John Adams

In this letter, Adams explains to Mathew Carey that he is sending papers delivered to him by John Marston. He requests that a letter by Captain Hoisted [Hoystead] Hacker be returned to him and describes Marston as an ardent supporter of the views of Carey and Mr. Clark. Adams mentions Captain Simpson, who served as the First Lieutenant of Captain John Paul Jones when he captured a twenty-gun ship in 1778. Adams remarks that Simpson's name "ought to be more known in History than it is.” Adams asks that Carey question Captain Jonathan Williams if he differs in that sentiment, and states that he will dispute the matter with him. Jones arrested his Lieutenant Thomas Simpson for disobedience shortly after the mentioned capture of the HMS Drake while aboard the Ranger. Jones only dropped the charges after correspondence with Adams and the other statesmen, finally allowing Simpson to take command of the Ranger, while he went on to command the Bonhomme Richard.

Adams served as a Member of the Continental Congress and was the first Vice President of the United States during George Washington's term of office. The father of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, he was elected President and served from 1797-1801. Mathew Carey, a Philadelphia- based publisher, published Thomas Clark's Naval History. John Marston, who was a midshipman at the time, would eventually become a rear-admiral and would have a continued relationship with John Adams.

John Adams (1735-1826).
[Letter] July 5, [1813], Quincy (Mass.) [to] Mathew Carey, Esquire / John Adams.

Lehigh University Catalog Record: https://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/asa/Record/10552715

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