given up claims to land west of the Appalachian Mountains. When Maryland requested France to provide naval forces in the Chesapeake Bay for protection from the British (who were conducting raids in the lower part of the bay), he indicated that French Admiral Destouches would do what he could, but La Luzerne also "sharply pressed" Maryland to ratify the Articles, thus suggesting the two issues were related. Maryland ratified the Articles in February 1781. La Luzerne also suggested that the Confederation government appoint ministers of war, finance, and foreign affairs. He was assisted by General and Congressman John Sullivan La Luzerne returned to Europe in 1784, his reputation as an envoy much enhanced. In 1789, Thomas Jefferson, the first U.S. Secretary of State, sent La Luzerne a letter of thanks on behalf of President George Washington. In 1788 La Luzerne was posted as Ambassador to the Court of St. James's in London, and died on 14 September 1791 at Southampton. Legacy and honors In 1781 he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 1783 he was a founding Fellow of the Society of the Cincinnati. Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, the Borough of Luzerne, Pennsylvania, and Lake Luzerne, New York, are named after him. See also List of ambassadors of France to the United States List of Ambassadors of France to the United Kingdom Notes References Modified from New American Supplement to the New Werner Twentieth Century Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica; Vol. XXVI, p. 651 (1905, public domain). La Luzerne, Anne Cesar, Encyclopedia.com External links www.bodley.ox.ac.uk 1741 births 1791 deaths Military personnel from Paris Knights of Malta Nobility from Paris French people of the American Revolution French Army officers Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Ambassadors of France to the United States Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 18th-century French diplomats Ambassadors of France to Great Britain French marquesses Diplomats from Paris