Théodore Jauge to William Temple Franklin
ALS: American Philosophical Society
<Bordeaux, July 4, 1778, in French: I have sent no news since
my return, but what I have now will win your and your grandfather’s
attention. For the past year and more we have been
sending ships to North America. Many of them have been captured
through the fault of your pilots, and we have now
learned of a shocking example. A vessel of ours anchored in
Albemarle Sound and sent for a pilot; he refused to come at
any price. The next day, when a frigate appeared, the crew cut
their cables, ran aground, and escaped; their ship was looted
and burned. Thus the pilot lost us a three-hundred-ton vessel
with a rich cargo. Another of ours was taken in the Chesapeake
and sent to New York. It is important that pilots who
refuse to serve should be disciplined; they are said to be in
league with the Loyalists, and I believe it.
How are you faring with the pretty demoiselles you met at
M. Grand’s?>
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