Call Number:

0664

Repository:

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Extent:

0.25 linear feet (1 box, 1 volume, 1 flat file)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Anne Louis de Tousard papers (Collection 664), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Date:

1765-1888

Creator:

Tousard, Anne Louis de, 1749-1817.

Abstract:

The papers of Anne Louis de Tousard relate to his service in the American army as a lieutenant colonel attached to George Washington's staff. The collection, which spans over 100 years, includes congressional citations; Tousard’s commissions, some bearing the signatures of Washington, John Adams, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette, and others; and scant original correspondence; and a volume of photostats of Tousard’s correspondence from 1718 to 1817. There are also papers from Anthony Eugene Stocker, Tousard’s grandson and an officer in the Civil War.

Anne Louis de Tousard was born in France in 1749. He received a commission in the French Artillery Corps after studying at an artillery school, but resigned his commission to serve the colonists’ cause during the American Revolution. He soon after secured a position on General George Washington’s staff and enjoyed a successful career as an officer. He later served the French Army during the slave uprising in Saint Domingue, and after retiring from the army in 1802, was appointed French vice-consul in Philadelphia (1805), and later was the consul to New Orleans. Tousard died in Paris in 1817.

In 1808 Tousard’s daughter Caroline married John Clements Stocker. They had four sons: John Clements Stocker (II), Henry Stocker, Anthony Eugene Stocker, and Louis Stocker. Anthony (b. 1819) married Jane Randolph and later served the Union during the Civil War as a surgeon. He died in 1897.

This small, chronologically-arranged collection includes Tousard’s commissions for service in the French and American armies, scattered correspondence pertaining to his military service, official documents pertaining to his consular appointments, and a few miscellaneous papers pertaining to his death in 1817. A number of these materials are written in French. A typed transcript of excerpts of Tousard’s “American Artillerist’s Companion,” presumably created by Anthony Stocker, is also included, as are handwritten copies of portions of Lafayette’s memoir and summaries of Tousard’s commissions. Papers pertaining to Anthony E. Stocker include commissions and a handful of correspondence relating to his military service during the Civil War. Also included are his membership in the Society of the Cincinnati and a legal document stating his mother’s approval of his marriage to Jane Randolph. All these items can be found in Box 1.

Also included in this collection is a volume containing photostatic copies of correspondence dated 1778 to 1817. The volume is not in strict chronological order. Most letters were written by Louis de Tousard, although there are some incoming letters, as well. There are many letters written to Alexander Hamilton during the Quasi-War with France, and there are also letters pertaining to Tousard’s service in the Continental Army, including a letter written by the Marquis de Lafayette from Valley Forge in 1778. Other letters were written by Tousard while in St. Domingue, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Paris. Among them are many letters written to his daughter, Caroline Stocker.