Because no coaches were running north of Baltimore, the president and his secretary of state were forced to hire – at their own expense, Jefferson grumped – a carriage to take them to Germantown —An American Plague, Jim Murphy What caused Thomas Jefferson to be grumpy? No coaches were running, so he had to hire his own carriage. He was running late on his trip to Germantown. The long, hot trip to Germantown made him uncomfortable.