James Madison Papers
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To James Madison from John Maul, 24 August 1815

From John Maul

Washington, August 24th 1815.

Sir,

I would beg leave to represent to your Excellency, that having made known to the Honble Mr Monroe, my wish to enter the service of my country, he did me the honor of addressing to the Secretary of War a letter, recommending me for an appointment in the Army of the U States. That on the 29t July 1813, I had the honor of receiving a letter from the Secretary of War, informing me that your Excellency had by & with the advice & consent of the Senate, appointed me an Ensign, which I accepted & was ordered to Phila.; on my arrival I received instructions to enter on the recruiting service; on which I was continued in different parts of Penna. for upwards of a year. During which period I made use of every exertion to procure good an[d] efficient men, for the service of my country, and succeeded in enlisting about fifty. That in the winter of 1814, I received orders to join my Regiment then stationed on the Niagara frontier, and I arrived at Buffalo early in January 1815, and entered on duty. I was here honored with appointment of Adjutant to the Rifle Battalion, to which I belonged, and discharged my duty I believe with general satisfaction, until the reduction of the army on the 12t June last, when being deranged I had permission to retire from the Army.

I could have furnished the war office with testimonials of my character & conduct from different officers of high standing in the army, and from respectable citizens in the different places I have been stationed, but I made use of no exertions and relied my claims to the knowledge the department possessed of me and the exertions of my friends, but I have been overlooked.

On my arrival here I discovered that the letter the Secretary of state, honored me with and which procured my commission, was lost & not on file in the War Department—consequently I had nothing there to set forth my claim. Since I have been here, I have renewed my application for a commission, and Mr Monroe the Secy of State has honored me with another letter to the War Department which is now on file in that office. A few days since I received the enclosed letter from Mr Graham.1 Being extremely anxious to enter the service as early as possible, and being now entirely out of employment; I have taken the liberty of addressing your Excellency, which I hope you will excuse, and that you may direct the Secy of war to issue me a Commission.2

I take the liberty of enclosing a recommendation from the gentlemen of the Department of State; shewing their good opinion of me. I have the Honor to be, your Excellencys most obt & very humble Servt.

Jo Maul
late Lieut & Adjt of Riflemen.

RC and enclosure (DNA: RG 59, LAR, 1809–17, filed under “Maul”). RC docketed and directed to the War Department by James Monroe. For surviving enclosure, see n. 1.

1Maul enclosed George Graham’s 7 Aug. 1815 letter to him (1 p.), stating that Maul’s letters of recommendation would be sent to JM when the president turned his attention to army appointments.

2Maul had worked in the State Department as a messenger during JM’s tenure there, and in a similar role under James Monroe (Account of State Department Salaries, 19 Apr. 1806, PJM-SS description begins Robert J. Brugger et al., eds., The Papers of James Madison: Secretary of State Series (11 vols. to date; Charlottesville, Va., 1986–). description ends 11:489; Message from the President of the United States, Transmitting Rolls of Persons Having Office or Employment of a Public Nature [Shaw and Shoemaker description begins R. R. Shaw and R. H. Shoemaker, comps., American Bibliography: A Preliminary Checklist for 1801–1819 (22 vols.; New York, 1958–66). description ends 30264], 5). He was appointed a second lieutenant in the Eighth Regiment of Infantry on 17 June 1816 (Heitman, Historical Register description begins Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, from Its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903 (2 vols.; 1903; reprint, Baltimore, 1994). description ends , 1:697).

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