George Meyer to James Madison, 6 May 1814
From George Meyer
Newyork 6th. may 1814
+Mr. Geo. Meyer1 has an Express from New London bringing a Letter from the Capt. of a Swedish Vessell from Gothenburgh to his address dated “off New London 4 May, at 4 P.M.” which States that his vessel had been detained by the Bulwark, 74, arrived the night before from Bermuda, with Information that the whole Coast of America from East Port to Mississippi was declared in a State of Strict Blockade, with renewed orders to burn, Sink, & destroy, all that Sails under the american Flag; The Captn. adds “I Shall thus have no resource [sic] but to proceed to Halifax.” He also states that an armistice was concluded between Bonaparte & the allies on the 5th. of march & that Peace was immediately expected in Europe;2 but whence this last news comes, whether brought from Sweden, or heard on board the Squadron does not appear. You will value the whole as you deem right, being persuaded of the fact as to the receipt of the Letter which I have Seen: Holders of Colonial produce already look for Improvement.+
RC (DLC). Unsigned; addressee not indicated. Docketed by JM: “Meyer. G. 1814.”
1. Meyer, a New York shipmaster, had been associated as a merchant with Jacob Barker in an ill-fated shipping venture (Longworth’s New-York Almanac, for 1814 [ 28973], 226; Horace Binney, Reports of Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania [6 vols.; Philadelphia, 1809–15; 18346], 6:229–30).
2. On 5 Feb. 1814 peace talks between France and the allied forces commenced at Châtillon. The allies offered Napoleon an armistice and control of France in exchange for relinquishing all the territory he had gained since 1792, and gave him until 10 Mar. to decide. Buoyed by recent victories, he rejected the proposal. On 9 Mar. the allies concluded the Treaty of Chaumont among themselves, agreeing to continue the war until Napoleon was defeated and to preserve their coalition for at least twenty years following that event. Napoleon abdicated unconditionally on 6 Apr. 1814 (Connelly et al., Historical Dictionary of Napoleonic France, 109; Muir, Britain and the Defeat of Napoleon, 315–21, 324).