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Virginia Military Institute Archives
Virginia Military Institute Archives© 2001 By Virginia Military Institute
Funding: Web version of the finding aid funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Processed by: Diane B. Jacob
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There are no restrictions.
Claudius Crozet Papers, MS 0059, Virginia Military Institute Archives, Lexington, Virginia.
The bulk of the collection was donated by Knox Wilson in 1932. The two Thomas Jefferson letters were purchased from the Lee-Jackson Foundation in 1972.
Portions of this collection have been digitized. The Thomas Jefferson letters and selected other documents are available on the VMI Archives website at http://digitalcollections.vmi.edu/ .
Claudius Crozet, engineer and educator, was born in Villefranche, France on December 31, 1789. Following his graduation from the Ecole Polytechnique, he entered the French Army as an artilleryman, and served until 1816. He was a prisoner of war in Russia from 1814-1816. In 1816 he married Agathe DeCamp, and the couple immigrated to the United States. Crozet accepted an appointment as a professor of engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he taught until 1823 and published A Treatise of Descriptive Geometry for the Use of the Cadets of the United States Military Academy.
Subsequent to his career at West Point, he served as the State Engineer of Virginia (1823-1832), State Engineer of Louisiana (1832-1834), President of Jefferson College, Louisiana (1834-1836), President of the Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors (1837-1845), Principal Engineer of Virginia (1837-1843), and as Principal of the Richmond Academy (1845-1849). In 1849 he was appointed Chief Engineer on a project to build a tunnel through the Blue Ridge, and from 1857-1859 he worked on consturcting an aqueduct for Washington, DC. Crozet died in Richmond, Virginia on January 29, 1864.
The bulk of the material is in French and chronicles Crozet's early years in France prior to his move to the United States in 1816. Included are letters and military orders; discourses on linguistics and grammar; papers pertaining to his marriage and family, and mementos relating to his daughter, Adele, who died in 1830.
In addition, the collection contains two letters from Thomas Jefferson to Crozet, both dated 1821. The letter of March 31 is Jefferson's reply to Crozet's inquiry about a teaching position at the University of Virginia; the letter of November 23 acknowledges the receipt of Crozet's book and includes comments on scientific advancements.
Chronological
To Crozet from Evans
A statement of Crozet's promotion to Second
Captain
To DeCamp family from (signature illegible)
A letter enclosing the certificate of death for
Pierre DeCamp, brother of Crozet's wife, Agathe.
To Crozet from Evans.
Honors Crozet for his service.
To Crozet from Baron De [Maller?]
Crozet is asked to supervise construction of a
bridge
To Crozet from Colonel Dessalles
Bridge equipment to be sent to Paris; Crozet to
proceed to St. Denis where officer's quarters were
established; Crozet to inform General Neigre about
disposition of troops.
To Crozet from Evans
Regarding army rank
To Crozet from General B. Neigre
Crozet to proceed to Vincennes and report to
Col. Renaud.
To Crozet from Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson responds to Crozet's offer to teach
at the University of Virginia; comments on the
progress of the University and on the uncertainty of
funding.
To Crozet from Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson thanks Crozet for sending him a copy
of his new geometry textbook and for his
contributions to teaching; comments on the
advancement of science.
A composition book which also includes several pages of analytic geometry proofs.
topics include formation of adverbs, prepositions, letters, vowels, etc.
A manuscript of approximately 100 pages on the Russian language, written for French readers. This may have been written during the period 1814-1816, when Crozet was a prisoner of war in Russia.
A German grammar, probably written while Crozet was in Holland.
Includes discussion of articles, etc; beginning of dative.
Discussion of consonants, their pronunciation
Covers the period 420-843 AD
Covers the period 876-996 AD
Use of the participle
Probably a fragment of one of the above linguistic discourse; perhaps a part of Des Consonnes .
Chronological
Indicates that M. DeCamp and her husband had life insurance for their daughter Agathe. Agathe's existence is verified each year from 1793 to 1808 by endorsements on the back of the document.
A statement that appears to document an agreement between Pierrette Varion (Crozet's mother) and a landlady regarding payment for living quarters.
A document which indicates that Madame DeCamp's estate is to be divided by the daughters, the son having died in 1813
Between Claud Crozet and Agathe DeCamp. Gives the names, ages, and addresses of the parties involved and their parents. At the time of the marriage the bride's parents were dead; Crozet's father was living but his mother was dead.
Crozet expresses his deep affection for his daughter
Includes a clipping from an 1830 newspaper on keepsakes of deceased loved ones, which suggests a lock of hair is the best remembrance. The file includes a lock of Adele's hair, four baby teeth, and eyelashes.
Adele's script book, published by W. Darton in 1815, and a page of her practice with script.
Memorial verses written by Crozet; receipt for painting an enclosure in graveyard, April 21, 1830
Three calling cards bearing signature of Mrs. Crozet