Sold John Quincy Adams Invites a Political Foe to Dinner

This letter was hand-delivered by Henry Clay’s slave, Frederick

In 1811, Jonathan Russell was named U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, and in that capacity he had the momentous duty to deliver the Declaration of War in 1812. He thereafter returned home.

To end the war, in late 1814, President Madison sent him, along with John Quincy Adams, former Speaker of the House Henry Clay, just-retired Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin, and James A. Bayard, as peace commissioners to Ghent. The war had been a costly affair for the Americans, businesses throughout the country, especially in New England, were going bankrupt, and the British had burnt Washington D.C. earlier in the year. So there was pressure to bring an end to the conflict. The American delegation was comprised of strong, conflicting personalities (like Adams and Clay), and was plagued by disagreement and bickering. Moreover, the U.S. negotiating team found the British commissioners intransigent, and in the end they were obliged to conclude a treaty short of American expectations. A subject of particular disagreement within the U.S. team was a British proposal to trade free American navigation of the Mississippi River in exchange for recognition of British rights to the Northeast Atlantic fisheries. Clay and Russell voted to reject this demand, while the other Americans voted to accept it, and it passed and became part of the treaty. As a result of their work together, Russell became convinced that Adams had conceded too much in order to curry favor with the British, and became one of his greatest political foes. On the other hand, he respected Clay, and became a strong supporter of Clay’s future ambitions.

In 1815, after the war was over, Adams was appointed Ambassador to Great Britain. There he worked to lessen the tension between the two nations by welcoming Lord Castlereagh’s friendly overtures. Jonathan Russell was also given an ambassadorship – to Sweden. In late 1815, he found himself in London, and there received what must have been a surprising invitation from John Quincy Adams. The Willink referred to was the United States’ banker in Amsterdam, who had done much to support the U.S., financially and otherwise.

Autograph Letter Signed, London, November 14, 1815, to Russell. “Mr. W. Willink of Amsterdam, the father, is here, with his Lady, and will dine with us this day. They proceed tomorrow morning on their journey home. We have asked Mr. and Mrs. Meulemeester to meet them. May we hope for the pleasure of your company too? Mr. Clay’s servant Frederick takes this. Will you have the goodness to send by him the champagne which you mentioned to me a day or two since?” Joseph-Charles de Meulemeester was a Belgian artist and is likely the person referenced.

A few years later, Russell would attack Adams in a pamphlet designed to damage his career and thereby promote Clay’s, but the tactic did not work. Adams counterattacked, hurting Russell’s reputation badly. This letter was obtained by us direct from the Russell descendants and has never before been offered for sale.