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Letter Written And Signed By Lafayette 1803
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Description
This is an historically important letter written and signed by the Marquis de Lafayette
in 1803. It is a folded letter with nearly two and a half sides, written at La Grange, Lafayette’s home in France, it discusses the Louisiana Purchase, and it reveals a lot about the man and his beliefs and insecurities.
The letter was addressed to the Citizen Commissioner in charge of Maritime Relations and the charge d’affaires from the French Republic under the auspices of the United States. That person was Louis-Andre Pichon, and Lafayette is asking in his own way for help in settling debts he incurred while he worked for the American cause during the Revolutionary War, and the people mentioned in the letter are like a Who’s Who of French and American politics at the time. The letter is also significant because part of it is about the Louisiana Purchase, which was signed on April 30, 1803 and the transfer completed on December 20, 1803.
Lafayette (1757 - 1834), also called Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought on the the side of the Americans in the Revolutionary War. In the United States he was known as Lafayette, and after returning to France, he was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. He was considered a national hero in both countries and beloved on both sides of the pond.
By way of background, Lafayette had been given 11,000 acres of land in Louisiana in recognition of his service to the American cause, and Thomas Jefferson had offered him the governorship of Louisiana in honor of that service, but Lafayette declined, because he believed it was his duty as a patriot to remain in France.
There’s a reference to slavery in the letter - some years earlier, Lafayette had acquired a plantation in Santo Domingo with the express purpose of using it as an experiment in giving slaves their freedom; he spent his lifetime as an abolitionist, proposing that slaves be emancipated slowly, yet aware of the crucial role that slavery played in many economies.
He had a personal side, and that comes out in the letter: his humane concern for the slaves he had freed, his deep love for France and his estate, “La Grange” - Lafayette had retired there, after years in captivity - he had supported the French king during the French Revolution and was detained in Austria when he tried to leave France - he was kept in captivity in Austria for five years before he was set free, and La Grange became his home and haven; he was disillusioned with the French government under Napoleon and felt he been betrayed by them; he also had personal relationships with Jefferson and Madison, and he was concerned about debts he had incurred after he lost his home during the French Revolution - he accepted the responsibility for his debts, but you can hear him grating under the pressure and pain and hurt - and his modesty comes through in the letter - he signed it simply “Lafayette” and dropped the “de” before his name - he wanted to be thought of as a person with democratic values rather than as a member of a privileged aristocracy. All that is here, and more.
Translated, the letter reads: … 1803 from La Grange …
I have received … your letter … and while I find therein the kindly expression of your friendship to me, I also recognize with pleasure the liberal sentiments which, we must hope, will come into fashion sooner or later. Amongst the hopes born of the Revolution, we reckoned upon the abolition of the slave trade and the gradual emancipation of the blacks. The government of the Convention has supported proscription, the sword, and the flame there remained, however, after so many horrors and ravages, a situation not unfavorable to agriculture and one which philanthropy could turn to account. I see that they have chosen the prejudices of the old system, combined with the silent deeds of the conquest, the intrigues of Carrier, and the dogs of Pizarro; it is one more cause of sorrow for the friends of liberty, but they must consider that the reflux of public opinion is but temporary, that so great a store of generous ideas and manifest principles will bear fruit eventually, and that their cause will triumph at last in the Old World even as it has been firmly established in the new.
This letter will be handed to you by M. de Foncier, a distinguished officer of engineers and an esteemed man in every respect, to whom I personally am under obligations and whose well-being I earnestly desire. In his behalf I ask all the proofs of kindly interest that are in your power. My wife, who is no less attached to him than I, joins in this expression of our friendship … I live so withdrawn from the world in my dear country estate … that I can give you no very certain news, but it seems to me that there is no thought of sending you collaborators, and that diplomatic affairs will remain n the hands in which I greatly like to see them. There is not a day on which I do not rejoice over the arrangement about Louisiana, as if I were just hearing of it for the first time. I have acknowledged … your friendly good offices in regard to my affairs. Of course it should be possible for me to keep for my children those territories which I have just received; but after two expensive revolutions, one exile, and a term of captivity … I shall consider myself fortunate if I can pay my debts and have enough left to live on. It would have been necessary for men to choose the less favorable of the two plans suggested by Mr. Gallatin, if I had not found in Mr. Parker a conditional purchaser who allows me the privilege of paying him fifty thousand crowns in two years with interest secured by the mortgage on the land; I shall be the less able to disencumber it because I still have many debts and my income, including my retirement pay, is very modest. It will be very fortunate for me if Mr. Jefferson’s valuation of four or five dollars per acre can be realized; I fear that Mr. Gallatin’s is the more accurate; in any event, my arrangement with Mr. Parker has no drawbacks, for if I have not the wherewithal to pay him, he will have paid for my American property only the equivalent of the sum lent to me. I have informed you that I sent Mr. Madison my power of attorney in blank so that Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Gallatin and himself can fill it in as they please …
Do you think it is still possible to go on with the Santo Domingo business, and to
reassure as to their liberty the men to whom it was promised, and whom it has been as deplorable and more unjust to send back into slavery than it was to free them without proper precautions? … The public reports have told you that the negotiations of the mediators are nor broken off; it is plain that the English government has tried to go back on the Treaty of Amiens, that it was gone astray in its conclusions regarding this country, and that it is disturbed today about our preparations. But things have gone so far off on both sides, that continued peace is becoming more difficult.
Valued friend,
Lafayette
During the French Revolution, Lafayette was head of the French National Guard and was accused of supporting the King. To stay alive, he fled to Austria, but was captured and imprisoned by the Austrians for supporting the French monarchy. He was imprisoned for five years; the first three years he was imprisoned by himself, then
his wife and daughters decided to join him in captivity for the last two years of his imprisonment, so they could live together, even under the most difficult circumstances.
The letter measures 9 1/8 x 7 1/4 in. wide when it is folded and 9 x 14 1/2 in. wide when it is unfolded, and it is in fine condition. Very legible, with no browning or soiling, and an important historical document written and signed by Lafayette himself.
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This is an historically important letter written and signed by the Marquis de Lafayette
in 1803. It is a folded letter with nearly two and a half sides, written at La Grange, Lafayette’s home in France, it discusses the Louisiana Purchase, and it reveals a lot about the man and his beliefs and insecurities.
The letter was addressed to the Citizen Commissioner in charge of Maritime Relations and the charge d’affaires from the French Republic under the auspices of the United States. That person was Louis-Andre Pichon, and Lafayette is asking in his own way for help in settling debts he incurred while he worked for the American cause during the Revolutionary War, and the people mentioned in the letter are like a Who’s Who of French and American politics at the time. The letter is also significant because part of it is about the Louisiana Purchase, which was signed on April 30, 1803 and the transfer completed on December 20, 1803.
Lafayette (1757 - 1834), also called Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought on the the side of the Americans in the Revolutionary War. In the United States he was known as Lafayette, and after returning to France, he was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. He was considered a national hero in both countries and beloved on both sides of the pond.
By way of background, Lafayette had been given 11,000 acres of land in Louisiana in recognition of his service to the American cause, and Thomas Jefferson had offered him the governorship of Louisiana in honor of that service, but Lafayette declined, because he believed it was his duty as a patriot to remain in France.
There’s a reference to slavery in the letter - some years earlier, Lafayette had acquired a plantation in Santo Domingo with the express purpose of using it as an experiment in giving slaves their freedom; he spent his lifetime as an abolitionist, proposing that slaves be emancipated slowly, yet aware of the crucial role that slavery played in many economies.
He had a personal side, and that comes out in the letter: his humane concern for the slaves he had freed, his deep love for France and his estate, “La Grange” - Lafayette had retired there, after years in captivity - he had supported the French king during the French Revolution and was detained in Austria when he tried to leave France - he was kept in captivity in Austria for five years before he was set free, and La Grange became his home and haven; he was disillusioned with the French government under Napoleon and felt he been betrayed by them; he also had personal relationships with Jefferson and Madison, and he was concerned about debts he had incurred after he lost his home during the French Revolution - he accepted the responsibility for his debts, but you can hear him grating under the pressure and pain and hurt - and his modesty comes through in the letter - he signed it simply “Lafayette” and dropped the “de” before his name - he wanted to be thought of as a person with democratic values rather than as a member of a privileged aristocracy. All that is here, and more.
Translated, the letter reads: … 1803 from La Grange …
I have received … your letter … and while I find therein the kindly expression of your friendship to me, I also recognize with pleasure the liberal sentiments which, we must hope, will come into fashion sooner or later. Amongst the hopes born of the Revolution, we reckoned upon the abolition of the slave trade and the gradual emancipation of the blacks. The government of the Convention has supported proscription, the sword, and the flame there remained, however, after so many horrors and ravages, a situation not unfavorable to agriculture and one which philanthropy could turn to account. I see that they have chosen the prejudices of the old system, combined with the silent deeds of the conquest, the intrigues of Carrier, and the dogs of Pizarro; it is one more cause of sorrow for the friends of liberty, but they must consider that the reflux of public opinion is but temporary, that so great a store of generous ideas and manifest principles will bear fruit eventually, and that their cause will triumph at last in the Old World even as it has been firmly established in the new.
This letter will be handed to you by M. de Foncier, a distinguished officer of engineers and an esteemed man in every respect, to whom I personally am under obligations and whose well-being I earnestly desire. In his behalf I ask all the proofs of kindly interest that are in your power. My wife, who is no less attached to him than I, joins in this expression of our friendship … I live so withdrawn from the world in my dear country estate … that I can give you no very certain news, but it seems to me that there is no thought of sending you collaborators, and that diplomatic affairs will remain n the hands in which I greatly like to see them. There is not a day on which I do not rejoice over the arrangement about Louisiana, as if I were just hearing of it for the first time. I have acknowledged … your friendly good offices in regard to my affairs. Of course it should be possible for me to keep for my children those territories which I have just received; but after two expensive revolutions, one exile, and a term of captivity … I shall consider myself fortunate if I can pay my debts and have enough left to live on. It would have been necessary for men to choose the less favorable of the two plans suggested by Mr. Gallatin, if I had not found in Mr. Parker a conditional purchaser who allows me the privilege of paying him fifty thousand crowns in two years with interest secured by the mortgage on the land; I shall be the less able to disencumber it because I still have many debts and my income, including my retirement pay, is very modest. It will be very fortunate for me if Mr. Jefferson’s valuation of four or five dollars per acre can be realized; I fear that Mr. Gallatin’s is the more accurate; in any event, my arrangement with Mr. Parker has no drawbacks, for if I have not the wherewithal to pay him, he will have paid for my American property only the equivalent of the sum lent to me. I have informed you that I sent Mr. Madison my power of attorney in blank so that Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Gallatin and himself can fill it in as they please …
Do you think it is still possible to go on with the Santo Domingo business, and to
reassure as to their liberty the men to whom it was promised, and whom it has been as deplorable and more unjust to send back into slavery than it was to free them without proper precautions? … The public reports have told you that the negotiations of the mediators are nor broken off; it is plain that the English government has tried to go back on the Treaty of Amiens, that it was gone astray in its conclusions regarding this country, and that it is disturbed today about our preparations. But things have gone so far off on both sides, that continued peace is becoming more difficult.
Valued friend,
Lafayette
During the French Revolution, Lafayette was head of the French National Guard and was accused of supporting the King. To stay alive, he fled to Austria, but was captured and imprisoned by the Austrians for supporting the French monarchy. He was imprisoned for five years; the first three years he was imprisoned by himself, then
his wife and daughters decided to join him in captivity for the last two years of his imprisonment, so they could live together, even under the most difficult circumstances.
The letter measures 9 1/8 x 7 1/4 in. wide when it is folded and 9 x 14 1/2 in. wide when it is unfolded, and it is in fine condition. Very legible, with no browning or soiling, and an important historical document written and signed by Lafayette himself.
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Featuring multiple books from well-known authors. These books and documents represent four generations of collecting and run the gamut from signed letters by Lafayette, to first editions by Charles Dickens, George Cruikshank, Longfellow, and wonderful paper ephemera. These are just a few of the exceptional books we will be offering. Bidding will take place both in person and online.
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