MS (DNA: RG 46, LPPM, 8th Cong., 2d sess.); misdated; in a clerk’s hand, signed by Madison, who also wrote the place in the dateline. MS (DLC); in a clerk’s hand, signed by Madison. Recorded in SJL as received from the State Department 31 Jan. with notation “private armd. vessels.” Enclosures: (1) Anthony Merry to Madison, Philadelphia, 31 Aug. 1804, concerning information received of vessels arming in and sailing from Baltimore and Philadelphia, several of which carry contraband goods (primarily gunpowder), and sailing for “possessions of His Majesty’s Enemies” in the East Indies and West Indies; Merry has learned that some vessels are attempting to force a trade “with the Blacks in the Island of St Domingo,” while others with contraband cargoes are believed to be bound for the islands of Britain’s enemies; Merry deems such arming to be prejudicial against Britain; one of the first rules of neutrality is abstaining from “all participation in warlike Expeditions”; the armed vessels alluded to may become the property of Britain’s enemies by capture or purchase, or attempt to thwart lawful search and detention while carrying contraband cargoes; Merry understands that the arming of these vessels has taken place without the authority or sanction of the U.S. government and feels it his duty to share his information with Madison; Merry trusts that the administration’s sense of justice and desire to observe strict neutrality will lead it to suppress the “illegal proceedings complained of.” (2) Extract from Louis André Pichon to Madison, 7 May 1804, translated from French; Pichon has learned that merchant vessels are arming in U.S. ports to force a trade with Haiti, including the supply of munitions to the rebels there, in violation of the law of nations and in opposition to French efforts to prevent the trade; Pichon demands that the United States take measures to stop this “private and piratical war” against France, which threatens the peace and good understanding existing between the two nations. (3) George Barnewall to Madison, New York, 6 Sep. 1804, regarding the ship Hopewell, Preserved Sisson master, and the brig Rockland, Captain Akens master, which he dispatched from New York on 17 June bound for Cayes, both vessels having been properly cleared at the custom house of New York; both vessels were well armed and carried passengers and large crews; they were subsequently captured by a privateer from Guadeloupe and carried to that island, where the crews were placed in close confinement; Barnewall encloses a letter regarding their unfortunate situation. (4) Preserved Sisson, Mahlon Bennet, and James Ross, Jr., to Barnewall, Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, 26 July 1804, recounting in detail the capture of the Hopewell and the Rockland by a French privateer sailing under an English flag; the vessels offered considerable resistance and suffered heavy casualties before being boarded; captured papers included “upwards of 100 letters” and documents that revealed the “whole plan of the voyage,” which condemned the vessels; a “black general,” traveling as a passenger, unsuccessfully attempted to blow up the Hopewell and then killed himself to avoid capture; the vessels were taken to Pointe-à-Pitre and the crew put “in a most miserable prison,” where several have already died; another vessel, the schooner Snake in the Grass, commanded by James Mansfield, was captured without resistance and brought to the same port several days earlier; a mate from the schooner is smuggling out this letter; orders have allegedly been sent to America to warn vessels bound for Haiti that, if taken, they will be treated as pirates; the writers report that the French “seem to be very inveterate against the Americans” and are preparing “Several large Privateers” to go after American vessels; Sisson and the others ask Barnewall “to do what you can with our Government to claim us as Americans”; copy attested by Dominick Purcell before William Popham, notary public, New York, 21 Aug. 1804 (Trs of all in DNA: RG 46, LPPM, 8th Cong., 2d sess.; Trs also in DLC; 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, 2:606-8).