From Tench Coxe to John Adams, 5 April 1793
From Tench Coxe
Philada. April 5th. 1793.
Sir
Tho I suppose that some recent arrivals in the ports N. &: E. of Philadelphia will give you the confirmation of the report of war between G Britain & France I do myself the honor to mention to you the foundation on which it rests here.1
A Philada. Ship arrived yesterday from Lisbon, where the Captn. saw in the hands of Mr. John Bulkely, our principal American house, a letter from Mr. Fenwick the consul of the U. S at Bordeaux informing him that France had declared war against Britain; Holland & Russia. A British packet was missing & was supposed to be taken. Forty sail of French Vessels were fitting out with arms &ca. intended as was supposed for privateers.
From Norfolk a paper has been recd. which contains an official order of Ld Grenville to M. Chauvelin to depart from G Britain in eight days. The inclosed paper contains it.
A letter from S. Eustatius states that the writer (a well known Merchant) had recd. advices from London of the 7th. Feby. by which it appeared that Mr. Chauvelin had recd. orders from the Government of France to depart from England without taking leave unless he should be immediately recd. in quality of “Minister of the French Republic” by the Court of London—2
There seems to be no doubt therefore of a war between France & Britain.—
A circumstance of very great importance is often been the subject of private Conversations here at this time. It is remembered by some that it was mentioned at some past time, that the U. S., either entertaining ideas of commencing hostilities against Britain to regain the posts, or apprehending that their Tenure of the posts might, in some way, produce a war, instructed their minister to confer with the french Government on the subject of the Guarrantee of our possessions & of the french Islands, which the treaty of Alliance contains: or that our minister at the Court of France had in some manner a conference on the subject of that guarrantee with the Count de Vergennes in such way as to bring up to him this Question—“If the U. S in the course of the Measures they may adopt to obtain the posts should be involved in a war with Britain will France consider herself bound by the Article of guarrantee to join in the War.[“] It is said the answer was in the Negative. I do not mean, Sir, to affirm any thing about this important fact, but I take the liberty to ask of you confidentially or otherwise, as you may think proper, such information as you possess in relation to this story— I conclude that if there be truth in it, you must have knowlege of it in some way or another—
I think the general wish of the people in this quarter is for peace. The friends of war are not many at this time nor are they earnest. The friends of peace are very numerous, decided, in general temperate, in some instances vehement. The Presidents instructions are that no letter be sent him to be recd. later than the 15th. instant at Mount Vernon— We expect him on the 20th.3
We have no news yet of Mr. Genest, but he is hourly expected—4
What can be said in case of an Attack on the french Islands & a requisition to perform the obligations the french may consider as incidental to the guarrantee of them—
What will be said by Britain & Holland if we permit french privateers, with prizes taken from those nations, to be brought into our ports as the treaty of commerce seems to render probable, and if we refuse to British & Dutch privateers the same privelige, which the treaty appears to restrain us from granting to them.
Should the course of the morning produce any further intelligence, I shall not fail to add it to this letter—
With great Respect, I have the honor to be, sir, / Your most obedient / & most humble servant—
Tench Coxe
Another account from Lisbon says that war was declared by France at Paris on the 8th. of Feb. against Britain Russia, & Holland & that an embargo had been previously laid on all British, Russian & Dutch Vessels in the French ports— The war is considered as certain.
RC (Adams Papers); internal address: “The V. President of the U. S.”; endorsed: “Mr Coxe April 5th / ansd 25. 1793.”
1. Bolstered by the French Army’s advance, France declared war on Great Britain and the Netherlands on 1 February. Already embroiled in heavy fighting with Austria and Prussia, France also declared war on Spain on 7 March. A French request to honor neutrality had fallen flat the previous autumn, as the British warily eyed the reopening of the Scheldt River after the French seizure of Antwerp, which violated the Dutch, British, and Prussian agreement limiting access to the Dutch. News of French aggression plunged U.S. neutrality into doubt, for which see JA’s reply of 25 April, below (, 9:396, 397; , 12:396).
2. Coxe’s intelligence about the European war was slightly inaccurate; Russia was not yet formally involved. The British foreign secretary, William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, ordered Bernard François, Marquis de Chauvelin, the French minister to Great Britain, to leave England following the execution of Louis XVI on 21 January. Coxe may have relayed the news from Alexander Hamilton, who alerted George Washington to the same reports on 5 April, explicitly naming Lisbon merchant John Bulkeley and James Fenwick, the U.S. consul at Bordeaux, as his sources. Coxe likely enclosed one of several newspaper reports of Grenville’s demand, such as the Philadelphia General Advertiser, 5 April, and Philadelphia Federal Gazette, 5 April (, 14:291–292).
3. Washington left Philadelphia on 27 March, reaching Mount Vernon on 2 April. He set out again eleven days later, returning to Philadelphia on 17 April in order to convene his cabinet for diplomatic advice (, 12:353, 384, 448, 450).
4. Edmond Charles “Citizen” Genet (1763–1834), of Versailles, was the new French minister to the United States. He had succeeded his father Edmé Jacques, a friend of JA’s, as head of the foreign ministry’s translation bureau in 1781. The younger Genet’s reception in the United States sparked controversy, for which see Samuel Allyne Otis’ letter of 31 May 1793, and note 3, below (vol. 17:253; ).