Philippe Charles Tronson du Coudray Philippe Charles Tronson du Coudray ( September 8 , 1738 – September 11 , 1777 ) was a French army officer who volunteered for service in the Continental Army during the American War of Independence . Born in Reims , France , du Coudray entered the French military and trained as an artillery specialist . Well connected to the French court ( he once tutored the future Charles X on military affairs ) , du Coudray was a leading proponent of the Gribeauval system of artillery in the Seven Years ' War . When Great Britain and its North American colonies began the American War of Independence in 1775 , du Coudray had rise to the rank of " chef de brigade " , with a posting as an adjutant general . He was a leading figure in the French artillery , having written treatises on subjects such as gunpowder and metallurgy as it applied to the artillery . In 1776 the American diplomat Silas Deane came to France to recruit skilled military talent , particularly engineers , for the colonial cause . Impressed by du Coudray , whom he described as the " first engineer " of the French military establishment , Deane agreed to hire du Coudray into the Continental Army with the rank of major general and command of the Continental Army ' s artillery and engineering corps . Du Coudray was to recruit engineers in France , and deliver 200 French cannons to the American forces . The methods by which du Coudray went about recruiting alarmed the French court , which wanted to maintain secrecy in its dealings with the Americans , and du Coudray was ordered to stay in France . He ignored the order , and slipped out of France , arriving in North America in May 1777 . Deane in fact exceeded his authority in extending the offer to du Coudray , but the Continental Congress felt obliged to honor it , and he was commissioned with the offered rank . A number of American generals were outraged that high ranks were awarded to foreigners , and the Continental Army ' s artillery chief , Henry Knox , was particularly incensed that du Coudray would outrank him . To placate Knox ( who threatened to resign over the matter ) , and to resolve conflicts of command and personality issues between du Coudray and another French engineer , Louis Lebègue Duportail , du Coudray was not assigned to a command position , and was instead appointed as " Inspector General of Ordnance and Military Manufactories " in August 1777 . Du Coudray was somewhat unpopular because of the circumstances surrounding his commissioning , although they were not directly of his making , but his superior attitude and aristocratic demeanor did nothing to improve relations with others . He was at first assigned to survey the defences around Philadelphia and recommend improvements . His initial report on the matter suggested developing Red Bank ( the site of Fort Mercer ) , and recommended significant changes to Fort Billingsport , while completely dismissing Fort Mifflin . General George Washington took an active role in the distribution of the defences , and chose Fort Mifflin as the primary point of defence in opposition to du Coudray ' s suggestion . Du Coudray in a politically astute maneuver backed down from his assessment , and was given the assignment of working at Fort Mifflin . He continued to lobby Congress on the matter , however , with the result that improvements to all of the forts was slow . On September 11 , 1777 , he was riding across a pontoon bridge across the Schuylkill River when he fell from his horse into the river and drowned . His funeral , held at St . Mary ' s Church in Philadelphia , was attended by many Congressional representatives . He was buried in the church yard , but the exact grave location is unknown .