Philada. June 24th 1781.—
Dr. Barry,
After congratulating you on your safe arrival and success, I shall without any apoligy relate to you what has been Transacting in this Quarter relative to rank for this week past, it still hangs over our head & requires every Exertion of Interest to prevent its taking place. The Attempt has been bold & Daring and is only equaled by the man who made it.
The Chevalier ever since his arrival in this City has devoted his time, privately, by making personal application to the Individual members of Congress to give him rank at the head of our Navy, and after Interesting (by being an accomplished Courtior), every member who was week, or of his own stamp in his favor, hands into Congress a Narritive of his services from the beginning of time containing the best part of a Quire of paper, and attended with a modest petition seting forth the injustice he had done him in the Establishment of rank and desire of redress &ca. This had the desired effect, and he had a Committee of Congress consistg. of Genl. Vernon, Mr. Mathews & Mr. Clymer appointed to enquire into his Claim and to make report, they accordingly did and in his favor. Congress was upon the point of taking the report up, and I have too much reason to believe woud have gratified the hight of his ambition had we not by the greatest accident discovered it, this was done by information a member of Congress gave Mrs. Reade in whose house he lived, he was also on the most familiar terms with myself, so far he had proceeded without the least suspisian on our side. As soon as I was informed of it, I immediately took my Hat and with very little Ceremony waited on the President of Congress at his house, & informed what I had heard, he received me politely & told me my suspisians was just, I therefore desired as my right that Congress might delay determining on it untill Cap. Reade & myself in behalf of ourselves & the absent brother officers equally concerned, should have an opportunity of being heard, which he promised me his Interest to have done, and that day Cap. Reade & myself threw in our remonstrance to Congress a Copy of mine you have Enclosed, the Consequence of which was the Committee was ordered to reconsider it and to give us notice to attend, we according did & found Cap. Jones without doors in conferance with two of them, Cap. Jones did not attend, I desired the Chairman would send for him, the reason I assigned was that I would say many things in his presence that I would not in his absence, he sent word that he would wait on us but never came, we found the President & Mr. Mathews predetermined in his favor, but Mr. Climer otherwise, after pointing out the absurdity of his claim which proceeded from a Brevial from Commodore Hopkins to the Command of the Sloop Providence were from his own claim, Capts. Whipple, Hallock, yourself, & Alexander where Capts. before him. I say after pointing out this to them, the Presidt. appeared to be convinced, but if so in reality I wont pretend to say. We had a good deal of conversation with the Committee, Mr. Mathews alone seemed his most strenious advocate and in my oppinion behaved obstinate & ungentiel. I said many things pretty severe of the Chevaliers private as well as Public Carrector too odious to mention and yet unnoticed, upon the whole we acquited ourselves well. It happened five days ago and they have not yet made their report. Should it be in his favor again, I have some reason to believe the honest part as well as those who had been imposed on from their ignorance about our Naval Transactions and the method of Establishing rank, are now sufficiently alarmed, and should the report be taken up at all, they will not determine in his favor. Your arrival & success came very opportunily and I did not fail to make use of it I mean outdoors in presence of Cap. Jones & some of his advocated Members, by observing that you had acquit yourself well, which they acknowledged. I then told them they could not do less than make you Admiral also. I had not a sentense of reply. it irritated the Chevalier so much that he was obliged to decamp. I yesterday was informed by a Member of Congress a friend of mine that they had received a letter from Bob Morris (The Financier) that he would undertake to Fitt out immediately my Ship & the 74 and if they agreed to it, there would be a necessity for appointing a Cap. to her immediately, and at the same time asked if I would accept of the Command of her. I refused but at the same time pointed out the necessity of the next Senior officer having the offer & so down, and in case none of them would accept untill it came to Chevalier that then he should have the offer he seemed convinced from the arguments I made use of of the Necessity of this mode as the only one that would give satisfaction and make our Navy of repute. How it will opperate with Congress I cant undertake to determine. I also let him understand that you was already appointed to her. I have very good reason to believe that Bob Morris' views are solely to serve him, but be that as it may, he has my consent, as I am convinced he will never get her to sea. It will suit his Vanity & only tend to expose himself and his friends in Congress.
I have now 120 men onbd., and as Bob Morris has undertaken to supply us with money expect to get to sea in a fortnight.
I now conclude with assuring you I remain Yrs most sincerely
Jas. Nicholson.
To His Excellency. the Presidt. & the Honble. the Members of the United States in Congress Assembled.
The Memorial of Jas. Nicholson, Cap. in the Navy of the United States Respectfully Shewith,
That your Memorialist has by accident been informed that the Chevalier Paul Jones hath Petitioned Congress & in consequence thereof a Committee has been appointed and are now actually siting for the Purpose of considering his claim of Prior Rank to your Memorialist, and as your Memorialist conceives any alteration in the rank of the Navy as at present established will be doing him a very sensible injury he begs leave to call the recollection of Congress to their resolves of the 17th Ap. & the 10th Ocbr. of 76 by the latter of which the rank of every Cap. or Commander in the Navy was established. Your Memorialist therefore prays that Congress will not deprive him of the rank he has always held in the Navy of the United States without a sufficient cause (which he presumes does not exist) as it will convey to the Public at large a suspisian that your Memorialist has forfeited that rank with which he has been so long honored by some misconduct. As your Memorialist has not been informed, certainly, upon what particular grounds Cap. Jones founds his Claims of Prior Rank, your Memorialist can only refer to the above mentioned Solemn Acts of Congress which sets forth the rank that Honble. body fixed for every Cap. & Commdr. in the Navy. Your MemorIt. has good reason to suppose it must be from his Early Service should that be the Case. Your Memorialist begs leave to observe what in his oppinion would be the Absurdity of Cap. Jones' claims viz; That two of your Memorists. Lieutts. now under his immediate Command onbd. the Trumbull would take the Commd. from your Memorits. & will every Capn. Lieutt. that where in the Commodrs. fleet.