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Jacob von Braun

Jacob Van Braam (1 April 1729-1 August 1792) was a Dutch-American swordmaster and mercenary.

Biography[]

Jacob Van Braam was born in Bergen-op-Zoom, Netherlands in 1729, and he served in the British Royal Navy before becoming a lieutenant to Lawrence Washington during the War of Jenkins' Ear. He accompanied Washington back to Mount Vernon, where he trained Lawrence's half-brother George Washington in swordsmanship and military tactics. He served as George's French-language interpreter during his mission to Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre in 1754 and helped negotiate the surrender of Fort Necessity to avert a bloodbath. He later joined the Royal American Regiment during the American Revolutionary War, but he later wrote to Washington expressing his regret at his change of affiliations and resigned his commission in 1779. He settled in France and died in 1792.

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