To Benjamin Franklin from Richard Bache, 9 August 1782
From Richard Bache
ALS: American Philosophical Society
Philadelphia August 9—1782.
Dear & Hond. Sir
The foregoing is Copy of my last to you via Baltimore,1 since which a number of French Ships of the Line having arrived from Cape Francois on our Coast,2 the British Cruizers have retired into Newyork, & our port is once more open—this affords me an opportunity of sending you the third Bill3 of the sett within mentioned, and of letting you know that we are all well;— None of the Claret that you were so kind as to order me, has yet reached me; I have received a Letter from Mr. Bonfield of Bordeaux dated in March, which informs me that he had sent ten Boxes to LOrient, to be forwarded me from thence, but the Letter is all I have received.4
You will herewith I hope receive the Newspapers as there are two Vessels now bound for France, I shall transmit some in both— Sally and the Children are still in the Country, they return to Town next Week— We present our joint Love & Duty— I am ever Dear & Hond. Sir Yours affectionately
Rich Bache
Dr. Franklin.
Addressed: Dr. Franklin
1. RB to BF, July 23, above.
2. The marquis de Vaudreuil, who commanded the French fleet in the West Indies after de Grasse’s capture, sent 13 ships of the line to Boston for repairs; see our annotation of Livingston’s May 22 letter. One of them, the Magnifique, 74, ran aground off Lovells Island (about six miles east of Boston) on Aug. 9 and had to be abandoned. A portion of Vaudreuil’s fleet was detached to Portsmouth, N.H.: Dull, French Navy, pp. 284, 299–301, 333; Rice and Brown, eds., Rochambeau’s Army, I, 74n, 257; Morison, Jones, p. 326.
3. A duplicate of a Robert Morris draft on Ferdinand Grand; see RB to BF, July 3.
4. The previous October BF had asked John Bondfield to ship RB three casks of claret. Bondfield planned to ship one on the St. James, which sailed in January, 1782, and arrived safely in March: XXXV, 645; XXXVI, 110. Bondfield charged 1488 l.t. 10 s. for the three casks and their transport: Account VI (XXIII, 21).