Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1889-08-08


des Fossss, At Cheyanne6, near Nsmours, |
he was little more than 8 lad When on |
that terrible 10th of August, 1892, he &C. /
oompanisd his father to the Tuileries |
with tbs chiTalrous purpose Of helping
to defead the already defenseless Louis
XVI Escaping thence With the
greatest danger and difficulty, in the
midst of that slaughter of the
Swiss guards which Thor waldsen's
colossal lion at Lucerne commentaries,
the father, who was that di4tinguiAhed
savans and author, economist and states.
man, Pierre Samuel du Pont do Nemours,
prominent figura ia French anaifG fol
thirty years preceding, the friend cni
associate of TurQot, the man who tau{hs
OGlonue, the author on the part Of France
OF the treaty by which Great Britain
yielded independence to America, seere-
tsry of this assembly of Rotabies, mem
ber Of the States Gensral from NemourI,
and twice the president OF the constituent
assembly, evadad the clutch OF the
extroms revolutionists for time by
being concealed in the French Ooserva-
tory by his friend the astronomer
Lalapde, while bis soa was hastily con-
vey0d into the country, aud during the
Reign of Terror remained in retirement
at E7sone. There, IS it chauced, was
located tine great government poudriers
tho powder works from which came the
supplies for pablo use. M. g, 1. dn
Pont had been, or then became, pupil
of Lsvoisier, the chemist, who was chief
OF the Bureau de Poudres ct
Salpetres," and he made thorough
study of the processes by which tho pow
der was produced. Later, his tatnsr,
who, after the conceelment by Lalsnde,
had been captured and Imprisoned, but
had been saved from the guillotine, like
Josephine, by the fall Of Robespierre,
decided to quit France with his sons, and
late in 1893 they set sail for the United
States. Victor, the eldest son, had been
here previously; in 1883 he was sttachs
OF the French ambassador, the Count de
Moustier, later he acted as the consul for
France at Charleston, and after that held
the place of oonsui-general at New York.
He, and also his brother, were accom-
panied by their families, and with them
came NJ. Bureau de Pusey, the son.in-law
OF their step-mother, who had been q
companion with Lafayette during his
hideous imprisonment at Oimuetz.
Small manufactures of guupowder,
under ths compulsion of the demand for
their produot, had sprung up in the
United States during the revolution, but
they had made little progress. The
processes were primitive, aud lacked the
precise knowledge OF scientific method
ani skilful manipulation which M,
duPont's studies ut Essone enabled him
to supply. He at once resolved to equal
in quality the best imported powder; he
| doubls-refned his saltpstre and exercised
| extreme care 10 the selection Of his char
coal. From the first he made his works
successful in the commercial sense, and
| of the best repute for the uniform excel
lence of their productions. He had be-
gun with his buildings at what are now
called the upper Works." four miles
above Wilmington, but 10 years later he
purchased another important tract along
the creek, the "Hsgley" property, which
has become the 'middle works." Here
there had been an ancient saw mill, and
tho handsome residence of Rumford
Dawes, wealthy Philadslphis merchant
The water power thus acquired has fall
Of % feet, and the works have been de-
veloped by two cDmplets sets OF ma
chinery to capacity Of producing
25, 900 pounds of powder per day. In
lS46 the clover works" were established
with laboratories, retineries for saltpetre,
30. Altogether the works extend about
thres miles along the Brandywine, aud
include all the various mills, shops and
appliances whose praduots are anywhere
required from the first handling of the
crude material to its delivery into the
hands Of the ordnance officer, engineer
or sportsman.
The venerable Pierre Samuel died here
on the Brsndywine in 1917, in the resi-
dence now occupiad by his grau6Soa,
General Hsnry dupont, and is buried in
the family cemetery upon the hill-slopa,
west of the upper yards. Ha had gone
back to Francs in 1902 10 rsjpin his wife,
who at the EN- igrarian ia 1879 osd besn
inf I'M in health. He renamed in Franoa
until 1916 and when Napoleon was sent
to Elba hs was once more called to pub.
lie duty, being secretary for the pro-
visional government by WHOA tha restor
alton OF Louis XVIII. was dacread, The
return of Napoleon and the upturninga
OF the Hundred Days, however, sonT him
to Hsvre and thence he sailed to America.
In August, 1917, rs he was rsturning
across the Brandywine in q boat fiom a
visit TO his son Victor, he accidentally
fell into the stream and che wetting
caused fatal aggravatioa of his gous.
Born in Paris in 1889 he had reached a
ripe old age and looked back upon re.
markable ospeer. This year before his
death he had been honored by visit
from President Madison, who roda from
J Washington hither to pay his respects t.
the genial old gentleman.
!. In the same Rround with thone oi
Pierre Samuel reposs tha remains OF his
grandson Admiral Samuel Franoit
dupont, the second son OF Victor, who wat
born duriug tho residence OF the latter al
Bergen Point, in september 1903, aus
livsd to sea the close of the grea
war, in which he had rendered
heroic service for the union. Ad
, miral dupont died Mt Philadelphia OF
the 23 l Of Juns, 1865. He had suffered
, for several yearR from q dissaSs con
tractsd in his E.st In3iN service from
, 1857 II 1859, and diei somswhss sud.
, denly at the u Pierre House, on Broad
straat, N king the circum4,nace the more
rslnarkecla because his father had slst
died vsry sud1au.y of apopltxT during {
! visit to Philadelphia, AMI his lncls, q L
, DUPONT, the nead Of tha pogdsF firm, haC
j ESQ died there, OF cholera,
Lafayette came here TO visit, Of course
} when he made bis memorable sou
through the country in 1875. 1t vas i;
3 the frisate Brandywine, indsed, tbat b
{ went home, that vessal having bser
i placed ut his disposal by Congress. Fro1
4 the Messrs. duPonts, where ue remsine;
, for some days, he drove mp, on the 25!l
4 of July, to go over the battle ground
7 snd point out to the crowds Of psople VIII
5 hal gathered there, tina spot where be re
: ceiv5d the English bullet. 0ns Of thos
/. in the carriage with him on that driV