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April 16, 2023

SATT 020 - William Eustis

SATT 020 - William Eustis

Tenure of Office: March 7, 1809 - January 13, 1813

After his service as a surgeon on the battlefields of the Revolutionary War, William Eustis of Massachusetts began a political career which would bring him to serve as the 6th US Secretary of War in the Madison administration. Joined by Craig Baird of Canadian History Ehx, in this episode we explore Eustis's life and legacy in order to decide whether he should be offered a seat at the table of the Cabinet All-Stars.

Special thanks to Craig Baird of Canadian History Ehx for joining me for this episode!

  • Adams, Henry. History of the United States of America During the Administrations of James Madison. New York: The Library of America, 1986 [1891].
  • Ambrose, Stephen E. Duty, Honor, Country: A History of West Point. Baltimore, MD and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 [1966].
  • Bemis, Samuel Flagg. John Quincy Adams and the Foundations of American Foreign Policy. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1956.
  • Brant, Irving. The Fourth President: A Life of James Madison. Norwalk, CT: The Easton Press, 1970.
  • "Caroline Langdon Eustis." Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16639466/caroline-eustis. [Last Accessed: 22 Dec 2023]
  • Cusick, James G. The Other War of 1812: The Patriot War and the American Invasion of Spanish East Florida. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2007 [2003].
  • "Elizabeth Hill Eustis." Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16639467/elizabeth-eustis. [Last Accessed: 22 Dec 2023]
  • Eustis, William. "To James Madison, 18 March 1809,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-01-02-0070. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, vol. 1, 1 March–30 September 1809, ed. Robert A. Rutland, Thomas A. Mason, Robert J. Brugger, Susannah H. Jones, Jeanne K. Sisson, and Fredrika J. Teute. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1984, p. 66.] [Last Accessed: 22 Dec 2023]
  • Eustis, William. "To James Madison, 3 December 1812,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-05-02-0387. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, vol. 5, 10 July 1812–7 February 1813, ed. J. C. A. Stagg, Martha J. King, Ellen J. Barber, Anne Mandeville Colony, Angela Kreider, and Jewel L. Spangler. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2004, p. 477.] [Last Accessed: 22 Dec 2023]
  • Eustis, William. "To James Madison, 21 December 1814,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-08-02-0388. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, vol. 8, July 1814–18 February 1815 and supplement December 1779–18 April 1814, ed. Angela Kreider, J. C. A. Stagg, Mary Parke Johnson, Anne Mandeville Colony, and Katherine E. Harbury. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, p. 455.] [Last Accessed: 22 Dec 2023]
  • "Eustis, William 1753-1825." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/E000230. [Last Accessed: 22 Dec 2023]
  • Gallatin, Albert. "To James Madison, 11 October 1812,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-05-02-0293. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, vol. 5, 10 July 1812–7 February 1813, ed. J. C. A. Stagg, Martha J. King, Ellen J. Barber, Anne Mandeville Colony, Angela Kreider, and Jewel L. Spangler. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2004, p. 388.] [Last Accessed: 22 Dec 2023]
  • Isenberg, Nancy. Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr. New York: Penguin, 2007.
  • "Letters to William and Caroline Eustis, 1803-1823." Massachusetts Historical Society. https://www.masshist.org/collection-guides/view/fa0179. [Last Accessed: 22 Dec 2023]
  • Linklater, Andro. An Artist in Treason: The Extraordinary Double Life of General James Wilkinson. New York: Walker Publishing Co, 2009.
  • Madison, James. "To William Eustis, 7 March 1809,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-01-02-0028. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, vol. 1, 1 March–30 September 1809, ed. Robert A. Rutland, Thomas A. Mason, Robert J. Brugger, Susannah H. Jones, Jeanne K. Sisson, and Fredrika J. Teute. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1984, p. 26.] [Last Accessed: 22 Dec 2023]
  • Madison, James. "To William Eustis, 28 September 1814,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-08-02-0225. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, vol. 8, July 1814–18 February 1815 and supplement December 1779–18 April 1814, ed. Angela Kreider, J. C. A. Stagg, Mary Parke Johnson, Anne Mandeville Colony, and Katherine E. Harbury. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, p. 259.] [Last Accessed: 22 Dec 2023]
  • Madison, James. "To William Eustis, 15 December 1814,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-08-02-0371. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, vol. 8, July 1814–18 February 1815 and supplement December 1779–18 April 1814, ed. Angela Kreider, J. C. A. Stagg, Mary Parke Johnson, Anne Mandeville Colony, and Katherine E. Harbury. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, p. 437.] [Last Accessed: 22 Dec 2023]
  • "Nancy Eustis Langdon." Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/207668683/nancy-langdon. [Last Accessed: 22 Dec 2023]
  • Owens, Robert M. Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.
  • Rauch, Steven J. The Campaign of 1812. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 2013.
  • Rutland, Robert Allen. The Presidency of James Madison. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1990.
  • Sugden, John. Tecumseh: A Life. New York: Henry Holt and Co, 1997.
  • White, Leonard D. The Jeffersonians: A Study in Administrative History 1801-1829. New York: The Macmillan Co, 1956 [1951].
  • "William Eustis." Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6911940/william-eustis. [Last Accessed: 22 Dec 2023]

Further Resources:

  • George, Tamsen Evans. Allegiance: The Life and Times of William Eustis. Columbia, SC: Riverhaven Books, 2021.

Featured Image: "Portrait of William Eustis" by Walter M Brackett [c. 1873], courtesy of Wikipedia