Eustis, William

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William Eustis (yōō´stĬs), 1753–1825, U.S. government official, b. Cambridge, Mass. A surgeon in the patriot forces during the American Revolution, he later served (1801–5) in Congress as a Jeffersonian. Eustis was appointed (1807) secretary of war by Jefferson, but he was forced to resign in 1812 because of charges of incompetence in dealing with the problems of the War of 1812. He was later minister (1814–18) to the Netherlands, again a member (1820–23) of the House of Representatives, and governor (1823–25) of Massachusetts.