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136

1780 Revolutionary War Letter, John Adams' Personal Secretary to William Vernon

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:800.00 USD Estimated At:1,200.00 - 1,600.00 USD
1780 Revolutionary War Letter, John Adams' Personal Secretary to William Vernon
American Revolution
1780 Revolutionary War Letter From John Adams' Personal Secretary to Head of Navy William Vernon
February 24, 1780-Dated, Revolutionary War Period, Letter from John Adams' Personal Secretary John Thaxter, to the Head of the Continental Navy Board William Vernon at Boston, from Paris, France, Choice Very Fine.
An original Autograph Letter Signed, “John Thaxter” who was the Personal Secretary of John Adams, measuring 7” x 9.5” well written in deep brown upon fresh, clean period laid paper. This bright, clean and beautifully written Letter was sent to William Vernon, who was essentially the Secretary of the Navy and head of the “Navy Board” at Boston, during the Revolutionary War.

This Letter is to inform Willaim Vernon that the letters he had entrusted to Thaxter to deliver to his son had indeed been delivered. On the twenty-second of November 1783, John Thaxter, Jr., John Adams' private secretary, reaches Philadelphia, after over a month at sea from Paris, France to Boston, carrying an official copy of the Definitive Treaty of Paris, officially ending the American Revolutionary War with Britain, which he delivers to the new president of Congress, Thomas Mifflin.
Abigail Adams Correspondence, April 1778-1797, held within the Boston Public Library Rare Books and Manuscripts Department, Scope and Contents:

Of the twenty-two letters in this collection, twenty are addressed to John Thaxter, Jr. in which Abigail Adams writes about the war-time economy, the changing attitudes of American women, and the importance of public service. Other subjects include her management of the family farm, her husband’s absence, and her impressions of people such as General Burgoyne and events such as the siege of Newport.

In December 1777, awaiting another brief visit by the father, the family received news that Congress had appointed him a commissioner, to join Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee in Paris to promote the American cause among the European powers. Word of this new assignment reached Braintree before John did, allowing Abigail to dream that she and perhaps her older children would accompany her spouse to France. But when John Adams came home, he stressed mostly the danger of capture by the enemy on the high seas.

Abigail allowed their son Johnny, who begged to accompany his father. The advantages of such an experience being obvious, Abigail and other family members backed the boy's cause. Despite her misgivings, Abigail decided it was important that her son be with his father; Johnny, she believed, had reached the age when he stood, as she put it, "most in need of the joint force of his [John's] example and precepts."

Then there was the prediction of Johnny's tutor, cousin John Thaxter, that by going to Europe, young Adams would be "laying the foundations of a great man." These arguments were persuasive-the eldest son would go abroad with his father.

John Adams, Johnny and John Thaxter embarked on February 13, 1778, sailing in the twenty-four-gun Continental frigate Boston. Their departure was without fanfare, lest the British navy be alerted that a fine catch would be crossing the Atlantic. Father and son were quietly rowed out to the Boston from near Uncle Norton Quincy's house at Mount Wollaston. The seas were high, but throughout, as a much-gratified John Adams noted, his son "behaves like a man."


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