Nabby Adams / John Quincy Adams

Nabby Adams

This is not the first time that Nabby pestered her brother John Quincy to tell her about the second voyage that he and their father had made across the ocean to France. Both crossings had been difficult, the first time because they had no notion what to expect and the second for the hardships they endured.


Nabby: No, don’t go. I want to hear again about the ship in the storm.


John Quincy: But I wrote about that in my letter to Mother and I know you read it.


Nabby: But it is better when you explain it. I see fear in your eyes.


John Quincy: Not fear, just concern. I was convinced that we were all going to the bottom of the sea. Father had reached a decision but he did not share it with us. Father did not want us to be marooned while the ship had repairs made. He reasoned that it might be faster to travel overland.

Nabby: Yes, but he was warned that a trip across Spain to the French border could be very dangerous as well. How far were you from Paris?

John Quincy Adams

John Quincy: You know. I told you.


Nabby: Tell me again.


John Quincy: It would have been a bit more than a thousand miles from where we were put off on the Spanish coast. We were warned of thieves on the road and of terrible accommodations.


Nabby: And water unfit to drink.


John Quincy: If you know the story, you tell it.


Nabby: Please Johnny. I’m sorry I interrupted. So Father made the decision to leave the ship and continue the trip overland.


John Quincy: I made the point that dangers at sea were every bit as frightening as traveling on land.

Besides our vessel was not stable and could easily break apart. There was also the danger of British pirates or privateers coming aboard and taking us hostage. Although I originally did not want this second voyage to France by sea and preferred to stay at home, I was willing to take our chances, as Father proposed, by land.


Nabby: What was wrong with your ship?


John Quincy: Our ship The Sensible, had developed a serious leak which had us all baling out water until we were able to enter a friendly Spanish port. We asked about any ships scheduled to go to France but there would be none until the spring. It was December 8, 1779 that we landed on the northwestern coast of Spain.


Nabby: Weren’t you and Charles sick with terrible colds during the sea voyage?


John Quincy: I don’t even want to think about. My brother and I thought we’d never recover and we yearned desperately for dry land.


Nabby: But weren’t you afraid of traveling by land alone across a country you were not familiar with?

John Quincy: Everything I looked at was depressing to me. Such poverty as any American could not imagine! There were few inns and those we saw made us prefer to stay out in the open or huddled under our carriages. The people in Spain, warm and generous, were starving to death and dressed in rags, while the churches were ornate with as much gold and silver as to be the envy of any king. The priests were fat and haughty, lacking nothing. We were in constant fear that we would be robbed of all our possessions and left dead by the roadside.

Nabby: Were there no farmers who could give you shelter at night?

John Quincy: Those few who were fortunate enough to own some livestock, slept in their barns with them to share their warmth and protect them from thieves. My dear sister you cannot imagine how miserable these people lived .