PRESIDENT JAMES MADISON - FOUR LANGUAGE SHIPS PAPERS SIGNED 05/17/1814 CO-SIGNED BY: PRESIDENT JAMES MONROE - HFSID 285929

JAMES MADISON and JAMES MONROE. Partly Printed DS: "James Madison" as fourth U.S. President and "Jas Monroe" as Secretary of State, 1p, 21¼x16½. Signed in Washington, issued from Wilmington, Delaware, 1814 May 7. The text is in four columns, each in a different language; from left to right: French, Spanish, English and Dutch. In part: "Be it Known, That leave and permission are hereby given to Robert Forrest, master or commander of the Schooner called the Hound of the burden of 94 70/95 tons, or thereabouts, lying at present in the PORT OF BALTIMORE BOUND FOR ST. BARTHOLOMEW, and laden with Sundries as pr manifest to depart and proceed with his said Schooner on his said voyage, such Schooner having been visited, and the said Master having made oath before the proper officer that the said Schooner belongs to one or more of the citizens of the United States of America, and to him or them only...which he at present navigates, is of the United States of America, and that no subjects of the present belligerent Powers have any part or portion therein, directly or indirectly, so may God Almighty help him...." No American ships could sail the open seas without this properly authorized passport. St. Bartholomew is located in the French West Indies north of St. Kitts, southeast of St. Martin. It was originally French until 1784, when it was ceded to Sweden after the American Revolution. It remained Swedish until 1877, when it was repurchased by the French. This document was issued during the last months of the War of 1812, when Great Britain stepped up its military pressure in America. Just one month before this document was issued, Napoleon was overthrown, freeing the British to concentrate on the American war. Some 14,000 of the Duke of Wellington's veterans were re-routed to fight in the U.S. In mid-September from Baltimore, the very port from which the Hound sailed, General Samuel Smith defended the city from a joint land and sea attack by the British. Fort McHenry was unsuccessfully bombarded by Sir Alexander Cochrane and the British withdrew, setting sail for Jamaica. The fight inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner". The schooner Hound had to travel past the blockade that had been in force by the British since November of 1812. It also had to risk possible seizure and impressment of its crew on the open seas. The Hound was sailing at a time when the blockade was causing shortages at home, speculation and price inflation. The Treasury was close to bankruptcy because of the severe drop in custom duties. Just one month before this document, Congress had repealed all the Embargo and Non-Importations Acts in hope of stimulating the economy-despite the fact that those policies, to a limited degree, promoted domestic industry. JAMES MADISON (1751-1836), who was known as "The Father of The Constitution", served as fourth U.S. President from 1809-1817. Madison had previously been a delegate to the Continental Congress from Virginia (1780-1783, 1787-1788), a member of the U.S. Constitutional Convention (1787), a U.S. Representative from Virginia (1789-1797) and Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of State (1801-1809). Fellow Virginian JAMES MONROE (1758-1831) succeeded Madison as fifth U.S. President (1817-1825). In the year he signed this document, Monroe was both Secretary of State (1811-1814, 1815-1817) and Secretary of War (1814-1815). He had previously served as a member of the Continental Congress (1783-1786), a U.S. Senator from Virginia (1790-1794), the U.S. Minister to France (1794-1796) and Britain (1803-1807) and Governor of Virginia 1799-1802 (Monroe would serve in the post again in 1811). Lightly creased, slightly soiled. Fold touches the "J" in Madison's signature. Creases affect the "s" and "M" in Monroe's signature. Full 2¼-inch paper seal affixed with red wax. Left edge worn and nicked. 1-inch diagonal tear and two ½-inch nicks and lower blank right edge. Overall, clean, fine condition.