To Thomas Jefferson from Eugène MacCarthy, 16 December 1787
From Eugène MacCarthy
L’lle d’Oléron, 16 Dec. 1787. Sends a certificate from the Commissioner at L’Orient attesting that he served during the year 1779 under John Paul Jones; family affairs forced him to be absent when the prize money for those serving on the Bonhomme Richard was divided; learns with regret that he was omitted in the division; asks aid in recovering the share due him; would not trouble TJ with this matter if money were the only consideration; considers the prize money as evidence that he supported the cause of liberty with zeal and devotion—a cause very dear to him.
RC (ViWC); 2 p.; in French; signed: “MacCarthy Lieutenant au regt. de Walsh” endorsed. Recorded in SJL as received 24 Dec. 1787. Enclosure not identified.
There is a brief biography of MacCarthy in Contenson, La Société des Cincinnati de France, Paris, 1934, p. 217; see TJ’s reply to MacCarthy, 3 Jan. 1788.