American merchant, politician and diplomat (1737-1789) who served as a delegate in the Continental Congress and as the first foreign diplomat from the United States to France. Secretive ALS signed with a fictitious name, “S. Davis,” three pages on two adjoining sheets, 7.25 x 9, June 11, 1776. Letter to John Jay written from Bordeaux, featuring eleven lines of visible text followed by two and a quarter pages in invisible ink; this portion has been deciphered through the use of infrared photographs and a manuscript written by Jay at the time he received it, as well as an article by L. Bendikson, 'The Restoration of Obliterated Passages and of Secret Writing in Diplomatic Missives,' published in a 1937 issue of Franco-American Review. In the secret portion of this letter, Deane writes, in part: "I wrote from Bermuda…to Mr. Morriss, informing him of my transactions there and of the sums of money I had received, the situation I left his island affairs in, with a particular account of the state and disposition of the island and its inhabitants and my sentiments of their importance to the United Colonies…By a Carolina vessel I wrote a few lines to Mr. Rutledge, informing him of my arrival, &c., and…I wrote you a secret letter…I propose in every secret letter to you to notice every letter I have wrote and render the contents, to prevent that anxiety which might arise from…the knowledge of their contents…The merchants here are greatly alarmed lest their West Indies should suffer by want of North American produce…Immediately on my arrival. [I] inquired at values of present prices…in this kingdom and am assured there will be a deficiency of more than one third of their usual harvest…Should alike confusion happen in other kingdoms or in England only, America, blessed with her usual supply, may command the market and consequences ensue on which I need not embark, nor the importance of being early apprized of it. I have the London and Irish papers down to the prorogation of Parliament and an unconditional submission is the cry of the ministry and their adherents. The nation is taught…to believe this will be the last campaign and the same is inauspiciously circulated here. I forwarded all Mr. Morris's letters by post and yours to your brother, and as I practiced in my last…one to a fictitious person having a French name and in character of a French prisoner in Philadelphia, which hint may be improved in your answer. I may not enlarge." In very good condition, with splitting to the horizontal fold, an unobtrusive vertical tear, and heavy overall staining.
In March of 1776, Deane was selected to go to France as the first American to represent the United Colonies abroad. His authority was derived from two separate committees of Congress, one commercial and the other diplomatic in character. Both were secret. Deane's principal mission was to buy clothing and arms for 25,000 men, as well as to buy heavy artillery and munitions. They were to be secured on credit, if possible, but otherwise by direct purchase. In addition, he was to sound out the French foreign office on the subject of American independence, and to find out whether an American ambassador would be received; he was also to find out whether the French government would be willing to enter into treaties of alliance and commerce with the Colonies. Deane was quite successful in obtaining military supplies, and, in addition, sent over a large number of European military officers who gave valuable aid to the American cause. In September of 1776 Congress decided to strengthen its connections with France and appointed a commission of three: Deane, Benjamin Franklin, and Arthur Lee. In February, 1778 these commissioners signed two treaties with the French government, one of commerce, the other providing for an offensive and defensive alliance. John Jay had been active in drawing up Congress's instructions to his friend, Silas Deane. Before sailing for France, Deane arranged with Jay to correspond in an invisible ink which had been invented by Jay's brother, Sir James Jay.
