Partly-printed vellum DS as president, signed “Th: Jefferson,” one page, 13.5 x 17, April 2, 1804. President Jefferson appoints James Dodge “a surgeon in the Navy in the service of the United States. Signed at the conclusion by Jefferson and countersigned by Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith. In good to very good condition, with intersecting folds, a horizontal fold passing through signature, some light paper loss along one vertical fold, mild overall toning, a bit heavier in spots, and light creasing and wrinkling. The white seal is crisp and intact with a central vertical crease.
After decades of extending payment to the Barbary States for protection against piracy, newly elected President Jefferson decided to put his navy to use in confronting the piratical Ottomans. When the USS Constitution captured Tunisian vessels attempting to run the American blockade of neighboring Tripoli in 1804, a crisis erupted. Threatening war, the bey of Tunis agreed to send an ambassador to Washington to negotiate restitution for the captured vessels and barter for tribute. Before visiting Jefferson, ambassador Suliman Mellimelni stepped aboard the Constitution to meet with John Dodge, naval surgeon and charge d’affaires in the court of Tunis, to begin the crucial discussion. Serving well beyond his technical duties as the surgeon of ‘Old Ironsides,’ John Dodge aptly handled the difficult diplomatic situation that led to a peaceful resolution of the Tunisian crisis, making him a key figure in the Barbary Wars. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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