William Carmichael was born about 1739 in Queen Annes County, Maryland, United States. His father was also William Carmichael, who had come to the eastern shore of Maryland as a Scotch immigrant, and there married a Miss Brooke, niece of the second wife of Richard Bennett, son of a former governor of Virginia, and one of the wealthiest landed proprietors of Maryland.
His fortunate inheritance enabled William Carmichael to complete his education at Edinburgh, and to tour the British Isles.
Carmichael was in London, leading a gay life, in 1775, when word came of the beginning of revolution in America. He resolved to return to America and was entrusted with dispatches by Arthur Lee, then the agent in London for some of the Colonies, but on reaching Paris, he was detained there by illness until the arrival of Silas Deane. He offered his services to Deane, and served as a secretary of the Commission (Deane, Franklin and Arthur Lee), in their efforts to enlist the aid of France for the Colonies. He was individually responsible for the coming of Lafayette to America. In October 1776 he was sent to Berlin to propose treaty relations with Frederick the Great but found that old monarch too cautious to risk the enmity of England. After rendering useful service in France, Carmichael sailed from Nantes for America, February 1778, bearing important dispatches to the Continental Congress. He served as a member of the Continental Congress in 1778-79, and then became secretary to John Jay, chosen as minister plenipotentiary to secure a treaty with Spain. The Jay commission reached Cadiz, Jan. 22, 1780, and Carmichael was sent ahead to Madrid to ascertain whether the commission would be received or not. The answer was favorable, and for more than two years they sought a treaty with Spain, but without success, as Spain refused to allow America the navigation of the Mississippi to its mouth. When Jay left for Paris in June 1782 he left Carmichael as acting charge d'affaires, to transact routine matters while the negotiations for a treaty were transferred to Paris. Carmichael continued at Madrid or at other residences of the Court of Spain, and was formally received by the king and royal family on Aug. 23, 1783, an honor not usually accorded to any below the rank of minister (Carmichael MSS. ; Library of Congress, Carmichael to Livingston, Aug. 30, 1783).
His commission as charge was dated April 20, 1790. With his health much impaired, Carmichael's letters to Jefferson, Secretary of State, became infrequent, and in January 1791 he asked to be relieved and allowed to return to America. This request Jefferson refused, and, in March 1792, a new commission, in which Carmichael was joined by William Short, was appointed by President Washington to secure a treaty with Spain. On the arrival of Short, negotiations began March 23, 1793, and were continued without success until June 5, 1794, when Carmichael was recalled and Short named as his successor. Before Carmichael could arrange his affairs and take formal leave of the Court, winter set in and compelled a delay until the next spring. In February 1795 he was confined to his bed by an illness felt for years past which resulted in his death, February 9, 1795. He was buried in a lot adjoining the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Madrid. During his service in Spain, he gained the close friendship of the Spanish foreign minister, Florida Blanca, a genuine statesman, and through him secured the aid of Spain in obtaining the release of American captives in Morocco and a favorable treaty with Morocco. He was ignored by his own government, unpaid for years, and compelled to use his personal resources to keep up appearances. Every American who had occasion to visit Madrid while Carmichael was in active service testified to his good standing and influence at the Spanish Court (Jefferson MSS. ; Jefferson to Madison, January 30, 1787). The estate of Carmichael was so impaired by his long public service that his family was on the verge of poverty, and only some belated generosity on the part of Congress in paying the claims advanced by Mrs. Carmichael kept her from actual suffering.
He was a member of the Continental Congress.
William Carmichael was twice married. As a youth he wed a Miss Stirling, daughter of an Episcopal rector in Queen Annes County, Md. He was a widower with no children when he went to Spain, and there married Antonia Reynon. His widow, with one daughter, Alphonsa, came to America to live near Chestertown, Md.
