Zollickoffer, John Conrad (1742-1797) to Henry Knox
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.05065 Author/Creator: Zollickoffer, John Conrad (1742-1797) Place Written: Baltimore, Maryland Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 15 July 1791 Pagination: 1 p. ; 32.6 x 19.8 cm. Order a Copy
Fears he is bothering Knox by continuing to bring up the status of Captain [Denis Nicholas] Cottineau [de Kloguene]'s claim to be admitted as a member of the Society of the Cincinnati (he spells it "Sincinaty"). Says he wrote twice to Knox, but has not received a response. Reports that Cottineau writes Zollickoffer from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, whenever he can, for this information. Hopes Knox can find some information "by which means Capt. Cottineau would be more easier than he appears." Mentions that Cottineau reported, in his letter of 25 May 1791, that the General of Hispaniola wrote to D'Estaing on the subject but received no answer. Because of this, Cottineau apparently believes "that Your Excellency Himself may have received the necessary certificate which was requested, and that not receiving the Diploma, he think it my neglect."
Denis Nicholas Cottineau, naval officer, was born in Nantes, France, in 1745 and died in Savannah, Georgia, 29 November 1808. He was formerly a lieutenant in the French navy and received a commission in the Continental Navy during the American Revolution. Commanding the slow-sailing "Pallas" during the famous naval engagement of 23 September 1779, Captain Cottineau, by skillful seamanship, forced H.M.S. "Countess of Scarborough" to strike her colors. He was subsequently wounded in a duel with another officer, Pierre Landais, against whom Commodore John Paul Jones made serious charges after the battle. Cottineau later settled in the French West Indies. During the slave insurrection in San Domingo he fled to Pennsylvania where he joined several fellow French refugees in establishing a colony. Suffering from a "lingering illness," he came to Savannah early in 1808, where he died.
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