Levi Woodbury – Supreme Court Justice. Signed letter, as Treasury Secretary April 24, 1837. Woodbury reviews the payments and settling accounts on the 5th Installment of the French Indemnity. The Treasury needed to establish value of bullion paid by Franch and then calculate the outstanding balance and future payments.
The letter and reference to the French Indemnity is a nice example of the difficulty in settling claims by merchants for losses during Napolean’s wars. Franch agreed to pay the United States 25 million francs for American losses of cargo and ships. The US Government then issued notes to those who had proven claims. Those notes were paid in installments as the French made good on their payments to the US. France suspended payments after a few years until Jackson threatened reprisal. Claim holders must have been anxious about eventually collecting and the Treasury would have been carefully reconciling accounts.
The letter is in very good condition, written on the 1st and 2nd pages of a folded 4to bifolium sheet.
[#6427]
Levi Woodbury – Supreme Court Justice. Signed letter, as Treasury Secretary April 24, 1837. Woodbury reviews the payments and settling accounts on the 5th Installment of the French Indemnity. The Treasury needed to establish value of bullion paid by Franch and then calculate the outstanding balance and future payments.
The letter and reference to the French Indemnity is a nice example of the difficulty in settling claims by merchants for losses during Napolean’s wars. Franch agreed to pay the United States 25 million francs for American losses of cargo and ships. The US Government then issued notes to those who had proven claims. Those notes were paid in installments as the French made good on their payments to the US. France suspended payments after a few years until Jackson threatened reprisal. Claim holders must have been anxious about eventually collecting and the Treasury would have been carefully reconciling accounts.
The letter is in very good condition, written on the 1st and 2nd pages of a folded 4to bifolium sheet.
[#6427]