From James Madison to James Madison, Sr., 6 September 1784
To James Madison, Sr.
Philada. Sepr. 6. 1784.
Hon’d Sir
I arrived at this place the night before last only, having declined starting from Fredg. at the time I proposed when I parted with you & having staid at Baltimore one day. At the latter place I fell in with the Marquis & had his company thus far. He is proceeding Northwd. as far as Boston from whence he goes to the Indian Treaty at Fort Stanwix & from thence returns to Virga. about the same time that I must be there. He presses me much to fall into his plan, and I am not sure that I shall decline it.1 It will carry me farther than I had proposed, but I shall be rewarded by the pleasure of his company and the further opportunity of gratifying my curiosity. I have nothing to add at present but that I am your affec. Son
J. Madison Jr.
RC (DLC). Cover missing. Docketed by JM.
1. By a chance encounter with the Marquis de Lafayette in Baltimore, JM changed his travel plans from a health-seeking “ramble into the Eastern States” into a rousing tour with the famous Frenchman (JM to Jefferson, 7 Sept., 15 Sept., 17 Oct., 1784; , II, 325–35). The “Indian Treaty” negotiations JM witnessed led to some acrimony because some delegates in Congress believed New York commissioners had interfered in the business by trying to conduct their own separate treaty arrangements. A full account of the conference is found in Henry S. Manley, The Treaty of Fort Stanwix (Rome, N. Y., 1932).