108. Monroe, James. Autograph letter signed (“Jas. Monroe”) as U.S. Minister to England, 2 pages (8 x 9.75 in.; 203 x 248 mm.), front and verso with blank integral leaf, Portland Place (London), 3 July 1807, written to Lord Holland. Usual folds.

Six months after they each signed a commercial treaty, James Monroe agrees to safely send Lord Holland’s letter to a friend in Paris - possibly a prisoner of war as England and France had been at war since 1803. Unbeknownst to them, 12 days earlier, the British warship Leopard had impressed four sailors from the USS Chesapeake, a contributing factor to the start of the War of 1812.

Monroe writes in full:
I had the good fortune to avail myself of a very favorable opportunity to forward the letter yesterday which you lately sent me for Mr Colclough in France. I committed it to Mr. Russell an American gentleman of character who will proceed without delay to Paris, & deliver in person the letter to Mr Warden to whom it is addressed. I have requested that the reply may be forwarded to me in the hope of adding to the security of the conveyance. I have no doubt of the contents of any letter which you will send me & it will give me real satisfaction to be able to render any service whatever to your Lordship or your friends. I fear it will be impossible to obtain the discharge of Mr Colclough. I asked it directly of the govt once in favor of a person of my own name [an officer in the British army] & obtained it, and have in several cases since requested accommodation to others, so that I fear my little means are exhausted. I shall however not fail to use my best exertions in favor of your friend, be the result what it may. There will be another opportunity for Paris in abt. ten days, by which I shall be able to forward any commands you may then have. Very sincerely yours Jas. Monroe

Unbeknownst to Monroe, just 12 days earlier, on 22 June 1807, as the USS
Chesapeake was leaving Chesapeake Bay, off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, the British warship Leopard hailed her and Commodore James Barron, extending naval courtesy, allowed the British to come aboard. The officers of the Leopard requested him to muster the crew in order to recover British deserters. Barron refused, saying there were no deserters aboard. The British were at war with Napoleon and needed more men in the Royal Navy; the United States was neutral in their conflict. Upon their return to the Leopard, the officers ordered an attack upon the Chesapeake and the unprepared American ship surrendered but not before several crew members were wounded or killed. The British removed four sailors from the Chesapeake, later trying them for desertion. Three were Americans; the British deserter was later hanged. Already angry over the British policy of impressment, the American public was outraged by the actions of the British navy, but quickly divided over how to respond, with some calling for war, others for caution. 

Monroe had been sent to London in 1803 to negotiate with the British on the issue of the impressment of American seamen and the seizure of American vessels. In May 1806, Jefferson ordered William Pinkney to assist Monroe. The British government appointed Lords Holland and Auckland as their negotiators and the result of the deliberations was the Treaty of 31 December 1806, the Monroe-Pinkney Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, which offered the United States expansion of its trade within the British Empire but contained no provision against impressments and provided no indemnity for the seizure of goods and vessels. President Jefferson received the treaty in March 1807. Dissatisfied that it avoided the subject of impressment, and that Monroe and Pinkney had disregarded his instructions, Jefferson refused to send it to the Senate for ratification. On 2 July 1807, the day before Monroe wrote this letter to Lord Holland, President Jefferson banned British ships from American waters and on 22 December 1807 he signed the Embargo Act declaring American neutrality and non-engagement in foreign trade.
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