Nicholas Trist: Alexandria's Renegade Diplomat
- Alexandria History Tours
- Nov 21
- 11 min read
On February 25, 1848, President Polk slowly read a treaty that gave him everything he wanted. Under the terms of the treaty, America would acquire 525,000 square miles of land that included present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma. At the time, it would become the second largest land acquisition in U.S. history after the Louisiana Purchase. Furthermore, the price was insanely cheap. America would get all that territory out to the Pacific Ocean for $15 million! More importantly, the Mexican American War, which was unpopular in America, would come to an end. America would be victorious. [1]
As Polk read this incredible news, sweat broke on his brow, his fists balled with rage, and he pounded his desk, cursing the name of one man: Nicholas Philip Trist. Trist negotiated the treaty that gave Polk everything he wanted. Polk despised him.
Who was Nicholas Trist? Trist was a career diplomat. He was a clerk, working for the State Department. In April 1847, he was selected by President Polk to negotiate a treaty with Mexico to end the war and also acquire territory from Mexico for the United States. In less than a year, Trist was able to do exactly what he had been sent to Mexico to do. He negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. However, he did so at an enormous personal and professional cost. When Trist negotiated the treaty in 1848, Polk had already fired Trist and sent word for him to return to Washington D.C. Trist defied the order and stayed in Mexico as a renegade diplomat.
Nicholas Trist Background
Nicholas Trist was a Virginian by birth, but raised in Louisiana. In 1803, his father was appointed by President Thomas Jefferson to be collector of customs to the town of Natchez, Louisiana. When Trist was 17, he visited Monticello and fell in love with Virginia Jefferson Randolph, who was a granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson. The couple would get married several years later on September 11, 1824. [2]
Trist had early aspirations to become a soldier and enrolled in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. However, he soon realized that the Army was not his calling and disenrolled without graduating. Nevertheless, the trajectory of Trist's life was totally changed by his marriage to lovely Virginia Jefferson Randolph. The wedding took place at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Trist's marriage to the granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson brought him close to America's third president. As Trist considered his career prospects, he became interested in the law. Who better to teach Trist the law than his grandfather-in-law, Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence.
Not only did Trist learn law from Thomas Jefferson, but he also learned diplomatic lessons. Jefferson’s political career included being American envoy to France in the 1780s. During George Washington’s presidency, Thomas Jefferson was the first Secretary of State. As president, Jefferson oversaw the largest land acquisition in American history with the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803. When it came to diplomatic lessons and negotiations, Trist could not have asked for a better teacher than Thomas Jefferson.
In the last two years of Jefferson’s life, Trist was also his private secretary. Thus, the interaction that Trist had with Jefferson was extensive. To illustrate the closeness of their relationship, Trist was the executor of Jefferson’s estate after Jefferson died on July 4, 1826. In the period after Jefferson’s death, Trist maintained a lengthy correspondence with Jefferson’s friend and America’s fourth president, James Madison. Furthermore, he eventually pursued a career in the State Department where he worked as a clerk from 1828-1831.
Trist’s career also included a one-year period as private secretary to President Andrew Jackson in 1832. He became connected to Jackson through an old West Point acquaintance. While his work under Jackson was brief, his next job as consul to Havana, Cuba, spanned eight years. This post meant that he would become fluent in Spanish. This would later be an important qualification for his selection as commissioner to Mexico in 1847.
Background on the Mexican American War
In 1836, Texas fought and won independence from Mexico. However, Mexico never recognized Texas as an independent country. As more Americans settled into Texas, there was a strong political movement for America to annex Texas. President James K. Polk promised to do that as president. In 1845, the first year of Polk's presidency, Texas was formally admitted into the United States. In the following year, boundary disputes between Texas and Mexico led to tensions and ultimately fighting in the region between the Rio Grande and Nueces River. On May 13, 1846, Congress approved a declaration of war against Mexico. The fighting intensified in 1847.
America’s leading General was Winfield Scott, who is one of the most gifted military leaders in United States history. General Scott put together a brilliant military campaign that accomplished more than the Polk administration could have imagined. In fact, beginning March 9, 1847, Scott launched an amphibious assault against the Mexican city of Vera Cruz. Over the next six months, American forces drove deeper into the heart of Mexico. Finally, on September 14, 1847, American forces captured Mexico City. The Mexican government, which was fragile and dealing with internal divisions, was eager to make a deal to end the war. [3]
President Polk selected Nicholas Trist to be a commissioner to Mexico in April 1847. The mission was originally secret. However, news leaked by the time Trist reached New Orleans. Trist’s instructions were to secure both an armistice and negotiate the acquisition of a large swath of territory that stretched to the Pacific Ocean in what became the southwest region of the United States, but were originally northwestern parts of Mexico.
Trist linked up with General Scott. The two men initially despised each other. Scott felt disrespected by Trist’s lack of respect for him and his command. Trist did not endear himself to Scott. Harsh letters were exchanged. The news of their rocky relationship made it back to Washington D.C. It seemed like a big problem for the Polk administration.
However, the problem of Scott and Trist was made worse for a totally different reason. As improbable as it seemed, the two strong-willed men buried the hatchet. In fact, they became good friends. Politics had a lot to do with it. General Scott was a Whig politically. As a result, President Polk, a Democrat, was suspicious of Scott for political reasons. For his part, Trist thought America’s war was unjust and did not support the war. Therefore, Scott and Trist developed a common enemy in President Polk. In his book, A Country of Vast Designs, Robert Merry writes, "The two men had, from the fires of their contention, forged an emotional bond so strong and meaningful that it would blossom into a lifelong friendship—nurtured initially by the realization that they had in common a powerful sentiment: They both hated James K. Polk." Furthermore, their friendship was solidified when Trist became sick. General Scott sent him guava marmalade to help him recover. Trist eventually got better and the Scott-Trist friendship was born. [4]
Not only did Trist and Scott mend relations but they also worked together. In fact, they came up with a plan to accelerate peace negotiations. Their plan was to bribe Mexican General Santa Anna with an offer of $1 million. They came up with the idea after the battles of Contreras and Churubusco in August 1847. Santa Anna accepted the bribe, but he lacked authority to negotiate peace terms. As a result, fighting continued and by October 1847, U.S. forces had taken Mexico City and firmly controlled the military situation in Mexico. [5]
When Polk learned about the bribe, he was furious with both Trist and Scott. Furthermore, after the U.S. captured Mexico City, Polk realized that there was an opportunity to acquire more territory than he originally wanted. The aspiration to capture all of Mexico was politically contentious in the United States. Many Whigs opposed U.S. expansion through conquest. Slavery was one of the major objections. Anti-slavery Whigs feared that more slave states would be admitted into the Union.
Simultaneously, noteworthy politicians such as U.S. Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina disagreed with expansion because he did not want to extend American citizenship to Mexicans. Calhoun’s arguments were racially motivated. Other arguments against expansion included religious ones as Mexico was predominantly Catholic versus America, which was majority protestant.
Polk Recalls Trist
By the end of September 1847, Polk lost trust and confidence in Trist. On October 6, 1847, he had Secretary of State James Buchanan send a formal recall notice to Trist. Trist was fired. On November 16, 1847, Trist opened his recall letter. In the six week period in which the recall letter was sent and when Trist received it, circumstances on the ground had changed. Mexico had their own commissioners in place. They were ready to talk. Trist was ready to talk. Furthermore, no replacement came over the next three weeks.
By early December, Trist was in a bind. What was he going to do? The window of opportunity to negotiate was open. Polk seemed to be slamming it shut. Trist hated the war and he had been tasked with a job. On December 4, 1847, Trist wrote a letter to his wife Virginia in which he said, "Knowing it to be the very last chance and impressed with the dreadful consequences to our country which cannot fail to attend the loss of that chance, I decided today at noon to attempt to make a treaty; the decision is altogether my own." [6]
In deciding to move forward with the negotiations, Trist sat down and put his thoughts on paper. Those thoughts turned into a 65-page letter that was part defense and part manifesto to justify what he was about to do next. Trist defied the recall order and stayed to negotiate. On December 6, 1847, Trist sent his 65-page letter to Secretary Buchannan. Mexico was ready to talk. Trist was ready to talk (in Spanish). The time was now. If we were to condense Trist’s 65-page letter into three words, it said, “Sorry. I’m staying.”
The Negotiation and Ratification
In January 1848, Trist defied the recall and entered formal negotiations with Mexico at a city called Guadalupe Hidalgo. The city worked to Trist’s benefit because it was the site of Mexico’s shrine to the Virgin Mary. Trist believed that the treaty might be seen as divinely sanctioned by the blessed mother of Jesus. Trist used his instructions from April 1847 to negotiate the terms. Those instructions gave him authority to buy the southwest territory for up to $30 million. Trist got the price down to $15 million. Ironically, this was the same price that Jefferson had purchased the Louisiana Territory for in 1803. Trist, who was mentored by Jefferson, was able to secure the second largest land acquisition in American history after his grandfather-in-law and mentor Thomas Jefferson. He was able to get that territory at the exact same price! Jefferson would have been proud of his gifted protégé. [7]
While Trist negotiated, the Mexican government knew he had been fired. However, Trist used this to his advantage. In fact, it became a strong card for Trist to play because the Mexican delegation believed that the next American negotiator might be looking for harsher terms including more territory. As a result, Trist was able to use the recent military victories and the threat of more aggressive terms to agree on the original terms that Polk wanted him to get in April 1847. Since Trist also hated the war, he was able to negotiate in good faith and with a common goal of seeing the war come to end without punishing Mexico and her people.
By the end of January 1848, the treaty was coming together. Trist acted alone. He was taking notes and archiving everything. He was his own translator due to his fluency in Spanish. Trist put his signature on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848. After signing it, he sent a copy of the treaty to Secretary Buchanan to give to President Polk. [8]
Polk read the treaty carefully and with resentment towards the renegade negotiator. Based on the terms of the treaty, the U.S. was set to acquire 55% of Mexico’s territory for $15 million. This would include present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, parts of Arizona and Colorado as well as parts of Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Kansas. [9]
Polk asked his cabinet for their advice. What should he do with the treaty? Was it ready to go to the Senate? There was only one person who said no. Secretary of State James Buchanan did not want to send it to the Senate. Polk thought his objections were politically motivated. He decided to send it to the Senate. On March 10, 1848, the United States Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo by a vote of 34-14. [10]
The Mexican government ratified the treaty on May 19, 1848. The two countries exchanged ratifications on May 30. Finally, on Independence Day, July 4, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was proclaimed. The war was over. America had expanded to the Pacific Coast. Nicholas Trist had accomplished what President Polk wanted. He was ready to receive his hero’s welcome! [11]
The Aftermath
The balloons and streamers were never set up. The floats didn't arrive on Pennsylvania Avenue. As for the party cake, Trist could eat stale bread. Forget the hero's welcome. Trist received a prompt firing as soon as he returned to Washington D.C. Not only was he fired but he wasn’t even paid for the time that he spent negotiating the treaty. The renegade diplomat was persona non grata. He was ostracized and retired to a life of relative obscurity. There were no parades and no celebrations. Trist did his duty and could tell his wife and friends about it. No one else seemed to care.
As a Virginian Trist was unique politically. In the 1860 presidential election he supported Abraham Lincoln. He opposed secession and was a Unionist. Consequently, he was later a supporter of President Ulysses S. Grant. As a result, Grant appointed Trist postmaster of the city of Alexandria in 1871. Trist and his wife Virginia moved into a beautiful house on the 500 block of South Lee Street. They rented the home from a powerful and wealthy banker named John Woolfolk Burke. [12]
In 1871, Senator Charles Sumner proposed a bill to compensate Trist for his time spent negotiating the treaty. The bill passed congress in the same year. Trist received payment of his salary and expenses with interest. The amount totaled $14,559.90 (~$385,000 in 2025). Finally, 23 years after his successful negotiation, Trist could have a small sense of vindication. But, the glory was short lived. He died three years later on February 11, 1874, at his rented home in Alexandria. His wife, Virginia, passed away in 1881. Both Nicholas Trist and Virginia Randolph Trist are buried in Alexandria, VA, in historic Ivy Hill Cemetery. [13]
The story of Nicholas Trist is not widely known. Most people don’t know much about the Mexican American War in general much less the principal negotiator of the peace treaty. Very few Alexandrians know that Trist lived in Alexandria. Furthermore, most Alexandrians don’t realize that Thomas Jefferson’s granddaughter lived in the city of Alexandria. Nevertheless, it is an incredible story. Nicholas Trist is a great American hero.
If all of that isn’t interesting enough, there is one other fun fact about the home that Nicholas and Virginia Trist lived in. The home is currently one of the nicest properties in Alexandria with sweeping views of the Potomac River. In terms of cost, it getting close to eight figures! The property is owned and occupied by Virginia’s U.S. Senator Mark Warner and his wife Lisa Collis. They bought the home in 1990 and still live in it as of 2025.
Works Cited:
[2] Hackford, H. (2004). Nicholas Philip Trist. Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/nicholas-philip-trist/
[3] HISTORY.com Editors. (2025, May 28). General Winfield Scott captures Mexico City. History. From https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/september-14/scott-captures-mexico-city
[4] Merry, R. W. (2009). A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent (p. 371). Simon & Schuster.
[5] Ibid.
[6] National Archives and Records Administration. (n.d.). Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo [Exchange copy; 2/2/1848]. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/treaty-of-guadalupe-hidalgo
[7] Howe, D. W. (2007). What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848. Oxford University Press.
[8] National Archives and Records Administration. (n.d.). Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo [Exchange copy; 2/2/1848]. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/treaty-of-guadalupe-hidalgo
[9] Ibid.
[10] Bomboy, S. (2023, March 10). The man who delivered California to the U.S., and was fired for it. National Constitution Center. From https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-man-who-delivered-california-to-the-u-s-and-was-fired-for-it?utm_source=chatgpt.com
[11] Ibid.
[12] Francavilla, L. (2020, December 07). Nicholas Philip Trist (1800–1874). Encyclopedia Virginia. From https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/trist-nicholas-philip-1800-1874/
[13] Ibid.
Image Sources:
Young Trist: Portrait of Nicholas Philip Trist, 1835 by John Neagle (1796–1865). Oil on canvas. 15" x 13", Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Monticello.)
Older Trist: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-man-who-delivered-california-to-the-u-s-and-was-fired-for-it
Trist grave. Photo taken by author.
505 S. Lee St. Photo taken by author.