Louis-André Pichon (November 3, 1771

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

-1854) was a French

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 ...

, and French ambassador to the United States, particularly during the Louisiana Purchase.

Family and education

Louis-Andre Pichon was the son of Simeon Pichon, shoemaker, and Jeanne Fortier. He studied at the College of Oratory and then studied philosophy at the

Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on Rue Saint-Jacques (Paris), rue Saint-Jacques in central Par ...

in Paris from 1790.

Diplomatic career

He was originally a French diplomat in Philadelphia from 1793 to 1796, before returning to Paris to make a reconciliation, between the two countries after the

Quasi-War The Quasi-War was an undeclared war from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic. It was fought almost entirely at sea, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States, with minor actions in ...

, that led to the Treaty of Mortefontaine. He was ambassador to France and ''

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

'' in Washington, D.C. from 1801 to 1804. He expressed strong criticism, when the U.S. resumed trade relations with the parties in Haiti freed by the black general

Jean-Jacques Dessalines Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Haitian Creole: ''Jan-Jak Desalin''; ; 20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) was the first Haitian Emperor, leader of the Haitian Revolution, and the first ruler of an independent First Empire of Haiti, Haiti under th ...

, at the failure of the expedition to

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

. During the

Saint-Domingue expedition The Saint-Domingue expedition was a large French military invasion sent by Napoleon Bonaparte, then French Consulate, First Consul, under his brother-in-law Charles Leclerc (general, born 1772), Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc in an attempt to ...

, he struggled to ensure adequate supplies to the military, but quarreled with

Charles Leclerc Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...

. The brother of Peter Bauduy, Louis Alexander Amelia Bauduy Bellevue is also a captain in the army of Leclerc, after having fought in 1797, alongside the English against

Toussaint Louverture François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (, ) also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda (20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803), was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louvertu ...

Louisiana Purchase

France had then secretly acquired Louisiana, and diplomat Robert Livingston negotiated the Louisiana Purchase as a whole, in 1803. On 1 October 1802, Louis-Andre Pichon wrote to the U.S. government to reassure them, when the Spanish intendant of New Orleans decided to terminate the offloading of U.S. merchants in the port, which was French property, following a secret treaty in 1800.

Later life

He was recalled to Paris September 15, 1804, reportedly for failing to thwart the marriage of

Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), Kingdom of Westphalia, King of Westphal ...

with an American, Elizabeth Patterson, but also for frankness. He finished his career under Napoleon, as a civil servant in

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

. He married Emilie Brongniart (1780–1847). He was made a baron, in the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pichon, Louis Andre 1771 births 1854 deaths Ambassadors of France to the United States Diplomats from Nantes 18th-century French diplomats 19th-century French diplomats Louisiana Purchase