Delmarva Heritage Series, by Dr. William H. Wroten, Jr.
Shoreman Averted War With France
Salisbury Times - January 2, 1959
In the
1790's, as a result of wars in Europe stemming from the French
Revolution, the United States and France were on the verge of
declared war. France was deeply angered because we had signed the
Jay Treaty with England in 1794. The French looked upon this treaty
as the step toward an alliance with England, their foe, and as a
flagrant violation of the Franco-American Treaty of 1778. France
began to seize defenseless American merchant vessels, and the by the
middle of 1797 had captured about three hundred. To add insult to
injury, the Paris Government refused to receive the American envoy,
and even threatened to arrest him.
HOPING TO
SETTLE the disputes between France and the United States, President
John Adams sent three American envoys (John Marshall, C.C.
Pinckney, and Elbridge Gerry) to Paris in 1798. However, they were
unable to accomplish anything, and the result was famous XYZ Affair
in which the American nation was highly insulted. Undeclared war on
the high seas broke out between the United States and France, a war
which could have become at any time a major struggle. The man who
played leading role in helping to bring the United States and France
to an understanding in 1800, after two and a half years of
hostilities, was the talented Maryland statesman, William Vans
Murray.
One of
America's leading historians, who is making a special study of
William Vans Murray, wrote in 1955, "Surprisingly, even though he is
one of Maryland's more illustrious early sons, and an important
political and diplomatic figure in his own right, little is known
about the formative years of his life; to this day he is a misty
figure in our early history."
An
earlier William Vans Murray, fearing for his life after the Scottish
Rebellion of 1715, escaped to France. From France he made his way
to Maryland where he settled in the village of Cambridge. By
profession he was a physician and his practice soon brought him a
rather large fortune. In 1739 he was able to buy a tract of land,
about one-third of which is the present site of Cambridge.
WHEN DR.
MURRAY died in 1759 he left five children, and Elias Jones in his
History of Dorchester County says that one of these was James, the
father of William Vans Murray, while another authority claims that
the father was Dr. Henry Murray, a prominent physician and
influential citizen of the county. Be that as it may, William Vans
Murray was born apparently in 1760 in or near Cambridge.
Murray's
early education was received in Maryland, and he went to the Middle
Temple (you may recall from a previous article that this is where
John Dickinson studied about 30 years previously) in London in April
1784 to study law. While in England he married Charlotte Hughins
(Higgins?). During his three years aboard he also became interested
in politics and diplomacy, and in 1787 wrote Political Sketches,
which was a defense of the new American experiment. This work was
inscribed to John Adams, who was then the American minister to Great
Britain.
After his
return to Maryland in 1787 Murray began the practice of law, and
although still in his twenties he represented Dorchester County for
several terms in the Maryland State Legislature. He resigned his
seat in the General Assembly in 1791 so that he might represent the
Eastern Shore in the United States House of Representatives. He
served in the House until March 3, 1797. As a member of Congress
Murray was considered one of the leading orators of his day.
MURRAY
BECAME a staunch Federalist and soon rose to a position of influence
in the party. As a most loyal Federalist, and often in the center
of the political battles, he was closely associated with such men as
George Washington, James Madison, John Adams, Samuel Chase, Luther
Martin, and even the Marquis de Lafayette. However, Prof. DeConde
points out, he "was never sufficiently the center of attraction to
have the spotlight of history centered directly on him; somehow he
seems always to have remained in the shadows." Yet as a leading
Federalist he was often consulted by President Washington concerning
matters of office-appointments, and the appointments of such
Marylanders as James McHenry as Secretary of War and Samuel Chase as
a judge on the Supreme Court were made after Murray's advice had
been given.
In the
presidential campaign of 1796, Murray was a very active supporter of
John Adams against Thomas Jefferson, and he wrote numerous articles
for the newspapers in Adams' behalf. At the end of the Fourth
Congress Murray had planned to retire from public service and to
return to Dorchester County. But this was not to be, for his
greatest service to the nation was yet to come.
Although
it could be considered as a "party - political - appointment," one
of the last official acts by President Washington shows the
confidence the President had in the abilities of Murray. Murray was
appointed as minister to the Netherlands (Batavian Republic) to
succeed John Quincy Adams. It has been said that the incoming
president, John Adams, told Washington that he would have made the
appointment if Washington had not done so.
WILLIAM
VANS MURRAY, his wife, and secretary arrived at the Hague in the
summer of 1797, a very critical period in our history. The
misunderstandings and disputes between the United States and France
were becoming very dangerous. In less than a year's time the envoys
sent by President Adams had visited France and returned to present
their report concerning Talleyrand and his agents, the famous "Mr.
X, Mr. Y, and Mr. Z." Now began the Quasi-War (1798-1800), which
almost brought the two nations to a declaration of hostility.
President Adams severed relations with France, and insisted that the
renewal of friendly intercourse would have to be advanced by the
French Government.
The first
advance for the renewal of diplomatic relations came through
conversations between the secretary of the French legation of the
Hague and U.S. Minister Murray. Talleyrand assured Murray that
"whatever plenipotentiary the government of the United States might
send to France, in order to terminated the existing differences
between the two countries, would undoubtedly be received with the
respect due the representative of a free, independent, and powerful
nation."
Acting
upon this promise from Talleyrand, president Adams nominated Murray
as minister plenipotentiary, but because of pressure from political
opponents a commission was named with the addition of Chief Justice
Oliver Ellsworth and William R. Davie, formerly governor of North
Carolina.
When
Murray met with the other commissioners in February, 1800, Napoleon
Bonaparte was at the head of the French Nation, and the French
commissioners with whom the Americans were to deal were Joseph
Bonaparte, M. Fleurieu, and Mr. Roederer. The negotiations between
the two nations continued until October 1, 1800, when the
convention, although not entirely satisfactory to either nation, was
signed.
THE
CONVENTION of 1800, which later Murray along negotiated for the
exchange of ratifications, was vital for both the United States and
France. The treaty was essential to Napoleon in his plans for
Louisiana and the re-creating of a French Empire in North America,
to the United States it brought peace with the most powerful nation
in Europe; it ended or first and only (for almost 175 years)
"entangling alliance"; and finally in helping to establish good-will
with Napoleon it laid the foundation for the later acquisition of
Louisiana, probably the greatest real-estate deal in history.
Murray
returned to his work at The Hague, resigning in September, 1801 when
Thomas Jefferson and the Republican Party (of that day) took control
of the government back in the States. The rest of his days,
although few in number (it is believed that he died in December
1803), were spent on his farm near Cambridge. He is supposedly
buried in the Christ Episcopal Church graveyard, but neither his
place of death nor his place of burial is definitely known.
Prof.
DeConde, who is probably the leading living authority on Murray (see
two of his articles in the Maryland Historical Magazines, March,
1953 and December, 1955), has this to say about the famous Eastern
Shoreman:
"More
than any other American William Vans Murray was responsible for
keeping the limited naval conflict from spreading for the success of
the long drawn-out negotiations; and for the enduring peace that was
achieved. While others contributed much and actually determined
policy, he alone worked steadily at the trying and far from
glamorous project of building a peace from its faintest inception to
its anti-climatic end. If there was a keystone to the fabric of
Franco-American diplomacy that brought peace, he was it. But for
him, there might have been no peace.
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