Anne-César de La Luzerne

Anne-César de La Luzerne (15 July 1741 – 14 September 1791) was an 18th-century French soldier and diplomat who had an influential role to the Continental Congress and new government of the United States of America after it gained independence from Great Britain.

In 1779 La Luzerne succeeded Conrad Alexandre Gérard de Rayneval as the French Minister to the United States and later served as the official Ambassador of France until 1784.

[1] During his time in Philadelphia, established as a base for the Continental Congress, when the British occupied New York City, he never failed to show his sympathy for the young Republic.

He arranged for a requiem Mass after the death of Juan de Miralles (a Spanish representative to the Continental Congress), at St. Mary's Church in Philadelphia on 8 May 1780.

[2] La Luzerne was a major proponent of ratification of the Articles of Confederation; he felt that this new form of government would help strengthen the American state.