46

c 1812 Commodore JOHN RODGERS Autograph Note Signed to President James Madison

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:400.00 USD Estimated At:800.00 - 1,000.00 USD
c 1812 Commodore JOHN RODGERS Autograph Note Signed to President James Madison
Autographs
Commodore John Rodgers Autograph Note Signed to President James Madison Accepting an Invitation to Dinner
JOHN RODGERS (1772-1838). United States Naval Officer with extensive military victories for 4 decades, from the 1790's through the late 1830's; Served in the Quasi War with France, both Barbary Wars and in the War of 1812 - Firing the First Shot of the War aboard his flagship USS President; President of the Board of Navy Commissioners from 1815 until his retirement in 1837.
c. 1812 Important Autograph Note Signed to President James Madison (Presidential term: March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817), beautifully handwritten in rich brown ink on clean wove period paper, accepting an invitation to dinner, Signed (in the 3rd person), "Com Rodgers". Dated “Tuesday morning, 15th April” (no year date). This response measures 4-7/8" x 7-3/4". Addressed on the reverse side to "The President".

Here we present, Commodore John Rodgers acceptance of President Madison's dinner invitation, which reads, in full:

"Com Rodgers has the honor to accept the President's invitation to dinner for Friday next.

Tuesday morning

15th Apl."

During the War of 1812 Rodgers fired the first shot of the war aboard his next flagship, USS President, and also played a leading role in the Recapture of Washington D.C. after the Capital was burned by the British in 1814. He restored order after the invasion of Washington and he coordinated orders from Secretary of the Navy William Jones for the employment of marines and sailors as naval infantry. Along with ground forces under his two principal subordinates, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and Commodore David Porter, Rodgers' flotilla of ships on the Potomac River forced the retreat of the British. He personally suffered having his own hometown and house burned and his family displaced.

Provenance: from the “James Madison Papers” offered for sale in 1894 by Edward Boker Sterling, (1851-1925), a stamp, coin and autograph dealer of Trenton, NJ. Still housed within Sterling's original folder with his handstamp at bottom.


John Rodgers (July 11, 1772 – August 1, 1838) was a senior naval officer in the United States Navy during its formative years in the 1790s through the late 1830s. He served under six presidents for nearly four decades. His service took him through many military operations in the Quasi-War with France, both Barbary Wars in North Africa, and the War of 1812 with Britain.

As a senior officer in the young American Navy, Rodgers played a major role in the development of the standards, customs and traditions that emerged during this time. Rodgers was, among other things, noted for commanding the largest American squadron in his day to sail the Mediterranean Sea.[1][2] After serving with distinction as a lieutenant, he was soon promoted directly to the rank of captain (the rank of Master Commandant did not exist at that time).[3] During his naval career he commanded a number of warships, including USS John Adams, the flagship of the fleet that defeated the Barbary states of North Africa.

During the War of 1812 Rodgers fired the first shot of the war aboard his next flagship, USS President, and also played a leading role in the recapture of Washington D.C. after the capital was burned by the British. He suffered having his own hometown and house burned and his family displaced.

Later in his career he headed the Board of Navy Commissioners, and he served briefly as Secretary of the Navy. Following in his footsteps, Rodgers' son, and several grandsons and great-grandsons, also became commodores and admirals in the United States Navy

___

James Madison Jr. was Fourth President of the United States from 1809 to 1817; an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

Despite the unpopular Embargo Act of 1807, which did not make the belligerent nations change their ways but did cause a depression in the United States, Madison was elected President in 1808. Before he took office the Embargo Act was repealed.

During the first year of Madison’s Administration, the United States prohibited trade with both Britain and France; then in May, 1810, Congress authorized trade with both, directing the President, if either would accept America’s view of neutral rights, to forbid trade with the other nation.

Napoleon pretended to comply. Late in 1810, Madison proclaimed non-intercourse with Great Britain. In Congress a young group including Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, the “War Hawks,” pressed the President for a more militant policy.

The British impressment of American seamen and the seizure of cargoes impelled Madison to give in to the pressure. On June 1, 1812, he asked Congress to declare war.

The young Nation was not prepared to fight; its forces took a severe trouncing. The British entered Washington and set fire to the White House and the Capitol.

But a few notable naval and military victories, climaxed by Gen. Andrew Jackson’s triumph at New Orleans, convinced Americans that the War of 1812 had been gloriously successful. An upsurge of nationalism resulted. The New England Federalists who had opposed the war–and who had even talked secession–were so thoroughly repudiated that Federalism disappeared as a national party.