Anne-Louis Toussard-- Part 4

After being named  inspector of U.S. artillery in 1800, Toussard became commander of the  Second Artillery Regiment in January 1801.

Incredibly, when West Point was finished on  1802, President Thomas Jefferson passed over Toussard for its first superintendent because he was French.

Toussard resigned his commission in  March 1802, and returned to France and rejoining the French Army as a battalion commander in GeneralVictor Leclerc's failed attempt to conquer Haiti.

He served as French consul in the United States from 1805-1816.

In 1816, he returned to France where he died in Paris 10 April 1817.

--Brock-Perry

Anne Louis Toussard-- Part 3: Impact on American Artillery, Forts, West Point and DuPont Gunpowder

Again, I have seen Toussard's name spelled with just one "s" and also with two of them.  I am using the double "s" spelling.

In April 1795, President Washington appointed Toussard  a major in the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers, beginning a period during which he had  enormous influence on the American military.  After supervising the construction of several significant fortifications, he restructured the U.S. artillery service on the French model, bringing uniformity to its use of cannons.

In 1798, he laid out the plans for what would become the  Military Academy at West Point.

Also, his "American Artillerists Companion" (1809) became the standard text for artillery instruction.  Along the way,  he aided Eleuthere Irenee du Pont in establishing gunpowder  mills in Delaware, which would prove vital to American interests.

Again, I don't know how I never came across his name before his letter about the Hurricane of 1812.  

An Important Person in American History.  Sadly, One Who Is Not Known. --Brock-Perry

Anne Louis Toussard-- Part 2: Back to France and Then to Haiti

Considering that I had never heard of this person before I came across his name in regards to the Hurricane of 1812.  He obviously had quite a varied and impactful life in both France and the United States.

Back in France, he received the Royal Order of St. Louis on 3 July 1779 and was made a major in the artillery on  5 April 1780.

In 1784, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the Fernch Army and stationed on Saint-Domingue (Haiti).  In the slave revolt  led by Toussaint  L'Ouverture, he commanded troops battling the slaves and tried to persuade the local government to arm free Blacks but was ignored.

Nonetheless, Tousard was blamed for the failure of the colonial officials to obey orders from France in this regard and was arrested and imprisoned.  U.S. pressure caused his release  in February 1793 and he went to the United States and settled on a farm outside of Wilmington, Delaware.

And, his story still isn't over.

--Brock-Perry

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

Lt. Col. Anne-Louis de Toussard-- Part 3: A Major Force in Creation of the USMA

In 1798 he proposed the idea of a national military school, with a comprehensive curriculum, to  Secretary of War James McHenry.  He helped convert the West Point garrison into that academy in 1800.  He then began instruction to the first twelve cadets in the first Class at the academy on 1800.

His regiment was disbanded in 1802 and he returned to France via Santo Domingo in 1802.  French Vice-Consul in Philadelphia in 1805.  Served as the French Consul ad interim in New Orleans  1811-1816 (when he wrote the letter about the Hurricane of 1812).  Supported the work of General Jackson during the War of 1812.

Returned to Paris in 1816.  Made a Knight of the Royal Military Order of St. Louis in 1799  Wrote "American Artillerists Companion" in 1809.  Married  Maria Francisca Joubert in 1788 and then Anna Maria Geddes in 1795.

A grandson of his, Lt. -Col.  Anthony Eugene Stocker MD (1819-1897), a grandson, succeeded him in the Society of the Cincinnati, being admitted as a Heriditary Member in 1888.  He was a medical doctor during the Civil War, most of the time in a position of leadership in the medical corps.

--Brock-Perry

Lieutenant Colonel Anne-Louis de Toussard-- Part 2: A Man of Much History

Lt. Colonel in the Continental Army in the American Revolution.

Born 13 March 1749 in Saint Eustache, Paris, France, and died  4 or 8 May 1817, in Paris, France.

Studied at the artillery school of La Pere.  Graduate of the Artillery School in Strasbourg, France, in 1769.  Commissioned a second lieutenant in the French Royal Artillery  Corps in 1769.  Resigned to join the American Revolution.

After that, he returned to France in 1784.  Imprisoned as a Royalist 1792-1793.  Lt. Colonel in the Regiment  du Cap in Santo Domingo in 1794 where he led his regiment to suppress the slave  uprising that became the Haitian Revolution. Imprisoned by Haitian forces in 1794.

Escaped to America and emigrated to Philadelphia.  Commissioned a Major of the 2nd Artillery in the U.S. Army and then promoted to Lt. Colonel.

Helped plan and supervise the construction of Fort Mifflin,  Pennsylvania.

This Guy Sure Saw a Lot of History.  --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