Anne-Louis de Toussard-- Part 1

I've seen his last name spelled both Toussard and Tousard.  This source spells it with one "s."

Encyclopedia.com

French and U.S. officer. In America he was a captain attached to the Marquis de Lafayette's staff.  Took part in the Battles of Germantown and Brandywine and spent the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge.  In March 1778, he was appointed military advisor to the allied Oneida Indians and was present with them when they covered Lafayette's retreat at the Battle of Barren Hill in 21 May 1778.

Then transferred to the staff of  General John Sullivan in his unsuccessful French-American  campaign against Newport, Rhode Island.  Lost his right arm at the Battle of  Quaker Hill on 28  August 1778.

Because of this service, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army on 29 October 1778.

After this, he returned to France.

I probably should have put these entries about hinm in my Cooter's History Thing blog as they pertain more to the American Revolution.  But, I came across his name first in relation to his description of the Hurricane of 1812.  And that, of course, would be the War of 1812.

Had Quite a Bit to Do with the American Effort to Achieve Independence.  --Brock-Perry

Lieutenant Colonel Anne-Louis De Toussard, Society of Cincinnati

From the Society of Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey.

Lt.Col. Anne-Louis Toussard was the French consul in New Orleans who wrote about that horrific 1812 hurricane.

Original member of  the French Society and Represented Propositus in New Jersey.

Began his service in the American Revolution when he arrived in Portsmouth,  New Hampshire in 1777.  Joined the Continental Army and served on the staff of  General Washington in June 1777.  Fought in the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown.

Served at Valley Forge.  Aide de camp to Major General Lafayette.  Lost his arm in the retreat from Rhode Island.  His arm was shattered when he attempted to capture some British artillery.

--Brock-Perry

There Are Paintings of Captain Gwinn and His Wife and Were at Auction in 2020

A few posts ago, I wrote that there were no known paintings of Captain John Gwinn of the USS Constitution.  While looking up more information on him, I came across a source that said paintings of him and his wife Caroline had been up for auction on November 21, 2020.

They had an estimated price of between $20,000 and $30,000 and auctioneers were Wooten & Wooten.  The one of Capt. Gwinn was made in 1839 and his wife's a few years later.

Thomas Sully painted them.  He was a famous artist living in Philadelphia who painted such subjects as Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams and Marquis  de Lafayette.  Born in England in 1783 and emigrated with his family to Charleston, S.C.,  in 1792.  

Another of his subjects was Britain's Queen Victoria.    His Adams portrait hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.  Two of his Jefferson portraits are at the University of Virginia and at West Point.    

--Brock-Perry

David Poe, Sr.-- Part 3: LaFayette Impressed With Him

Amd, Mrs. Poe, David's wife, Elizabeth, was just as patriotic as he was.  When Lafayette passed through Baltimore with his ragged Continental troops, she was one of the women who supplied clothing for them.

It was due to these services by the Poes, that LaFayette and given a ball in his honor in 1824, he remarked that he hadn't seen David Poe, Sr. or his wife Elizabeth.

Upon hearing that he had passed away, LaFayette insisted on visiting the grave.  Once there, he knelt to the ground and kissed it and said , "Here lies a noble heart."

At age 71, Poe participated in the War of 1812 in the defense of Baltimore.

Quite a Man.  --Brock-Perry

James McHenry-- Part 2: Appointed Secretary of War Under Washington

James McHenry was paroled in January 1777 and released from parole in March.  General George Washington was impressed with him so made him aide as secretary in May 1779.  McHenry was present at the Battle of Monmouth.

In August 1780, he was transferred to Major General Lafayette's staff where he remained until he retired from the army in 1781.

Later, he participated in the Constitutional Convention.

During George Washington's second term as president, he appointed James McHenry as his Secretary of War in 1796.  One of his major tasks was to transition the western military posts from British control to American.under the terms of the Jay Treaty.

--Brock-Perry

Charles Rinaldo Floyd-- Part 2: Served in USMC

Next, he received a commission in the USMC as a lieutenant, but in 1820, was arrested for caning a  naval store keeper.  For this, he was tried and suspended from duty for twelve months but with full pay.

In 1824 he served as the commander of the Marine Honor Guard charged with protecting the Marquis de Lafayette in New York City and his tour of the United States.

He also served in the Second Seminole War and the Okefenokee.

He was appointed a brigadier general in the Georgia militia on October 1838 and ordered to chase the Seminoles into the Okefenokee swamp in Georgia.

Death came March 22, 1845.

--Brock-Perry