44
POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY
Rumford had always intended to take up his permanent residence in the United States, and he now proposed to establish himself near Cambridge, Mass. He wrote to his friend, Col. Baldwin, to find a desirable property, suitable to his intentions. To encourage his return to his native country, President John Adams instructed the American minister at London to write him as follows:
We have made provisions for the institution of a Military Academy, and I wish to commit its formation to your experience and its future government to your care. In addition, I am authorized to offer to you the appointment of Inspector General of Artillery.
Although his plan to return to America originated with himself, he concluded that his obligations to the Bavarian government were so great and his relations with the institution, which he was now establishing, were so important, that they should not now be relinquished.
Memorial erected to Rumford in English Garden.
