1To Benjamin Franklin from ——— Mercier, [before 10 February 1779] (Franklin Papers)
D : University of Pennsylvania Library In the spring of 1777, the commissioners had contracted with Mercier to repair the arms which they had purchased from Montieu. By the summer of 1778, Jonathan Williams, Jr. had become so suspicious of Mercier’s bills that he ordered the work stopped and refused further payments. Mercier, unable to justify his accounts to Williams, then turned to the...