Editing Silas Deane

{{Short description|American merchant, politician, and diplomat (1737/8–1789)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name          = Silas Deane
|image         = Silas Deane - Du Simitier and B.L. Prevost.jpg
| caption      = Silas Deane, 1781
|office        = 
|vicepresident = 
|term_start    = 
|term_end      = 
|predecessor   = 
|successor     = 
|office1       = [[United States Ambassador to France|United States Envoy to France]]
|appointer1    = [[Continental Congress]]
|alongside1    = [[Benjamin Franklin]], [[Arthur Lee (diplomat)|Arthur Lee]] 
|term_start1   = March 2, 1776
|term_end1     = January 4, 1778
|predecessor1  = Position established
|successor1    = [[John Adams]]
|office2       = Delegate to the [[Second Continental Congress]] from [[Connecticut]]
|appointer2    = 
|alongside2    = 
|term_start2   = May 10, 1775
|term_end2     = January 15, 1776
|predecessor2  = 
|successor2    = 
|office3       = Delegate to the [[First Continental Congress]] from [[Connecticut]]
|term_start3   = September 5, 1774
|term_end3     = October 26, 1774
|predecessor3  = 
|successor3    = 
|office4       = 
|term_start4   = 
|term_end4     = 
|predecessor4  = 
|successor4    = 
|birth_date    = January 4, 1738
|birth_place   = [[Groton, Connecticut|Groton]], Connecticut
|death_date    = {{Death-date and age|September 23, 1789|January 4, 1738}}
|death_place   = on a ship near [[Kent]], [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
|party         = 
|spouse        = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Mehitable Nott Webb|1763|1767|reason=died}}
* {{marriage|Elizabeth Saltonstall Evards|1770|1777|reason=died}}
}}
|children      = Jesse Deane
|alma_mater    = [[Yale]]
|resting_place = St. Leonard's Churchyard, [[Deal, Kent|Deal]], Kent, United Kingdom
|signature     = 
}}
'''Silas Deane''' ({{OldStyleDateDY|January 4,|1738|December 24, 1737}}{{snd}}September 23, 1789) was an American merchant, politician, and diplomat, and a supporter of American independence. Deane served as a delegate to the [[Continental Congress]], where he signed the [[Continental Association]], and then became the first foreign diplomat from the United States to France, where he helped negotiate the 1778 [[Treaty of Alliance (1778)|Treaty of Alliance]] that allied France with the United States during the [[American Revolutionary War]].

Near the end of the war, [[Continental Congress|Congress]] charged Deane with financial impropriety, and the British intercepted and published some letters in which he had implied that the American cause was hopeless. After the war, Deane lived in [[Ghent]] and London and died under mysterious circumstances while attempting to return to America.{{sfn|Davidson|Lytle|1992|pp=}}

==Early life and family==
Deane was born on {{OldStyleDateDY|January 4,|1738|December 24, 1737}}<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Volume 15: Griswold 1815–1848, Groton 1704–1853|last1 = Burket|first1 = Jeri Lynn|publisher = Genealogical Publishing Company|year = 2010|isbn = 9780806315928|location = Baltimore|pages = 109|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OoEJAAAACAAJ|last2 = White|first2 = Lorraine Cook|via=Google Books}}</ref> in [[Groton, Connecticut]], to [[blacksmith]] Silas Deane and his wife Hannah Barker. The younger Silas was able to obtain a full scholarship to [[Yale]] and graduated in 1758.{{sfn|Covart|2014}} In April 1759, he was hired to tutor a young [[Edward Bancroft]] in [[Hartford, Connecticut]].{{sfn|Schaeper|2011|pp=2–3}} In 1761, Deane was admitted to the bar and practiced law for a short time outside of Hartford before moving to [[Wethersfield, Connecticut]], and establishing a thriving business as a merchant.{{sfn|Covart|2014}} 
[[File:Silas Deane (William Johnston).jpg|thumb|left|210px|Deane in a 1766 painting by [[William Johnston (painter)|William Johnston]]]]

Deane married twice, both times to wealthy widows from Wethersfield. In 1763, he married Mehitable (Nott) Webb after assisting her with the settlement of her first husband's estate. They had one son, Jesse, born in 1764. Mehitable died in 1767.{{sfn|Covart|2014}}<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = Reminiscences of Gen'l Samuel B. Webb of the Revolutionary Army|last = Webb|first = James Watson|publisher = Globe Stationery and Printing Co.|year = 1882|location = New York|url = https://archive.org/details/reminiscencesofg00webb|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> In 1770, Deane married Elizabeth (Saltonstall) Evards, granddaughter of Connecticut Governor [[Gurdon Saltonstall]] of the Massachusetts [[Saltonstall family]]. Elizabeth died in 1777 while Silas was in France.  Both Mehitable and Elizabeth were buried in the [[Old Wethersfield Village Cemetery]].
{{sfn|Van Vlack|2013|p=190}}

==Continental Congress==
In 1768, Deane was elected to the [[Connecticut House of Representatives]]; in 1769, he was appointed to the Wethersfield Committee of Correspondence; and from 1774 to 1776, he served as a delegate from Connecticut to the [[Continental Congress]].{{sfn|Covart|2014}}

While a member of Congress, Deane used his influence to obtain a commission in the Continental Army for his stepson Samuel B. Webb, who had accompanied him to [[Philadelphia]].{{sfn|Van Vlack|2013|pp=41–42}} Deane excelled in the committee work of Congress, helping to coordinate the attack on [[Capture of Fort Ticonderoga|Fort Ticonderoga]] and to establish the [[United States Navy]].{{sfn|Covart|2014}}

A dispute arose between Deane and fellow Connecticut delegate [[Roger Sherman]] over the appointment of [[Israel Putnam]] as a [[major general]] under [[George Washington|George Washington's]] command. This dispute led the Connecticut legislature to replace Deane as a delegate to Congress; but instead of returning to Connecticut, Deane remained in [[Philadelphia]] to assist Congress.{{sfn|Covart|2014}}{{sfn|Baker|2014|p=63}}

==France==
[[Image: Lafayette and Deane.jpg|thumb|''Baron de Kalb Introducing Lafayette to Silas Deane'' (1879 Print)]]
On March 2, 1776, Congress appointed Deane as a secret envoy to France with the mission of inducing the French government to grant financial aid to the colonies.{{sfn|Baker|2014|p=64}} He began negotiating with French Foreign Minister [[Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes|Comte de Vergennes]] as soon as he arrived in Paris. Deane organized the shipment of arms and munitions to the colonies with the assistance of [[Pierre Beaumarchais]], the playwright and outspoken supporter of American independence.<ref>"[http://www.yankeemagazine.com/issues/2008-09/interact/10things/oniontown/all Wethersfield, CT, and Onions]", [[Yankee Magazine]], August 1993</ref>{{sfn|Paul|2009}} Deane also tacitly approved the plot of Scotsman [[John the Painter|James Aitken]] (John the Painter) to destroy [[Royal Navy]] stores and dockyards in [[Portsmouth]] and [[Plymouth]], England, on behalf of the Continental cause.{{sfn|Warren|2005}}

Deane's position was officially recognized after [[Benjamin Franklin]] and [[Arthur Lee (diplomat)|Arthur Lee]] arrived in Paris in December 1776, with orders from Congress appointing the trio as the diplomatic delegation to France.{{sfn|Schaeper|2011|pp=84–86}} Deane recruited the services of several foreign soldiers to the cause, including [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]], Baron [[Johann de Kalb]], [[Thomas Conway]], [[Casimir Pulaski]], and [[Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben|Baron von Steuben]]. For a variety of reasons, many of the foreign officers were unpopular in America, and many in Congress blamed Deane for their behavior,{{sfn|Flemming|2007|pp=58–59}}<ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://allthingsliberty.com/2013/10/silas-deane-forlorn-forgotten-patriot/|title = Silas Deane: Forlorn and Forgotten Patriot|last = Dick|first = Jimmy|date = October 28, 2013|journal = Journal of the American Revolution}}</ref> leading them to recall him on December 8, 1777.{{sfn|Baker|2014|p=67}}

On February 6, 1778, Deane and the other commissioners signed the Treaties of [[Treaty of Amity and Commerce (France–United States)|Amity and Commerce]] and of [[Treaty of Alliance (1778)|Alliance]], officially creating the alliance between France and the American colonies.{{sfn|Schaeper|2011|p=114}}

==Accusations in Congress==
On March 4, 1778, Deane received a letter from [[James Lovell (politician)|James Lovell]] containing the recall order from Congress. Lovell only mentioned giving a report to Congress about European affairs, and Deane fully expected to be sent back to Paris within a few months.{{sfn|Baker|2014|pp=67–68}} France sent Deane back home aboard a warship. [[Louis XVI]] also presented Deane with a portrait framed with diamonds, and both [[Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes|Vergennes]] and Franklin wrote letters of commendation.{{sfn|Flemming|2007|pp=58–59}}

Deane arrived in Philadelphia on July 14, 1778, and was shocked when Congress accused him of financial impropriety on the basis of reports by his fellow commissioner Arthur Lee.{{sfn|Covart|2014}} Because Deane had left his account books in Paris, he was neither able to properly defend himself nor seek reimbursement for money he had spent procuring supplies in France.{{sfn|Schaeper|2011|pp=210–211}}{{sfn|Baker|2014|pp=66–67}} (While he waited to address Congress, Deane stayed with [[Benedict Arnold]], who had just been appointed military governor of Philadelphia.){{sfn|Lefer|2013|p=202}}

In a long and bitter dispute over the charges, Deane was defended before Congress by [[John Jay]].{{sfn|Chorlton|2011|p=68}} He published a public defense in the December 5, 1778, issue of ''[[Pennsylvania Packet]]'' entitled ''The Address of Silas Deane to the Free and Virtuous Citizens of America'', in which he attacked Arthur Lee, other members of the [[Lee family]], and their associates.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/collectionsforye21newyuoft#page/66/mode/2up|title=The Deane Papers Volume III: 1778–1779|publisher=New York Historical Society|year=1889|location=New York|pages=66–78, 239–244, 280–281}}</ref> Arthur's brothers [[Richard Henry Lee]] and [[Francis Lightfoot Lee]] both denounced Deane's accusations as libelous and injurious to the American cause.{{efn|During this same time period, a ship built in France for the [[Continental Navy]] was christened the ''[[USS Deane (1778)|Deane]]'' in his honor.}}<ref name=":7" /> On January 14, 1779, Deane replied in the ''Pennsylvania Packet,'' listing eight ships that had sailed from France with supplies because of his efforts. Congress offered him $10,000 in depreciated [[Early American currency|Continental currency]] in compensation, but Deane refused, believing the amount too small.<ref name=":7" />{{sfn|Baker|2014|pp=67–68}} Deane was allowed to return to Paris in 1780 to settle his affairs and attempt to assemble the records in dispute. On arrival, he discovered that he was nearly ruined financially because the value of his investments had plummeted, and some ships carrying his merchandise had been captured by the British.{{sfn|Schaeper|2011|p=211}}

In March 1781, King [[George III]] approved a request from [[Frederick North, Lord North|Lord North]] to bribe Deane in an attempt to recruit him as a spy and to influence Congress.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = The Deane Papers Volume IV: 1779–1781|publisher = New York Historical Society|year = 1890|location = New York|pages = 502–518|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=o5Jhf0IPHDwC&q=1867+George+III+Silas+Deane&pg=PA502}}</ref> However, in mid-July they cancelled their plan after the king read intercepted letters in which Deane described the military situation of the [[Thirteen Colonies|Colonies]] as hopeless and suggested a rapprochement with Britain. Deane's correspondence was then forwarded to General [[Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730)|Henry Clinton]], who provided copies to [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalist]] [[James Rivington]] to publish in his newspaper ''Rivington's Royal Gazette'' in New York City. Deane was then accused of treason by his fellow colonists.<ref name=":0" /> Rivington may have been a spy as a member of the [[Culper Ring]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://allthingsliberty.com/2014/03/james-rivington-kings-printer-patriot-spy/|title=James Rivington: King's Printer and Patriot Spy? |website=Journal of the American Revolution|last=Andrlik|first=Todd|date=March 3, 2014|language=en-US|access-date=July 30, 2016}}</ref> and unbeknownst to Deane, his former secretary in Paris, [[Edward Bancroft]], had been a British spy.{{sfn|Schaeper|2011|p=215}}

==After the war and death==
In October 1781, Deane moved to Ghent where he could live more cheaply than in Paris. Then in March 1783, he moved to London, hoping to find investors for manufacturing ventures that he planned to pursue after he returned to North America. He toured several manufacturing towns in England in late 1783, considering plans for steam engines that could operate grist mills, even consulting [[James Watt]] for advice. He also tried to attract investors for a planned canal linking [[Lake Champlain]] and the [[Saint Lawrence River|St. Lawrence River]].{{sfn|Schaeper|2011|pp=214–216}} In 1784, he published a defense of his actions during the war entitled ''An Address to the Free and Independent Citizens of the United States of North America''.<ref>{{Cite book|title = An Address to the Free and Independent Citizens of the United States of North America|last = Deane|first = Silas|year = 1784|location = London| isbn=9780665206542 |url = https://archive.org/stream/cihm_20654#page/n9/mode/2up}}</ref>

In the fall of 1787, Deane became bedridden from an unknown illness and did not fully recover until April 1789. His condition depleted his remaining money and forced him to depend on the charity of friends. In the summer of 1788, a Frenchman named Foulloy approached [[Thomas Jefferson]] in Paris with an account book and a letter book dating from Deane's diplomatic mission, apparently stolen from Deane during his illness. Foulloy threatened to sell the books to the British government if Jefferson did not purchase them—which Jefferson eventually did after negotiating a greatly reduced price.{{sfn|Schaeper|2011|pp=216–218}}

In 1789, Deane planned to return to North America in an attempt to recoup his lost fortune and reputation. After boarding the ship ''Boston Packet,'' he became ill and died on September 23 while the ship was awaiting repairs after turning back following damage from fierce winds.{{sfn|Schaeper|2011|p=220}} In 1959, historian [[Julian P. Boyd]] suggested that Deane might have been poisoned by Bancroft, because Bancroft might have felt threatened by Deane's possible testimony to Congress.{{sfn|Davidson|Lytle|1992|pp=}}{{sfn|Schaeper|2011|pp=218–224}}

==Legacy==
[[File:Silas Deane House - Wethersfield, CT - 1.jpg|thumb|[[Silas Deane House]] in Wethersfield, Connecticut]]
Silas Deane's granddaughter Philura (Deane) Alden pressed his case before Congress, and his family was eventually paid $37,000 in 1841 (more than a million dollars in the early 21st century) for the money owed to him, on the grounds that the previous audit by the Continental Congress was "ex parte, erroneous, and a gross injustice to Silas Deane".{{sfn|Baker|2014|p=69}}

Deane's hometown of Wethersfield, Connecticut, has a Silas Deane Middle School and a [[Connecticut Route 99|Silas Deane Highway]]. A road in [[Ledyard, Connecticut]], is named for him. Deane's home in Wethersfield, now the [[Silas Deane House]], has been restored, declared a [[National Historic Landmark]], and opened to the public as a part of the [[Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum]].{{sfn|Baker|2014|pp=68–69}} Dean Street in [[Brooklyn]] is named for him.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Bernardo|first1=Leonard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_P6gBwAAQBAJ|title=Brooklyn By Name|last2=Weiss|first2=Jennifer|publisher=NYU Press|year=2006|isbn=9780814799451|pages=63}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== Citations ==
{{reflist|2}}

== References ==
*{{Cite book|title=Spies of Revolutionary Connecticut: From Benedict Arnold to Nathan Hale|last=Baker|first=Mark Allen|chapter=Silas Deane|publisher=The History Press|year=2014|isbn=978-1-62584-939-7|location=Charleston, South Carolina|pages=61–69|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9gB3CQAAQBAJ}}
*{{Cite journal|jstor = 1916948|title = Silas Deane: Death by a Kingly Teacher of Treason?|last = Boyd|first = Julian P.|date = 1959|journal = William and Mary Quarterly|doi = 10.2307/1916821|pages = 165–187, 310–342, 515–550|issue = 2–4|volume = 16}}
*{{Cite web|url = http://allthingsliberty.com/2014/07/silas-deane-forgotten-patriot/|title = Silas Deane, Forgotten Patriot|date = July 30, 2014|website = Journal of the American Revolution|last = Covart|first = Elizabeth M.}}
*{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jQQkg9fnEbMC|title=The First American Republic 1774–1789: The First Fourteen American Presidents Before Washington|last=Chorlton|first=Thomas Patrick|publisher=AuthorHouse|year=2011|isbn=9781456753887|location=Bloomington, Indiana|pages=68}}
*{{cite book|last1=Davidson|first1=James West|last2=Lytle|first2=Mark|chapter=The Strange Death of Silas Deane|title=After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection|year=1992|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=New York|pages=xxvii–xxxv}}
*{{Cite book|title = The Perils of Peace: America's Struggle for Survival After Yorktown|last = Flemming|first = Thomas|publisher = Harper Collins|year = 2007|isbn = 9780061870101|location = New York|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sGWLRCoOqrEC&q=Silas}}
*{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bb6XHi8d61IC|title=The Founding Conservatives: How a Group of Unsung Heroes Saved the American Revolution|last=Lefer|first=David|publisher=Sentinel|year=2013|isbn=9781101622667|location=New York}}
*{{Cite book|chapter=The United States of America 1775-1782: Their Political Struggles and Relations with Europe|title=Narrative and Critical History of America|last=Lowell|first=Edward J.|year=1888|volume=7|issue=1|pages=1–88|editor=Justin Winsor|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/narrativecritica71wins#page/n13/mode/2up}}
*{{Cite book|title = Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution|last = Paul|first = Joel Richard|publisher = Riverhead Books|year = 2009|isbn = 9781101151037|location = New York|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bERCMoBKslkC }}
*{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/edwardbancroftsc0000scha |url-access=registration |title=Edward Bancroft: Scientist, Author, Spy |last=Schaeper |first=Thomas J. |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2011 |location=New Haven|isbn=9780300171716 }}
*{{Cite book|title = Silas Deane, Revolutionary War Diplomat and Politician|last = Van Vlack|first = Milton C.|publisher = McFarland & Company Inc.|year = 2013|isbn = 9781476601083|location = Jefferson, North Carolina|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=N_d31i2yoiYC}}
*{{Cite book|title = The Incendiary: The Misadventures of John the Painter, First Modern Terrorist|last = Warren|first = Jessica|publisher = McClellan & Stewart|year = 2005|isbn = 9781551995755|location = Toronto|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WaiY5VCtdcYC&q=Silas+Deane}}
* de Langlais, Tugdual, ''L'armateur préféré de Beaumarchais Jean Peltier Dudoyer, de Nantes à l'Isle de France'', Éd. Coiffard, 2015, 340 p. ({{ISBN|9782919339280}}).

== Further reading ==
* The "Correspondence of Silas Deane, Delegate to the First and Second Congress at Philadelphia, 1774-1776" was published in the ''Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society'', vol. II.
* ''The Deane Papers'', in 5 vols., in the ''New York Historical Society's Collections'' (1887–1890)
* [[Francis Wharton]]'s ''Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States'' (6 vols., Washington, 1889).

==External links==
* [http://www.silasdeaneonline.org Institute of Museum and Library Services website dedicated to Silas Deane]
* [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-14-02-0145 Jefferson letters about the Foulloy Affair]
* [https://archive.org/stream/collectionsforye21newyuoft#page/n15/mode/2up Silas Deane Papers, Volume III, 1778–1779]
* [https://allthingsliberty.com/2016/09/samuel-blachley-webb-1753-1807/ Samuel Blachley Webb biographical article that mentions Deane]
* {{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Deane, Silas |volume=7 |page=989 |short=1}}

{{Signers of the Continental Association}}
{{US Ambassadors to France}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deane, Silas}}
[[Category:1737 births]]
[[Category:1789 deaths]]
[[Category:Connecticut lawyers]]
[[Category:Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Continental Congressmen from Connecticut]]
[[Category:People from Groton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:People from colonial Connecticut]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to France]]
[[Category:Yale University alumni]]
[[Category:Signers of the Continental Association]]
[[Category:Merchants from colonial Connecticut]]