Thomas Jefferson to John Stark, 19 August 1805
To John Stark
Monticello Aug. 19. 05
Respected General
I have lately learnt through the channel of the newspapers, and learnt with great pleasure, that you are still in life, & enjoy health & spirits. the victories of Bennington, the first link in that chain of successes which issued in the surrender at Saratoga, are still fresh in the memory of every American, & the name of him who atchieved them dear to his heart. Permit therefore a stranger who knows you only by the services you have rendered, to express to you, the sincere emotions of pleasure and attachment which he felt on learning that your days had been thus prolonged, his fervent1 prayers that they may still be continued in comfort, and the conviction, that, whenever they end, your memory will2 be cherished by those who come after you, as of one who has not lived in vain for his country. I salute you, venerable patriot & General, with affection & reverence.
Th: Jefferson
RC (Butterfields, San Francisco, June 2001, lot 9100). PoC (DLC); at foot of text: “General Starke.” Enclosed in TJ to William Bentley, 19 Aug.
A hero of the Revolution, General John Stark (1728-1822) retired in 1783 to his farm in Derryfield (now Manchester), New Hampshire. He first served with Robert Rogers’s rangers during the Seven Years’ War and later commanded forces for New Hampshire and the Continental Army during the Revolution. Stark most famously led the New Hampshire forces to victory over a large number of General John Burgoyne’s troops at the Battle of Bennington, which boosted American morale and helped force Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga two months later. Stark concluded the war at the rank of major general, but he resisted calls to enter public service and lived out his remaining years on the farm ().
1. Word interlined in place of “sincere.”
2. TJ here canceled “still.”