David Humphreys (soldier) - Public Service in The New Nation

Public Service in The New Nation

Humphreys was appointed to a commission to negotiate treaties of commerce with European nations. Other members of the commission were John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

In a letter of introduction to Franklin, Washington described Humphreys: "This gentleman was several years in my family as aide-de-camp -- his zeal in the cause of his country -- his good sense, prudence and attachment to me, rendered him dear to me; and I persuade myself you will find no confidence which you may think proper to repose in him, misplaced. He possesses an excellent heart, good natural and acquired abilities and -- sterling integrity -- to which may be added sobriety and an obliging disposition."

Back in Derby by 1786, Humphreys was elected to the October session of the Connecticut General Assembly. He was appointed head of the state militia and marched to West Springfield, Massachusetts to help deal with the civil strife and tumult of Shays' Rebellion, but by the time he had arrived, Massachusetts authorities were already in control of the situation.

In 1787 his mother died on July 27 and his father on September 2. At Washington's invitation, Humphreys stayed at Mount Vernon for a time, acting as the general's private secretary. When Washington, elected president, took the oath of office in New York City, Humphreys accompanied him on the trip from Virginia and stood beside him during the ceremony.

In 1791, Humphreys had the distinction of being the first minister appointed to a foreign country under the Constitution, when he was appointed minister to Portugal, the first neutral country to recognize the United States. In that post he negotiated the ransomed release of American prisoners from the Dey of Tripoli.

In 1796 he was appointed as minister to Spain, which then controlled the Mississippi River and all of Latin America except for Brazil. John Quincy Adams succeeded him in Lisbon. He remained minister to Spain until 1801, and during his stay there met and married Anne Frances Bulkeley, a cultured and wealthy English woman. Her father, John Bulkeley, was a banker, merchant and trader.