that further he spent on expenditures relative to his own service in America as well as in Europe one hundred thousand ecus above his revenue.
Thus there are about one million francs or two hundred thousand dollars which from his zeal he has given in service to the liberty of the United States.
There remains to him at present no more than fifteen hundred dollars of revenue, with which it is impossible to pay twenty thousand dollars of debts with which he is burdened.
Such is the situation of our honorable friend.
Greetings and respect.
Du Pont (de Nemours)
RC (DLC); at head of text: “A Son Excellence Thomas Jefferson President des Etats unis”; endorsed by TJ as received 7 Apr. and so recorded in SJL.
CITOYEN MORISOT: Jacques Philippe Grattepain-Morizot was Lafayette’s business agent in France (Jason Lane, General and Madame de Lafayette: Partners in Liberty’s Cause in the American and French Revolutions [Lanham, Md., 2003], 58, 74; Olivier Bernier, Lafayette: Hero of Two Worlds [New York, 1983], 149).
VINGT MILLE DOLLARS DE DETTES: by an arrangement made by James Monroe, Lafayette used his grant of land from Congress as collateral for a loan from the Baring firm in London that allowed him to pay off his outstanding debts (Harlow Giles Unger, Lafayette [Hoboken, N.J., 2002], 334).