The French Connection

Christian de Bonchamps is one of those kind of men you hear about, in history, ever so rarely. They are often movers and shakers and behind world events but, never the ones who wind up in the history books. As a result, we know very little about Bonchamps early life. What we do know is that he was a Cavalry Officer in the French Army, an explorer of the darkest reaches of Africa, an adventurer, and he was someone the French government called in to take care of affairs that they wished to keep quiet. In the political turmoil that was the Third Republic, Bonchamps seemed to be the guy they called no matter who was in power in Paris. This speaks a lot about his ability.

Like so many others in the late 19th century, Bonchamps was taken with the reputation of the American western frontier. He spent many summers hunting in the Rocky Mountains, including in the Montana territory. It should be of no surprise that he would eventually run across, none other than, Theodore Roosevelt who was running a cattle ranch in Montana at the time. Roosevelt being one of the few people in the area who spoke French, and a big game hunter himself, naturally cliqued with Bonchamps and his tales of Africa.

It was by his association with Roosevelt that Bonchamps eventually met many of the more powerful citizens of the New York political machine. This included one Thomas Platt who eventually, in 1888, went to France in order to meet with Bonchamps on behalf of John Hay. While the talks remained informal, and very unofficial, the two men found that both France and the United States had more than a few things in common. This of course led to nothing substantial and, at the time, neither Platt nor Hay could have known who Bonchamps was really speaking for. 

Georges Boulanger was quite a popular and controversial figure in France in the late 1880’s. He had floated across the political spectrum of the Third Republic and no one was really quite sure where he stood on any particular issue other than he wanted to be the ruler of France. The man was driven by the want of revenge against Germany for it’s defeat of France in 1871. It was a very popular notion at the time and Boulanger had gathered quite a cult of personality around him. 

In John Hay, Boulanger had found a fellow soul with the exact same problem. Once it was clear who they were dealing with, John Hay would never risk a direct meeting Boulanger. He did begin regular communications none the less. This mostly went through Switzerland via an American military officer who was none other than a direct descendant of Napoleon Boneparte, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II.

Jerome had been trained at West Point, served in the French and American armies, and had his loyalties evenly divided between both. He had no problem divulging to Boulanger the nature of the American build up and Boulanger became privy to the inner most secrets of the US Military. He saw in the Americans a means to an end, along with the cash and support that would allow him to fulfill his plans.

Whether Boulanger had planned out what was to come, or if events had simply caught up with him, is uncertain. How much actual support he got from the Lincoln administration is also equally murky. What we do know is that he went forward with a full scale coup de tat that brought down the Third Republic. In 1889 Boulanger became the emergency leader of France and would later go on to become it’s new President for life.

While there is no record at all that the Bryan administration kept any deals, with Boulanger, that had been made by Lincoln, there is no evidence that they broke them either. Pacifism was a very deeply held belief by President Bryan. He was quite often accused by his rivals as being “soft on the south.” Despite this, the Bryan administration did not stop the military build up even if it did slow it down. Some scholars of his administration have suggested that he turned a blind eye towards things he did not like, but knew had to be done. His secretary of war, William C Endicott, was a prime example of this.

Despite the accusations and scandal that erupted around Endicott, over his being a southern sympathizer during the war, he is now thought to have done his job quite effectively. The Bryan administration might not have spent as much money as the Lincoln but, men like Endicott did some vital reforms that were not costly but were just as needed as Winchester repeaters. The effectiveness of the US Army was second to none when the war finally broke out, and much of that was thanks to Endicott.

This also applies to relations with Boulanger. Bryan appointed a would be member of his cabinet, and chief political supporter, Grover Cleveland, to the posting as ambassador of France. Just as with Boulanger’s dealings with Hay, there is no evidence of any secret deals between Boulanger and Cleveland. What we do know is that both France and the United States continued on their course towards war and the opening moves of the conflict suggest more than coincidence here.