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Table of Contents > Federal Period > Lot 132 |
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Lot Number: 132
Click for a Printable PageSign-in to Bid or Register to Bid Estimate Range: $2,000 - $3,000 |
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“On the 5th of june you are if possible to be at _______ in the bay of Delaware & there to wait for other additional orders from the President... the latter are to be set at liberty...” - Rare “Quasi-War” Instructions Regarding Impressed American Sailors Taken Captive by French Ships |
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c. 1798 Quasi-War Period with France (July 7, 1798 - September 30, 1800) Period, Manuscript Letter (a secret correspondence believed to be to Commodore Richard Dale), Undated and Unsigned, Providing (secret) Instructions on how to deal with Impressed American Sailors taken on French Ships and “other additional orders from the President.”, Very Fine. This important content historic naval related letter of instructions was obviously meant for one recipient in command of a U.S. Navy ship which was believed to be Richard Dale. These apparently “Secret” Instructions read, in full:“If you meet with any ship of war of the French Republic or any french privateer, you are to examine whether any american citizens are on board in the service of the ship or as prisoners, and you are to demand that such persons be delivered to you & if they are not you may use force in taking them. The former are to be brought into the United States and committed to the officers of justice to be dealt with according to law and the latter are to be set at liberty. If you find any american ship in the possession of any french ship of war or privateer you are not to permit her to be sent into any french, spanish or dutch port under the pretense of adjudication but you are to retake and release her if in your opinion she possesses the papers required by the treaty with france and has not acted in any thing contrary to that treaty. You are not to permit any capture to be made of an american by any french ship of war or privateer which it shall be in your power to prevent on the high sea or within the territorial limits of the United States. On the 5th of june you are if possible to be at _______ in the bay of Delaware & there to wait for other additional orders from the President.” The final, back blank page has pencil notations suggests the identity of the recipient reading: “Instructions to Capt(ain) Dale” (1756-1826) which directly refers to Richard Dale, who was an American naval officer who fought in the Continental Navy under John Barry. Dale was first lieutenant on board the “Bonhomme Richard” serving together for its Captain John Paul Jones during the naval battle off of Flamborough Head, England against HMS Serapis in the celebrated Revolutionary War engagement of September 23, 1779. Dale was in the merchant fleet 1783-1794 and a United States Navy Captain in 1794. Dale took his squadron to the Mediterranean in 1801 during the hostilities with the pirates of Tripoli. Dale became One of the Six Original Commodores of the permanent United States Navy, and he Commanded the blockade of Tripoli in 1801 during the First Barbary War, during Thomas Jefferson's Presidency. Dale Retired from the Navy in 1802. This Letter contains truly remarkable historic Naval content. The “Quasi-War” was an Undeclared Naval War fought from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States. This Manuscript Letter of instructions is well written in rich brown ink on clean laid period paper, fully handwritten by an unknown author (being likely a secret, here not further identified for fear of capture), yet obviously someone in close connection with the President of the United States (as mentioned), apparently referring to President John Adams (1797-1801) Provenance: From the Collection of Ambassador William J. Middendorf Dale's record during the Revolutionary War proved eclectic. After departing the merchant service in 1776 he signed on as a lieutenant in the navy of the colony of Virginia. His tenure proved brief, since he was captured shortly thereafter by a tender of the frigate HMS Liverpool. He knew many of the men in the ship's crew from his time as a merchant, and they persuaded Dale to sign up for the British cause. He served for Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Virginia. While fighting for the British, Dale received his first battle wounds when he was caught in a confrontation with American pilot boats. During his convalescence in Norfolk, Virginia, he determined that he would return to the patriot cause at his first opportunity. En route to Jamaica, the British vessel upon which Dale traveled was captured by the American Captain John Barry on his ship USS Lexington. Dale volunteered to serve on the American ship, and entered their service with the rank of Midshipman. He continued on with Lexington after Barry was replaced as captain by William Hallock, who promoted Dale to Master's Mate. Unfortunately for Dale, the ship was captured by the British frigate HMS Pearl. Select officers from Lexington were taken onto Pearl as prisoners, Dale included, although a sudden gale permitted the rest of the America crew to escape. In January 1777, Dale was released in a prisoner exchange and returned to Lexington, now under yet another captain, Henry Johnston. Lexington joined a squadron that caused some destruction on the coast of Ireland, which compelled the British to chase and, eventually, capture the brig and its crew. They were taken to Plymouth, England and the crew imprisoned in Mill Prison in September 1777. In L'Orient, Dale signed on as Master's Mate with John Paul Jones on USS Bonhomme Richard, which was a French East Indiaman that had been converted to a warship. He received a promotion to First Lieutenant in short order. The ship cruised along the west coast of Ireland and brought the war into British waters. Through the capture or destruction of many vessels, he contributed to the disruption of British trade, and made many residents impatient for the war to end. On September 23, 1779, Bonhomme Richard met HMS Serapis off the coast of Flamborough Head, near Yorkshire. Described as being somewhat reckless in his bravery, Dale commanded the forward guns in the close fighting of the battle. When rumors that Bonhomme Richard was sinking reached him from below decks, and that the crew was prepared to surrender, Dale went to ascertain the damage. Upon his assessment that the ship would not yet sink, he inspired the crew to persist in the fight. He compelled his British prisoners to man the pumps to keep the ship afloat while the battle continued above. During the First Barbary War with North Africa Commodore Dale sailed in the flagship USS President with Captain James Barron and a fleet of four other ships. In 1801, President Thomas Jefferson assigned them to blockade the city of Tripoli, where government-sanctioned pirates seized European and American merchant ships and enslaved their crews. The United States government reluctantly paid tribute to the leaders of Tripoli, Tunis and Algiers for a number of years to ensure the protection of American interests. Regardless, the Barbary pirates continued to sporadically seize American property and sailors. During the years 1801 and 1802, while Dale and his fleet regulated these waters, American ships remained unthreatened. Dale maintained the blockade until a lack of provisions and rampant illness among the crews of his ships compelled him to return to his base in Virginia. Dale received new orders to return to the Mediterranean after his return to the States; however, he was dissatisfied with the conditions of his assignment. He resigned his commission in the United States Navy when he discovered that there would be no captain on his flagship. He considered it a dishonor for him to assume the responsibilities of a captain while serving as a commodore. Instead. he returned to Philadelphia as a civilian, and lived the remainder of his life on land, with his wife and family. __ The Quasi-War with France (1798 - 1801): After winning Independence from Great Britain, the United States’ first international conflict was with its Revolutionary War ally, France. Like many conflicts in the early years of the United States, this conflict centered around American neutral trading rights, and was a by-product of the ongoing wars between Great Britain and France, and the French Revolution. Commonly referred to as the Quasi-War with France, this conflict was a limited naval war against French Privateers who were seizing U.S. Shipping in the Caribbean. The Quasi-War is significant as the first seaborne conflict for the newly established United States Navy. It was the first action by the United States to protect its shipping abroad and the first effort to exert control over the Caribbean Sea. War was never formally declared, and French naval warships directly clashed with American ships in only a few instances. It was solely intended as a war against Privateers and was almost entirely waged in the Caribbean. The Quasi-War evolved in the wake of the French Revolution, which altered the relationship between the United States and the French government. The Treaties of Alliance and Commerce with France, the first international agreements signed by the United States in 1778, were specifically intended to foster trade between the two countries. But the French monarchy that forged the alliance was overthrown in the French Revolution. Over the next 10 years, France swung dramatically from a traditional monarchy to a republic that seemed prepared to overthrow every other monarchy in Europe as well. In the process, war reignited between France and Great Britain, and the former was joined by a loose coalition of European nations that saw revolutionary France as a threat. The Jay Treaty: When the Republic of France went to war with Great Britain and the European coalition in 1792, the United States declared its neutrality. During this time, the United States was continuing to establish itself as a trading partner on the global stage. Peace with Britain had meant some prosperity, but the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution left many issues unresolved. American merchants were still unable to trade with Britain’s remaining colonies in the Caribbean, which had been a major market for merchants throughout the North American colonies before the revolution. To resolve the outstanding issues with Britain, the United States began negotiating a new treaty, known as the Jay Treaty, in 1794. Though the Jay Treaty smoothed over relations with Britain, the United States still saw itself as neutral when it came to the war between Britain and revolutionary France. The U.S. government argued that the overthrow of the French monarchy negated America’s obligation to side with France and defend it against Britain. At the time, the United States was fiercely divided between two political parties, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The two parties had different ideas about the role of the federal government and how that manifested itself on the world stage. Although there was general support for the French Revolution in the beginning, that support began to erode as France went to war with Great Britain and Europe. The parties were divided over how to respond and whether it would mean America returning to war with Britain. The Revolutionary government of France saw the Jay Treaty as a repudiation of America’s earlier treaties with France. If American merchants were going to trade with France’s enemies, France was going to treat them like enemies. French Privateers began seizing U.S. merchant ships trading with Britain and its colonies, even boldly taking ships in American waters along the Eastern Seaboard. Between October 1796 and July 1797, more than 300 American merchant ships and their cargos were seized in the greater Caribbean. In response, the United States suspended repayments of Revolutionary War debts to France, thus moving the two nations closer to war. |
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Lot Number: 132
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Estimate Range: $2,000 - $3,000 |
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