David Franks 724318 179409341 2007-12-21T16:12:47Z Kevin Myers 103151 +cat. '''David Salisbury Franks''' (born [[1740]] in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], [[USA]], died [[1793]] also in Philadelphia) was aide-de-camp for General [[Benedict Arnold]] during the [[American War of Independence]]. He was living in [[Quebec]] with his parents when the [[American Revolution]] began. When an army led by [[Benedict Arnold]] and [[Richard Montgomery]] invaded [[Canada]] in 1775, Franks joined the American forces and followed them when they were forced to retreat. Because of his knowledge of French, he was useful to the Colonials in dealing with their [[France|French]] allies. Franks was the aide-de-camp for Benedict Arnold at [[West Point, New York|West Point]] at the time of Arnold's treacherous attempt to hand over the fort to the [[United Kingdom|British]]. He and another subordinate, [[Richard Varick]], were both cleared of complicity in the treason and went on to serve the cause. In Franks's case, some suspicion remained because his uncle [[David Franks (loyalist)|David Franks]] was a known [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Tory]] in [[New York City]], and Arnold himself wrote a letter claiming that Franks had no knowledge of his plans. He served as a courier to carry important documents to [[Benjamin Franklin]] in [[France]] and [[John Jay]] in [[Spain]]. After the war, he served briefly as a diplomat until being dismissed after an active campaign by his enemies, who resented his association to Arnold. Franks was given a grant of land for his services and a position in the Bank of the United States, but he died in poverty. He was saved from a pauper's grave by a neighbor after he succumbed to [[yellow fever]] in the great epidemic of 1793 in Philadelphia, where he is interred in [[Christ Church Burial Ground]]. Franks was a member of the [[Society of the Cincinnati]]. ==External links== *[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Franks.html Biography at the Jewish Virtual Library] *[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=351&letter=F#1017 Article at JewishEncyclopedia.com] *[http://www.ajhs.org/publications/chapters/chapter.cfm?documentID=246 Article at The American Jewish Historical Society] {{DEFAULTSORT:Franks, David}} [[Category:1740 births]] [[Category:1793 deaths]] [[Category:Continental Army staff officers]] [[Category:Deaths from yellow fever]] [[Category:Jewish Americans in the military]] [[Category:People of Pennsylvania in the American Revolution]]