Theveneau de Francy (died December 1777) was a representative of the Roderigue Hortalez Company, a shell company set up by France and Spain to give aid to the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. De Francy effectively served as ambassador to the United States, but he was killed by Robert Rogers in 1777, and Conrad Gerard succeeded him.
Biography[]
Theveneau de Francy was born in the Kingdom of France, and he worked as a banker with the Roderigue Hortalez Company. In this post, he was responsible for assisting the American cause with arms and financial assistance during the American Revolutionary War, meeting with General George Washington in Morristown, New Jersey in late 1777 at a dinner that he shared with Charles Lee, Benedict Arnold, Benjamin Tallmadge, and other staff officers. At that dinner, Arnold insulted Lee and whoever wrote "Thoughts of a Free Man", a pamphlet criticizing Washington's career and demanding his removal as commander-in-chief, and Francy was formally introduced to Arnold. In December 1778, de Francy was summoned to Washington's camp at Valley Forge when Patience Wright's smuggled letter from King George III of Britain detailing his financial troubles arrived to his possession. De Francy took the letter with him and, disguised as a fur traveler, headed towards Charleston with a "native scout" in order to shake off Robert Rogers, whom the King dispatched to track down the letter and prevent it from reaching Paris. However, Francy was tracked down by the Queen's Rangers as he headed towards Charleston, and Rogers himself slit his throat and took the document from him. Conrad Gerard replaced him as Versailles' emissary to America in Boston afterwards.