Report of the Committee to Whom was Referred the Petition of Amelie Eugenie De Beaumarchais, by J. A. Chevallie, her Attorney

Item — Folder: 5

Identifier: SC-000141

Staff Only

Dates

1814

Access

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Biographican History

Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a French inventor, fugitive, spy, publisher, and arms-dealer. He was supportive of American independence and through his efforts weapons and money were smuggled to the Americans. A controversy over payment for the delivered goods arose, as it was questioned if the aid was gifts from the French or being sold to the Americans. Pierre Chavallie's son, Jean Marie Auguste Chevallie, was given the task of attempting to secure the payment. Beaumarchais would be dead before the payment was made and the task of his son would take the majority of the rest of his life. A partial payment was finally given by the American government in the late 1830s, which subsequently went to Beaumarchais' surviving daughter. This item, the Report of the Committee to Whom was Referred the Petition of Amelie Eugenie De Beaumarchais, by J. A. Chevallie, her Attorney, was read and committed to a committee of the whole House in Washington D.C.