# William Eustis to Thomas Jefferson, 25 October 1809 CITATION: “William Eustis to Thomas Jefferson, 25 October 1809,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-01-02-0490. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson , Retirement Series, vol. 1, 4 March 1809 to 15 November 1809 , ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004, pp. 624–625.] URL (original): https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-01-02-0490 URL (fetched, Wayback Machine capture): https://web.archive.org/web/2024/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-01-02-0490 DATE FETCHED: 2026-09-14 TRANSCRIPTION: scholarly edition text (Princeton, Papers of Thomas Jefferson / Madison Papers, as published on Founders Online); text below is verbatim from the fetched page, including the editors' source note and footnotes. Superscripts are flattened by the HTML-to-text conversion (e.g. 'Oct r' = Oct^r, '11 th' = 11^th). NOTE: Does not mention Lewis; kept because Eustis wrote it the week the news reached Washington (cf. Treat to Bates, 31 Oct 1809). ---- VERBATIM TEXT (Founders Online page) ---- William Eustis to Thomas Jefferson, 25 October 1809 From William Eustis Washington October 25. 1809. Dear Sir, Arriving at the seat of Government a few days since I find your very kind letter of the 6 th instant . Be pleased to receive my grateful acknowlegement of the favorable terms in which you express your approbation of my appointment to an office, the arduous duties of which I wish it was in my power more satisfactorily to discharge. In my native state and in New Hampshire I derived great satisfaction in perceiving the great change which had taken place in the public opinion. The late 1 proceedings of the British Government and of the British merchants appear to have occasioned a different turn of thinking and (I am not without hopes) will produce a different course of conduct on the part of the citizens on the atlantic coast. A revolution of sentiment has undoubtedly taken place. The friends of G. Britain are no longer able to justify her cause before the tribunal of the public. principles and sentiments more becoming Americans are taking place of the violence & prejudice which have too long prevailed: and it is to be apprehended that the intercourse (diplomatic), which will come before the public in its proper time, will not be calculated to abate those sentiments or to shake those principles. I pray you to receive this hasty expression of my respect and regard, with my best wishes for your enjoyment of every blessing which the evening of life can shed over a meridian devoted to the service of your country. Every suggestion with which I may be favored from your retirement will be gratefully received: The enclosed, made out by the clerk, is perhaps too general & too indefinite for the guidance of Mr Porter in regard to his claim. His answer is briefly this. His claim for compensation for services is barred by the statute of limitation. His claim for compensation on account of disability is at least doubtful. The statute provides for disability the result of known wounds received in the line of actual duty. But the Statute has in several instances been construed more liberally than its strict Letter would justify. Whether the case of Mr Porter would be so construed must depend on the 2 testimony produced before the commissioners appointed by the District Judge to whom his application is to be made in the first instance. With the highest respect & regard I am D r Sir, your obed t Serv t W. Eustis RC ( DLC ); at foot of text: “Thomas Jefferson Esq r ”; endorsed by TJ as received 31 Oct. 1809 and so recorded in SJL . Enclosure not found. 1 . Word interlined. 2 . Manuscript: “the the.” Index Entries Eustis, William; as secretary of war search Eustis, William; letters from search Eustis, William; on New England politics search Griffin, Cyrus; as federal judge search Porter, John; claim for compensation search Permanent Link What’s this? https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-01-02-0490 Note: The annotations to this document, and any other modern editorial content, are copyright © Princeton University Press. All rights reserved. Back to top You Are Looking At Source Project Jefferson Papers Title William Eustis to Thomas Jefferson, 25 October 1809 Author Eustis, William Recipient Jefferson, Thomas Date 25 October 1809 Reference Cite as “William Eustis to Thomas Jefferson, 25 October 1809,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-01-02-0490. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson , Retirement Series, vol. 1, 4 March 1809 to 15 November 1809 , ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004, pp. 624–625.] More between these correspondents Preceding From Jefferson to Eustis [6 October 1809] Next From Jefferson to Eustis [30 May 1810] All All correspondence between Jefferson and Eustis