Pichon left behind a very large collection of do*ents. Never a master of the English language, in 1769 he moved to Saint Helier, Jersey (a remnant of the Norman conquest where French was spoken), in which place he died on 22 November 1781. Pichon retreated to London in 1757, where he entered on an affair with the French novelist Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, whose marriage had been annulled. He has been referred to as "The Judas of Acadia." Contentsĭuring Father Le Loutre's War, Pichon entered the service of secretary for Jean-Louis de Raymond:, latterly reputed to be a place-seeker, who had been appointed Governor at the Fortress of Louisbourg and Île-Royale (New France) in 1751. Pichon is renowned for betraying the French, Acadian and Mi’kmaq forces by providing information to the British, which led to the fall of Beauséjour. 31:44–50, 55).Thomas Pichon (30 March 1700 – 22 November 1781), also known as Thomas Tyrell, was a French government agent during Father Le Loutre's War. Bowman, “Pichon, the United States, and Louisiana,” Diplomatic History, 1, 257–8 Michel Poniatowski, Talleyrand et le Directoire, 1796–1800, 19 Michel Poniatowski, Talleyrand et le Consulat, 27, 461–2, 480, 487–8 Vol. , 12:319 Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, 7 Brumaire Year 9 Albert H. Duvergier and others, eds., Collection Complète des Lois, Décrets, Ordonnances, Réglemens, avis du Conseil-d’État, 108 vols. 1801, in a clerk’s hand including signatures of TJ and Levi Lincoln Tulard, Dictionnaire Napoléon description begins Jean Tulard, Dictionnaire Napoléon, Paris, 1987 description ends, 1329 National Intelligencer, 23, 30 Mch. Jerome Bonaparte and, later, the restored kings of France appointed Pichon to various positions after his return to Europe, and the career diplomat and government official also wrote tracts on public affairs ( FC in Lb, DNA: RG 59, Exequaturs, TJ “To all whom it may concern,” 19 Mch. In 1804, Bonaparte abruptly recalled Pichon, who had failed to prevent the marriage of Bonaparte’s brother Jerome to Elizabeth Patterson, from his posting in the United States. In the ensuing negotiation, which resulted in the Convention of 1800, Pichon was the secretary of the French delegation and acted as an intermediary between the two sides. Sent to the French legation at The Hague, he conveyed to William Vans Murray, with whom he was acquainted, Talleyrand’s message that France would welcome new American envoys in the aftermath of the XYZ debacle. He became the assistant head of a division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Returning to France in 1796, he recommended a policy of “clandestine” aggressiveness to force changes in U.S.
Pichon was no stranger to America: beginning in 1791 he was a secretary in the French legation to the United States, where he served for five years under three ministers to the U.S., Ternant, Genet, and Fauchet. 1800 he also authorized him to act as chargé d’affaires until such time as France might send a minister plenipotentiary to the United States. Louis André Pichon (1771–1854) presented his credentials on 18 Mch., and the next day TJ signed an exequatur recognizing him as commissary general from France for commercial relations and extending all privileges “as are allowed within the United States to the Consuls of the most favoured nations.” When Bonaparte appointed Pichon on 26 Oct. RC ( DLC) at foot of text: “ à Monsieur le Prèsident des Etats Unis” endorsed by TJ as received on 9 Apr.