Edward Stevens

Dr. Edward Stevens was appointed Consul General of the United States of America to Saint-Domingue in March of 1799. Dr. Stevens was a childhood friend of Alexander Hamilton (first Secretary of the Treasury) and his personal physician.

On May 23, 1799 Edward Stevens, Consul General of the U.S. to Saint-Domingue, wrote to General Maitland, formerly the head of the British forces: "The Agency of San-Domingo had received positive orders from the Executive Directory to invade both the Southern States of America and the island of Jamaica. Gen. Toussaint Louverture was consulted on the best mode of making the attack." (Korngold, p. ix.)

Toussaint Louverture refused to carry out this attack.

Consul Stevens had written to Timothy Pickering, then the U.S. Secretary of State, this assessment of the proposed plan "Success would forever separate from Great Britain one of her most valuable colonies and diminish her resources. Should they [Toussaint and his army] fail, they will fall victims to their rashness and presumption or like Bonaparte and his army cease to be objects of dread and jealousy to the Government of France. The old system might then be restored in St. Domingo and slavery reestablished". (Korngold, p. 164)

Upon coming to power in 1801, one of the first acts of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson was the removal of Edward Stevens as the Consul General. He was replaced by Tobias Lear.

Further reading

• Letters of Toussaint Louverture and of Edward Stevens, 1798-1800. The American Historical Review, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Oct., 1910), pp. 64-101

See also

• Tobias Lear letter to James Madison - reporting on the first meeting with Toussaint Louverture, shortly after he replaced Dr. Stevens.
• U.S. Proclamation Regarding Commerce with St. Domingo (1799 - Proclamation by U.S. President John Adams, during Edward's time as the U.S. Consul to Saint-Domingue.

References

• Korngold, Ralph (1944). Citizen Toussaint. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. LCCN 44007566.