The Digital Papers of François-Jean de Chastellux

Chastellux's papers remain where they have been since his death, at the family Château in France. However, thanks to a partnership with the Chastellux family, researchers may now access high-resolution digital scans of the papers on-site at the George Washington Presidential library. The library now holds scans of all documents relating to the Marquis de Chastellux's service in the American Revolution and relationships with prominent Americans such as George Washington. 

Request a Research Appointment

During his life, François-Jean de Chastellux carefully preserved his records, amassing a private collection that spanned approximately 40 years of his adulthood. This collection included letters from friends and colleagues, personal research notes, manuscripts of published documents, military files, and other writings. In total, his papers amounted to around 6,000 pages, stored in his various residences in Paris and the United States.

After Chastellux’s unexpected death in 1788 due to a lung illness, his widow, Marie-Brigitte, inherited the collection while pregnant with their son, Alfred. Shortly after her husband’s death, she was approached by an American author requesting transcriptions of Chastellux’s correspondence with George Washington. In 1825, she facilitated the publication of this correspondence but resisted further requests for publication, including one from the Académie Française, of which Chastellux had been a member. Instead, she chose to keep the papers within the family.

Marie-Brigitte’s decision allowed her to shape her husband’s posthumous legacy for their son, Alfred. This meant that certain aspects of Chastellux’s life, such as his long-term relationship with his mistress, the married Marquise de Gléon, were omitted from the family archives. These omissions reflect the control Marie-Brigitte exerted over the narrative surrounding her husband’s life, ensuring that the version passed down to future generations adhered to her vision.

The French Revolution in the early 1790s posed a significant threat to the survival of the Chastellux family papers. As the revolution unfolded, many aristocratic families, including the Chastellux family, faced the confiscation and destruction of their estates and archives. It is likely that extraordinary efforts were made to protect Chastellux’s documents during this turbulent period. Marie-Brigitte herself fled France after being arrested, seeking refuge in Italy. She later returned to France and settled in a home she purchased near the Château de Chastellux in Burgundy, where she continued to safeguard the papers.

Upon her death in 1815, Alfred inherited the collection. Though he contemplated publishing a comprehensive edition of his father’s works, he ultimately released only a new edition of De la Félicité Publique, Chastellux’s influential treatise on happiness in society, adding a brief biography of his father. Alfred died childless in 1856, leaving the family papers to relatives who continued to protect them at the Château de Chastellux. Although the château had suffered damage during the Revolution and remained abandoned for nearly two decades, it was restored in the 19th century. By then, the family archives, including François-Jean de Chastellux’s papers, had become vital to preserving the family’s aristocratic heritage.

In the late 19th century, Henri-Paul-César de Chastellux, a professional archivist and the then-owner of the château, undertook the task of organizing the family’s historical documents. He carefully cataloged and labeled François-Jean de Chastellux’s papers, integrating them into the broader family archive, which dated back to 1328. Henri-Paul-César’s work took place amid significant political upheaval, including the destruction of many Parisian archives during the 1871 Paris Commune. As director of the Parisian archives at the time and having witnessed its burning firsthand, Henri-Paul-César decided to keep his family’s archive safe in the Château de Chastellux. He also ensured that only family members could access the archive, a policy respected by future generations of the Chastellux family.

Despite several attempts by researchers to access the Chastellux family archives in the 20th century, including Julien Sicot, Fanny Varnum, and Howard C. Rice, the collection remained inaccessible. It was not until Iris de Rode successfully negotiated access to the papers during her PhD research into Chastellux’s life that the collection was studied in detail. De Rode’s access to these private papers enabled her to complete her dissertation on Chastellux’s intellectual and military achievements. This work culminated in the publication of a comprehensive biography in 2022 titled François-Jean de Chastellux, un soldat-philosophe dans le Monde Atlantique à l’époque des Lumières (Paris: Honoré Champion 2022). The biography has allowed the public to reassess Chastellux’s role in both the American and French Revolutions and his broader contributions to 18th-century intellectual and political life. In 2023, this work received the prestigious Prix Guizot from the Académie Française.

The Chastellux private papers span from 1747, when François-Jean de Chastellux, at the age of twelve, began his military career, until his death in 1788. This rich collection includes both personal and professional letters he received, as well as military records, maps, and manuscripts of his published works. 

Chastellux’s private papers reveal his intellectual contributions to the Enlightenment, particularly through his correspondence with influential thinkers like Voltaire, D’Alembert, and Thomas Jefferson. His manuscripts and research notes for various publications further highlight his active role in the intellectual circles of his time. 

The collection also contains numerous military writings, reports, and maps, which reflect Chastellux’s extensive military career, culminating in his critical role during the American Revolution. Among the most significant items related to the American Revolution are Chastellux’s military reports, which detail key moments of the war, and his extensive correspondence with French and American leaders, including figures like Rochambeau, Lafayette, Vergennes, and Necker, as well as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams. This correspondence provides a unique window into the inner workings of the Franco-American alliance and offers rare insights into the strategic thinking behind the war efforts.

The archive also includes the manuscript of his published travel diary, Voyages du Marquis de Chastellux dans l’Amérique Septentrionale pendant les années 1780, 1781, 1782, first published in 1786. These travel diaries are particularly valuable for the insights they offer into Chastellux’s interactions with prominent American figures, such as Washington and Jefferson, and his reflections on the “Nascent Republic” during the early years of American independence. These documents not only shed light on Chastellux’s personal experiences but also offer a broader understanding of the transatlantic intellectual and political exchange during the revolutionary period.