Fulwar Skipwith (February 21, 1765 – January 7, 1839) was an American

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

. A veteran of the American Revolutionary War, he served as a U.S. Consul in

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

, and later as the U.S. Consul-General in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He was instrumental in negotiating the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

in 1803, was the first and only governor of the

Republic of West Florida The Republic of West Florida (, ), officially the State of Florida, was a short-lived unrecognized republic in the western region of Spanish West Florida for just over months during 1810. In December, 1810, the United States occupied and an ...

in 1810, and was a founding member of the Agricultural Society of Baton Rouge.

Early life

Skipwith was born into an influential family in Dinwiddie County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. His cousin, Henry Skipwith, was a brother-in-law to

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

, the

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

1801–1809. Skipwith studied at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

, but left at age 16 to enlist in the army during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. He served at the

Siege of Yorktown The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Ma ...

in 1781. After American independence was achieved, he entered the

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

trade.

Diplomatic career & family

Following the French Revolution of 1789, Skipwith was appointed as US

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

to the French colony of

in 1790. He experienced the turmoil of the Revolution, as well as the aftermath of the abortive slave insurrection in Martinique, before departing in 1793. In 1795, Skipwith was appointed Consul-General in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

under the US Minister to France,

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

. On June 2, 1802, Fulwar Skipwith married Evelina Louisa Barlié Van den Clooster, a Flemish

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

ess. Their children were Lelia, who married Thomas B. Robertson; Evelina, who married Edward H. Barton; and George Grey Skipwith. Skipwith assisted Robert Livingston (known as "The Chancellor" for the high New York state legal office he held) in negotiating the Louisiana Purchase, and actively participated in the transfer of 828,000 square miles of land in its southern part.

Republic of West Florida

In 1809, Skipwith moved to Spanish West Florida. As a member of the first West Florida

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

, he took part in the 1810 West Florida rebellion against Spain, and served as Governor of the short-lived Republic of West Florida. On October 27, 1810, West Florida was annexed to the United States by proclamation of

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

, who claimed it as part of the Louisiana Purchase. At first, Skipwith and the West Florida governmentlocated in St. Francisvillewere opposed to the proclamation, preferring to negotiate terms to join the Union as a separate state. However, the

Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was Admission to ...

Governor, William C. C. Claiborne, who led armed troops to take possession in December 1810, refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the West Florida government. Skipwith and the legislature reluctantly agreed to accept Madison's proclamation, believing it not sufficiently respectful of the elected government.

Later life

Skipwith was elected to serve in the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

where he served as that body's second

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. In December 1814, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, Magloire Guichard and Skipwith sponsored a legislative resolution to grant

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

to "the

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s lately resorting to Barataria, who might be deterred from offering their services for fear of

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

." This led to

Jean Lafitte Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate, privateer, and slave trader who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time u ...

and his men joining in the defense of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

during the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

, when the city was attacked by

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forces. In 1827, Skipwith, Armand Duplantier, Antoine Blanc, Thomas B. Robertson, and Sebastien Hiriart received permission from the

Louisiana State Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (; ) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral legislature, body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 ...

to organize a

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

called the Agricultural Society of Baton Rouge.A general digest of the acts of the legislature of Louisiana, Vol II
accessed 01 July 2012. The purpose of the society was as follows: "The sole and special objects of the said society shall be the improvement of agriculture, the amelioration of the breed of horses, of horned cattle, and others, and in all of the several branches relative to agriculture in a country." Skipwith died at his plantation, Montesano, near Baton Rouge, on January 7, 1839, at age 73.

References

*David A. Bice. ''The Original Lone Star Republic: Scoundrels, Statesmen and Schemers of the 1810 West Florida Rebellion''. Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2004.

External links

*Skipwith wrote various letters to people such as James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, which are available a
Founders Online
from the U.S. National Archives.
Governor Fulwar Skipwith's speech to the West Florida legislature in St. Francisville

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

SKIPWITH, Fulwar
at ''Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' (Scroll down.)
Fulwar Skipwith; Genealogy of most valuable negro slave family ever purchased in Virginia
Special Collections catalog listing,

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

Fulwar Skipwith Papers
at

Mystic Seaport Mystic Seaport Museum (founded as Marine Historical Association) is a maritime museum in Mystic, Connecticut, and the largest in the United States. Its site holds a collection of ships and boats and a re-creation of a 19th-century seaport vill ...

maritime museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Skipwith, Fulwar 1765 births 1839 deaths College of William & Mary alumni Louisiana state senators People from Dinwiddie County, Virginia 18th-century American diplomats 19th-century American legislators People from St. Francisville, Louisiana Heads of state of former countries People from West Florida 19th-century Louisiana politicians