Philippe Charles Tronson de Coudray

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Philippe Charles Tronson de Coudray (8 September 1738 – 11 September 1777) was a French army officer who volunteered for service in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Born in Reims, France, de Coudray was an experienced artillery and engineering officer, skills the mostly amateur American army badly needed at the outset of the war.

While in France in 1776, American diplomat Silas Deane exceeded his authority by promising de Coudray a major generalship—the highest rank in the Continental Army—which the Continental Congress felt obliged to honor. Some American generals were outraged at suddenly being junior to an officer who offended both Americans and Frenchmen with his attitude of superiority. As a result of the controversy, de Coudray was not given a command. He was not long in America before drowning near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, while trying to cross the Schuylkill River on horseback.

[edit] References

• Meehan, Thomas F. "Phillippe-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Tronson Du Coudray". The Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 5. Published 1909.
• Purcell, L. Edward. Who Was Who in the American Revolution. New York: Facts on File, 1993. ISBN 0-8160-2107-4.