The Foreign Service Journal, June 2008

relying on the NSDD-38 process and a guaranteed seat for the ambassador on the new AFRICOM commander’s team bus is not very encouraging. John S. Davison Ambassador, retired Santec, North Finistere, France Consider a Specialist Career While it is true that most FSO posi- tions require specific skills not normal- ly found elsewhere, there are many opportunities for experienced candi- dates on the specialist side. It might not be as glamorous as generalist work, or pay as much as industry; but one’s experience is recognized and appreciated accordingly. John Savu Security Engineering Officer Court House, Va. A Real Gem I would just like to state that the February Speaking Out column, “Tak- ing the King’s Shilling,” by David T. Jones, is a two-and-a-half-page master- piece. It is perfectly written and chock- full of truth. Thank you, Mr. Jones! Kevin W. Gately General Services Officer Washington, D.C. U.S. Diplomats in West Africa It was with pleasure that I spotted the Journal ’s article on Stephen Grant’s new book, Peter Strickland, New London Shipmaster , Boston Merchant, First Consul to Senegal (“In Their Own Write,” November 2007). Having served as management officer in Dakar from 2001 to 2004, I applaud Mr. Grant’s research and hope soon to purchase a copy of his book. I wish, however, to point out a pos- sible mistake in the book review that referred to Peter Strickland as “the first American diplomat to work in West Africa.” Following my assignment to Sene- gal, I was transferred a few hundred miles away to Cape Verde. It was there, at the U.S. Embassy in Praia, that I learned about Samuel Hodges, who reportedly was the first recog- nized American consul in Cape Verde. According to Michael K.H. Platzer ( Cape Verdean , June 1978), Secretary of State John Quincy Adams appoint- ed Hodges a consul in April 1818. His departure to the archipelago was delayed because Napoleon had con- quered Portugal, and the Portuguese king had fled to Brazil. But he sailed from Boston and arrived in Cape Verde on Dec. 3, 1818. During his tenure, he reported often on U.S. ship visits, merchant activities (including slave smuggling), piracy and local cel- ebrations. The Rhode-Island American and General Advertiser of April 9, 1818, also reported: “Samuel Hodges Jun. Esquire, consul general of the United States, for the Cape de Verde Islands (sic), has taken up his residence at the Isle of May, where he will continue for the present.” This occurred the year before the U.S. Africa Squadron was dispatched to suppress the slave trade along the West African coast, from Cape Verde to Gabon (described by Samuel Eliot Morison in Portugal and Brazil in Transition ). The squadron remained there until the Civil War. And the famous U.S. Navy Com- modore Matthew C. Perry would visit Cape Verde in 1820, during Hodges’ diplomatic service on the islands. Again, I welcome Stephen Grant’s rich addition to our historic collec- tions. Perhaps there were other U.S. diplomats in the area even before 1818. This information may be buried in dusty notebooks in Lisbon, London or Paris waiting to be discov- ered! Paul P. Pometto II FSO Naval War College Newport, R.I. J U N E 2 0 0 8 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 7 L E T T E R S