Jean-Baptiste Le Roy to Captain John Paul Jones, Continental Navy, April 8, 1778

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Pont Labbé [between 1 and 8] april 1778¹

Sir

I am with the honor of your kind and polite letter; I will alwais be pleased when I will meet with the oportunity of Being at aney service to you, and to Evrey men that Belongs your imperial republic. I send you your Joseph Rackleyft² in good health, I hope he will meet you so, he Behav’d him self verey well here. I am much pleased to hear from your officers & offer my Service to them ispecialy to Mr. Simson,³ since your Contry and our, are joign’d togother I do not doubt that Some of your Gentelmen will send some of theyrs children to france, as I have tow I would Be Glad to have a Cople of yong men for a year or tow. Because they would Learn the Both tongue togother. their Board will not Cust in my hous more than ¼ of a Craen a day for all, when my son will be older I will propos one Exchange. he is now but 9 years. I wish you good succes and have the honor to be [&c.]

LeRoy

Memory of the Expensoses for jourer youg man joseph Racklyeft.
vis
for the doctor	7- 10S
for his clothing	24
for his voige to Brest	9.
Left to me	40-.10
given to him	7..10
	48-
his Boarding at 30S a day will cost	45-
if you will give them to mr. mancel at Brest a merchand of my friend or mr. moyland at lorient will pay me.⁴

LS, DLC, Peter Force Collection, Papers of John Paul Jones, no. 6723. Addressed: “To/Mr. jones Esq^r/Cap^ne of the Ranger/actually/At Brest.” Docketed: “from Mons^r LeRoy/Pont L’Abbée April 1778/ rec^d. Brest April 8^th. 1778.” Jean-Baptiste Le Roy (1720-1800) was a member of the French Academy of Sciences and a friend of Benjamin Franklin’s. A scientist, he had carried out studies on electricity that promoted Franklin’s theories.

1. The letter is dated only “April 1778.” As seen in the docketing, Jones received it on 8 Apr. According to the log of the Ranger, Joseph Racklyeft or Ratcliffe returned to that vessel on 4 Apr. It is possible, therefore, that the letter was written anytime from 1 Apr. until Jones received it on 8 Apr.

2. Joseph Racklyeft or Ratcliffe, whom Jones in a letter to Gourlade & Moylan of 5 Mar. 1778 called “a Valuable Boy,” had shown symptoms of smallpox when the Ranger arrived in France. To prevent its spread among the crew, Jones left the boy with LeRoy to recover. NDAR 11: 1060–61.

3. Lt. Thomas Simpson, first lieutenant of Ranger.

4. Jones asked James Moylan to pay this bill in his letter to Moylan of 9 Apr., below.

Document Information

Date

1778 April 8

Volume

Volume 12

Series

European Theatre from April 1, 1778 to May 31, 1778

Naval Documents of the American Revolution

Jean-Baptiste Le Roy to Captain John Paul Jones, Continental Navy, April 8, 1778

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