From James Madison to William Miller, 4 January 1816
To William Miller
Washington Jany 4. 1816
I have recd. your communication of the 28th. Ulto:1 and I can not be insensible to the approbation e⟨xpres⟩sed of my conduct during a momentous period, by the Legislature of a State, which bore with distinguished patriotism, its share of the trials which were encountered.
In recommending the appeal to arms, the reluctant duty was prescribed by the honor, and sanctioned by the voice of the nation; and in concurring in a peace which provided for its interests, and elevated its character, I consulted not less the obligations of my public trust, than the principles which I have ever cherished.
The arduous contest, with the augmentation of its pressures, from fortuitous events, through which our Country has successfully passed, may now be reviewed with instruction as well as with congratulations; and the review will never fail to encourage a confidence in the energies of a free people, and in the blessing of Heaven on a just cause.
I pray you, Sir, to assure the General Assembly that their ⟨kind⟩ partiality has made on me all the impressions which I ought to feel; and to accept for yourself, my high ⟨and⟩ friendly respects.
James Madison
Draft (owned by Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Tex., 2016).
1. William Miller was reelected governor of North Carolina in the General Assembly session which began on 20 Nov. 1815. On 14 Dec. 1815 the state’s house of commons considered a motion stating that “each individual” is “bound to thank and praise God for restoring peace to our nation; and we consider James Madison, as the organ of the nation, justly entitled to our thanks for being instrumental in having such treaties of peace concluded between the British government, the Indian tribes & the Barbary Powers, as command respect abroad, and peace and tranquility at home.” The motion was objected to and replaced by one praising “the Supreme Being” for the peace, and JM for accepting it. After this motion was approved, an amendment was proposed condemning JM for his “want of foresight and preparation to meet the incursion of the enemy upon the City of Washington and his precipitate flight from before the enemy and in the presence of our troops at the battle of Bladensburg.” This was defeated, only to be replaced by another motion criticizing JM for allowing the former French minister Louis-Marie Turreau to withdraw an insulting letter written to former Secretary of State Robert Smith in 1809 even as the president had resented insults from the former British minister Francis James Jackson at the same time (see 7:209–10 and nn. 1–2). This, too, was defeated and replaced by a resolution calling for a day of fasting and thanksgiving for the restoration of peace. That motion was sent to the state senate on 15 Dec. 1815 and approved. The senate then passed another resolution calling for a message of “gratitude and thanks” to be sent to JM for “the firmness, energy and wisdom” that had characterized his “political conduct” during “the late arduous contest of our country; and his prompt acceptance and ratification of an honorable treaty” (Journal of the House of Commons: At a General Assembly, Begun and Held in the City of Raleigh, on the Twentieth Day of November [1815] [n.p., 1816; 38479], 44–46; Journal of the Senate … of North Carolina [n.p., 1816; 38480], 35).