Fulwar Skipwith
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Fulwar Skipwith (February 21, 1765 - January 7, 1839) was an American diplomat and politician, who served as a U.S. Consul in Martinique, and later as the U.S. Consul-General in France. He was instrumental in negotiating the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Skipwith was born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, and was a distant cousin of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.
Skipwith studied at William and Mary College, and left at age 16 to join the army during the American Revolution. In 1781, he participated at the Siege of Yorktown. In 1791-95 he served in the American delegation in France under Ambassador James Monroe. In 1795, Monroe appointed Skipwith Consul-General in Paris. In 1802, he married Thereze Josephine van den Clooster, a Flemish baroness. During his tenure as Consul-General, he was instrumental in negotiating the Louisiana Purchase.
In 1809, Skipwith moved to West Florida. A member of the first West Florida judiciary, he was involved in the 1810 West Florida Rebellion, and served as the first and only President of the short-lived Republic of West Florida. On October 27, 1810, the West Florida territory was annexed to the United States by proclamation of U.S. President James Madison, who claimed the region as part of the Louisiana Purchase. At first, Skipwith and the West Florida government were opposed to the proclamation, preferring to negotiate terms to join the Union. However, William C.C. Claiborne, who was sent to take possession of the territory, refused to recognize the legitimacy of the West Florida government. Skipwith and the legislature eventually backed down, and agreed to accept Madison's proclamation.
Skipwith later served in the Louisiana Senate. In December 1814 Magloire Guichard and Skipwith sponsored a legislative resolution to grant amnesty to "the privateers lately resorting to Barataria, who might be deterred from offering their services for fear of persecution."
In 1827, Skipwith, Armand Duplantier, Antoine Blanc, Thomas B. Robertson and Sebastien Hiriart received permission from the state legislature to organize a corporation entitled the Agricultural Society of Baton Rouge.
Skipwith died at Monte Sano Plantation on the Bluffs above Baton Rouge on January 7, 1839 at 74 years old.
[edit] References
- David A. Bice. The Original Lone Star Republic: Scoundrels, Statesmen and Schemers of the 1810 West Florida Rebellion. Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2004. ISBN 1-891647-81-4
- Roger G. Kennedy. Mr. Jefferson's Lost Cause: Land, Farmers, Slavery, and the Louisiana Purchase. Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-19-515347-2
[edit] External links
- Governor Fulwar Skipwith's Speech to the West Florida Legislature.
- Fulwar Skipwith Papers at Mystic Seaport.
