John Jacob Rivardi letter July 6, 1794
Major Rivardi to the Secretary of War
Norfolk, July 6, 1794
SIR:
I hope you will have received the plans and letters which I have had the honor to send to you the 24th June last. The bad weather, the deficiency of cash and the circumstance, fatal to the progress of our works, that all the people are engaged at their crops, have put a temporary slowness in every thing here. I therefore employed that time in visiting the country, taking the necessary surveys, and drawing the map of Elizabeth's river, which I join to this letter. It is a very accurate one with respect to the distances, creeks, soundings, and windings of the river. The roads are likewise carefully marked, and I lament only that it is not drawn with more neatness; my various occupations, and the hurry in which I did it, will, I hope be a title to your indulgence. The scale I made use of, is of a mile and a half, viz: 7,920 feet English measure; it is subdivided in 108, chains each 36 2/5 feet.
If I receive the theodolite which I had the honor to mention in my last, I will then be able to supply your office with a map, including Cape Henry, and the mouths of all the different rivers, James, Nansemond, &c. That map would be very useful to establish signals, communications, &c. Next week I shall have the honor, sir, to send you a plan of the redoubt to be erected at Craney island, a spot of too much importance to be neglected, as all the vessels are forced to come under point blank shot of it, as you may see by the chart.
I wish you would have the goodness to inform Me in what manner you intend to have the furnaces for heating the shot constructed. The adjective reverberatory, annexed in my instructions, makes me think that you mean to a new construction which I am ignorant of; but the furnaces, made of four years ago in Germany And in France will be sufficient, I give the necessary directions, even with some improvements made (in the channel leading the shot on the gridiron) by the Russians in the last war.
I have been forced, for the necessary surveys, to a number of extraordinary expenses. The $200 which I Received at Philadelphia for that object, have been expended some time; and some journeys will, perhaps be necessary, either to Baltimore or to Alexandria, I will take the liberty to beg you to send me some fresh supply for extraordinary expenses when you have the goodness to forward me the advance of the sum allowed for my compensation, which I shall be in want of by the end of this month.
Here I enclose a return of the laborers, employed at the fortifications for a fortnight. It will show you, sir, what difficulties this scarcity of hands must subject us to. Much is promised for the beginning of next month. Much, indeed, is necessary, in order to have the forts completed this summer, which I hope will be the case.
I have been honored by no letter of yours since the 16th ultimo. I hope it is not a mark of dissatisfaction, as I never shall give (as much as it will lay in my power) the smallest occasion to doubt my exactitude and my activity in the performance of the business entrusted to me.
J.J.U. RIVARDI
P.S. The guns from Elk are arrived safely.
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AMERICAN STATE PAPERS
CLASS V
MILITARY AFFAIRS
VOLUME 1
DOCUMENTS
LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE,OF THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
FROM THE FIRST SESSION OF THE FIRST TO THE SECOND SESSION OF THE FIFTEENTH CONGRESS INCLUSIVE:
COMMENCING MARCH 3 1789 AND ENDING MARCH 3 1819
SELECTED AND EDITED, UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF CONGRESS
BY WALTER LOWRIE, Secretary of the Senate, AND MATTHEW ST CLAIR CLARKE Clerk of the House of Representatives,
VOLUME
WASHINGTON:
PUBLISHED BY GALES AND SEATON
1832