RC (DLC); at foot of text: “To Thomas Jefferson Esqr President of the United States”; endorsed by TJ as received 31 Dec. and so recorded in SJL. Enclosures: (1) Ewer’s account of the seizure of the three vessels, dated Nantucket, 15 Dec.; the Mary, commanded by David Folger and owned by Jeremiah Lawrence and David Worth, cleared Nantucket in July 1802, outfitted for a whaling voyage with a crew of 13; the Union, commanded by William Clisby, and the Dolphin, commanded by Silvanus Smith, were both owned by Ewer and others; the two sloops cleared Nantucket in November 1802 and were likewise fitted for a whaling voyage with crews of 13 men each; the Mary proceeded to Cape Verde, where it took on about 80 barrels of oil, then sailed to the West Indies; the Union and Dolphin sailed directly to the West Indies, where all three vessels met and cruised together off the southern coast of Hispaniola; they were taken by the Télégraphe, commanded by Anthony St. Quint, about five to six leagues offshore and carried to Jacmel; the French captain was under orders to bring in all vessels found near the island, but believed that the three whalers would not be detained for long; shortly after their arrival at Jacmel, however, the ships’ crews were charged with being taken at anchor near the shore and told that they could not be released without orders from the Vicomte de Rochambeau; the crews remained in confinement until more than half were dead, including several officers, and only six have returned home; Ewer refers the president to depositions and protests forwarded to the secretary of state confirming his account of the cruel treatment; no trial appears to have taken place; Folger obtained his freedom and traveled to Port-au-Prince in an unsuccessful attempt to secure a trial, which left him “without money cloths or Friends” and “under the necessity to get away as well as he could”; Ewer has since learned that the cargoes were landed and the vessels employed in evacuating people from the island, which he believes was the true cause of their detention; he reiterates that the intent of the voyages was whaling and not to engage in trade, and that the vessels were all taken at least five leagues from land; he estimates the loss in vessels, cargo, and damages at $11,833 for the Union, $9,466 for the Dolphin, and $16,000 for the Mary (MS in same; in Ewer’s hand and signed by him). (2) Ewer to Madison, dated Nantucket, 16 Aug. 1803, detailing the captures on 7 Apr. 1803 and the detention of the crews and condemnation of the vessels “without Trial” under the pretense that they were trading with rebels on the coast; Folger returned to Nantucket on 12 Aug. and made a protest before a notary “against the illegal procedure of the Officers” of the French government, copies of which and other documents will be forwarded to Madison; Ewer encloses certificates from the collector and selectmen at Nantucket confirming the property and the citizenship of the crews; he asks Madison to advise him on how to obtain redress and secure the release of those members of the crew still remaining “in loathsome imprisonment in the Unhealthy port of Jacomel” (Dupl in same; in Ewer’s hand; at head of text: “Copy”; 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- , 37 vols.: Sec. of State Ser., 1986- , 10 vols.; Pres. Ser., 1984- , 8 vols.; Ret. Ser., 2009- , 2 vols. description ends , Sec. of State Ser., 5:313-14).