To George Washington from David von Prætorius, 15 October 1795
From David von Prætorius
On board the Ship Thomas Chackeley
October 15th 1795.
Gracious Sir
On the 12th of this month, I arrived here from Holland in the ship Thomas Chackeley, commanded by Captain Robert Reu, in order to pursue my fortunes in this country;1 as well on account of my having holden the commission of a Captain in the service of the Empress of Russia, as of my having lost my all during the last year in the Polish Revolution; which rendered it necessary for me to retire in a sickly state of health, and, having obtained an attestation of it and passes, to pursue my journey through Hamburgh to Holland, with a design, suggested by my services to Russia,2 to place my person in a state of safety. But as this could not be afforded by Hamburgh and much less by Holland; it became necessary to direct my journey hither, and for that purpose to obligate myself to pay said Captain Reu nearly thirteen guineas at the end of the voyage, although I have been stripped of all my money by the long journey I took. I would certainly esteem it an extraordinary honor to pay my respects to your Excellency in person, in order that I might make your Excellency understand my humble representation, and pray that you would take up my case as that of a stranger: but as I do not know, whether the laws of your Excellency permit a departure from the vessel before the money is paid; and as I have still less knowledge to whom to address myself, I take the liberty with great submission, to pray of your Excellency, as the high-ruling General in this place, graciously to take up my case, as that of a man, who has been, during the last year, grievously punished of God; hoping to explain it circumstantially in person; by which your Excellency will confer an obligation, equal in continuance with the life of him, who has the honor to be with due respect, your Excellency’s (My gracious Lord and high ruling General) most humble servant
David of Prætorius
Translation, DLC:GW; ALS (in German), DLC:GW. A docket on the translation reads in part: “His case will of course fall under the notice of the Comtee for advising & assisting Emigrants; and obtain aid, if his case requires it.” This probably is a reference to the Committee of Conference and Correspondence of the Philadelphia Society for the Information and Assistance of Persons Emigrating from Foreign Countries, which was organized in early 1795 (Independent Gazetteer [Philadelphia], 3 Jan.; Philadelphia Gazette & Universal Daily Advertiser, 3 July).
1. The ship Thomas Chalkley, captained by Robert Rice, left Rotterdam, Netherlands, on 1 Sept. and arrived at Philadelphia on 12 October. It carried a number of German passengers whose indentures were offered for sale in November (Philadelphia Gazette & Universal Daily Advertiser, 13 Oct., 7 Nov.; Aurora General Advertiser [Philadelphia], 14 Oct.).
2. A more correct translation of the preceding phrase would be “under the pretense that I was still in Russian service”; the original German reads: “um die Pretension, die ich noch meines Diensthalber an Ruβland habe.”