John Adams to Nicolaas & Jacob Van Staphorst, December 1, 1782

Paris Dec r. 1 st. 1782.

Gentlemen,

The Preliminaries, to be inserted, in the definitive Treaty of Peace, when the other belligerent Powers shall be ready, were yesterday signed & sealed by the Minister Plenipotentiary of his Britannic Majesty on the one part, & the Ministers Plenipotentiary of the United States on the other.

This Fact I communicate to You in Confidence, that You may make the best Use of it You can, for the Interest and Honor of the United States. I leave You, Gentlemen, to make your own Reflections, and draw your own Inferences, only requesting You to be as secret as the Nature of the Thing requires—

I have the Honor to be, with great Esteem, / Gentlemen & c