To our Very Dear Great Friends and Allies, the President and Members of the General Congress of the United States of North America.
Very Dear Great Friends and Allies,
We have received your letter of the 22d of November last, which Dr Franklin was ordered to place in our hands. We have seen with pain, the picture of the embarrassment of your finances, and we have been so much touched by it, that we have resolved to assist you as much as our own necessities, and the extraordinary and very great expenses required on our part by the war, which we are carrying on for your defence, will permit. We have ordered the Chevalier de la Luzerne to acquaint you more particularly with our intentions. We are already convinced, that the details into which he shall enter, will induce you to make the greatest efforts to second our own, and that you will be more and more convinced by them, that we take the most sincere interest in the cause of the United States, and that we are employing every means in our power to ensure their final triumph. You may rely upon our perseverance in the principles, which have hitherto directed our conduct; it is exerted upon all occasions; as well as upon the sincere affection, which we entertain for the United States in general, and for each one of them in particular.
We pray God, very dear great Friends and Allies, to keep you in his holy protection.
Written at Versailles, this 10th of March, 1781.
Your good friend and ally,
LOUIS.
GEORGE WASHINGTON TO M. DE LA LUZERNE.
Weathersfield, May 23d, 1781.
Sir,