Official and private correspondence of Major-General J.S. Eustace
Official and private correspondence of Major-General J.S. Eustace, citizen of the state of New-York : aide-de-camp to General Lee and General Sullivan : colonel and adjutant-general in the service of Georgia, during the American war : and marechal-de-camp in the armies of the Republic of France Part I
John Skey Eustace
Fine binding. Uncut copy. vi, 151 p. Bound in modern brown leather. Gilt spine and rule to boards. Marbled end papers. Soiling and old stains to title page. Sparse foxing.
Only Part I was issued. Eustace served as an aide-de camp to General Lee and later to General Sullivan during the American Revolution. In 1784, Eustace left America and traveled through Latin America which included stops in Cuba, Trinidad and Venezuela. He unsuccessfully attempted to open a tobacco factory in Madrid while lobbying William Pitt to liberate Venezuela from Spanish rule. In June 1789 he moved to France and become involved in the Revolution in 1792 joining the French Army and being swiftly promoted to Major-General, under the leadership of Charles Francois Dumouriez. However, his meteoric rise would end quickly, as in late 1792 he was removed from command for meeting, in person, the Prince of Hesse, commander of neutral Dutch forces in the citadel of Maastricht, to release the French emigres. Eustace was sentenced by a court in Paris for insubordination in March 1793, though Eustace was cleared of the charge following Dumouriez's defection to the Austrians. Eustace remained in France to assist with the fruitless peace talks with the English envoy James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury. He under the supervision of the police, though in 1797 the Directory, suspicious that Eustace was spying for the British, expelled him from France. These published letters were written from June 11, 1789 to October 24, 1792; some relate to efforts to liberate Caracas, Venezuela. Thomas Paine was a correspondent.
Howes E213 ("aa"); Sabin 23119.
Contents: Dedication and preface --Project of a tobacco contract --Project to emancipate the provinces of Caracas and Cumana --Notes on the project for emancipating Caracas and Cumana --Private letters respecting my visit to the court of Spain --Letter from a paternal friend [Edward Church] --Certificate of my services in the armies of the United-States --Documents of service in France in the general-staff of the army.