William Eustis

William Eustis
12th Governor of Massachusetts
In office
May 31, 1823 – February 6, 1825
Lieutenant
Preceded byJohn Brooks
Succeeded byMarcus Morton (acting)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 13th district
In office
August 21, 1820 – March 3, 1823
Preceded byEdward Dowse
Succeeded byJohn Reed Jr.
In office
March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1805
Preceded byHarrison Otis
Succeeded byJosiah Quincy III
Constituency8th district (1801–03)
1st district (1803–05)
United States Envoy to the Netherlands
In office
July 20, 1815 – May 5, 1818
PresidentJames Madison
James Monroe
Preceded byWilliam Vans Murray
Succeeded byAlexander H. Everett (Acting)
6th United States Secretary of War
In office
March 7, 1809 – January 13, 1813
PresidentJames Madison
Preceded byHenry Dearborn
Succeeded byJohn Armstrong Jr.
Personal details
Born(1753-06-10)June 10, 1753
Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay, British America
DiedFebruary 6, 1825(1825-02-06) (aged 71)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
SpouseCaroline Langdon
EducationHarvard College (BA)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceContinental Army
Years of service1775–1783
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War
 • Battles of Lexington and Concord
 • Battle of Bunker Hill
 • Siege of Boston
 • Shays' Rebellion

William Eustis (June 10, 1753 – February 6, 1825) was an early American physician, politician, and statesman from Massachusetts. Trained in medicine, he served as a military surgeon during the American Revolutionary War, notably at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He resumed medical practice after the war, but soon entered politics.

After several terms in the state legislature, Eustis won election to the United States Congress in 1800, serving as a moderate Democratic-Republican. He briefly returned to state politics after losing reelection in 1804, and was chosen to be Secretary of War in 1809 by President James Madison. Due in part to his inexperience at managing the army and a lack of preparedness, the military failures in the early months of the War of 1812 were laid on his shoulders, leading to his resignation.

Madison then appointed Eustis Minister to the Netherlands, a post he held from 1814 until 1818. After another period in Congress, he was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 1822. A popular successor to long-serving John Brooks, Eustis died in office in 1825. His Boston mansion, built in the 1750s by royal governor William Shirley, is known as the Shirley-Eustis House and is a National Historic Landmark.