William Eustis American

Doctor William Eustis was a prominent anti-Federalist Massachusetts politician who held the position of American Secretary of War for the first six months of the War of 1812. It was a demanding position for which he was neither qualified nor eager to fulfill. Like so many at the top echelons of the U.S. war administration, Eustis played a distinguished role in the American War of Independence. He had been both a militiaman and a respected surgeon. During the 1780s and 1790s, he went on to serve in the state legislature, and eventually became a Republican representative in Congress. In 1809, President James Madison, who was seeking allies in the strongly Federalist New England states, appointed Eustis as secretary of war. Madison's choice was not very popular since Eustis lacked any real military administrative experience. Early critics complained that he was inefficient, penny-pinching and concerned with only his political image; qualities that would be sorely magnified in a wartime situation. Even as war approached, Eustis was exceedingly slow at implementing the measures needed for America's proposed three-pronged attack on Canada. By June of 1812, Eustis had not enlarged the ranks of the regular army as he had promised, nor had he organized adequate supplies of uniforms, weapons, and other provisions. Complaints from disgruntled American officers poured in. He ordered General Hull to proceed quickly to Detroit without mentioning that a declaration of war was imminent which, was a perfect example of his poor command skills. This led directly to the loss of Fort Mackinac, the Cuyahoga Packet, and to some degree, Fort Detroit. He effectively abandoned the original American plan to divide Canada's defenses with simultaneous attacks on Niagara and Montreal, but failed to inform anyone else about this. The disastrous campaigns of the U.S. forces in the fall of 1812 caused an uproar in Congress and the American public. Eustis resigned on December 3, amidst this mounting criticism. President Madison replaced him with the equally unpopular John Armstrong. After several unsuccessful attempts, Eustis was finally elected governor of Massachusetts in 1823. He died of pneumonia in 1825.