Chacón, Don José María, 1749-1833

Letter from Andrew D. Campbell to Elizabeth Upshur Teackle. He teases her about flirting with boys in Virginia, discusses their shared acquaintances, including Henrietta Liston, wife of the British Prime Minister to the U.S. He talks about his family and the news of the wedding of Elizabeth's cousin Sarah Custis Handy to Ephraim King Wilson. He also talks about the marriage of Anna Teackle Smith to John Donnell of Baltimore and his dislike of her husband. He discusses the death of George Washington: "With you, I grieve for the loss your country has sustained in the death of your great Hero. Few are the ages that produce such characters, but we shall hope, as America is yet in her infancy, that she will produce many who will emulate him. Imagination can hardly picture one to surpass him. It is also a matter of consolation to reflect that he died in the zenith of his glory, in the possession of the noblest faculties of man to his last breath, and without experiencing any of those vicissitudes to which human nature, particularly in the high ranks of life, are so subject. In how few nations do we find men distinguished by their military and political career who retain their honors, as Washington did, while they live." He also mentions his friend, Congressman John Stratton and Henry Parker.