Captain Commandant Award to officer Nicolas de Finiels serving the Dutch Company of the East Indies.

Louisiana - Anne Paul Emmanuel Sigismond de Montmorency-Luxembourg (1742 -1789), Chevalier de Montmorency-Luxembourg, then Prince de Luxembourg, KOPFTITEL: unrecorded information about the author of the most important studies of Upper Louisiana

About this Item

Original document on vellum, partially printed, in French, dated and signed Colombo, Island of Ceylan, 19th August 1785. 320 x 485 mm. Folded, with small overall age wear and creasing. Nicolas de Finiels was born in France about 1767. In spite of the fact that he wrote one of the most important studies of colonial Upper Louisiana, very little is known about him. The earliest documentation places him in Philadelphia in 1797, when the Spanish government commissioned the expatriate Frenchman and engineer to travel to St. Louis and suggest ways to strengthen the town fortification. In 1803, after France had reaquired the Louisiana Territory from Spain, de Finiels accepted a commission from his native country to travel again to St. Louis to produce a detailed account of Upper Louisiana. He wrote the 40.000-word account in June 1803, shortly before the United States purchases Louisiana. The original manuscript is preserved in in the Louisa H. Bowen University Archives & Special Collections, Lovejoy Library, Southern Illinois University. But hitherto nothing is known about his earlier life and military career, even his birthdate remains in the dark. So now whe know that he was in service of the "Corps des Volontaires de Luxembourg destiné au service de la Compagnie Hollandoise des Indes Orientales" (a dutch company for southern east Asia). His only estimated date of birth has now also become questionable. Could he have been a commanding captain at the age of 17 or 18? The document bears a paper covered seal affixed of the ''Regiment of Volunteers of Luxembourg'' to the bottom left corner, in very fine condition. Signed by the Prince of Montmorency-Luxembourg, countersigned at the base.

Seller Inventory # 12247AG

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Captain Commandant Award to officer Nicolas de Finiels serving the Dutch Company of the East Indies.
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