Franco-American Countryside in the United States in 1782

Franco-American Countryside in the United States (1782)

In consequence of the events of the Antilles, Rochambeau goes up towards North

Interview of Rochambeau and Washington

He was thus determined to put his troops moving to bring them closer to New York and to ask to the general Washington an interview Philadelphia. This conference took place, and it was decided there that the two armies would take again their old positions on the Rivière of Hudson and would approach New York as much as possible to threaten this place and to prevent it from sending any detachment to the outside.

Movement retrogresses of the French Army

At once the retrograde movement of the French Army started. It took place slowly, the soldier going during the night and resting the day. Rochambeau had taken the initiative to confer with Washington, and it had left with the Chevalier of Chastellux and the Count de Vioménil the care to lead the troops according to the wise instructions that it had given them. One granted to the troops one month rest with Baltimore, from where they left by battalions to avoid the obstruction with the passage of the Susquehanna, that Dumas was still charged to supervise.

The joined together generals with Philadelphia learned at that time that Savannah had been evacuated, and that the garrison had been partly left with Charleston and partly transported to New York.

The Carleton general again offers a peace separated to America

The general Carleton, who had always the project to evacuate New York to go on some point of the the Antilles, made spread the news of the recognition of American independence by the two rooms of the Parliament and again tried by this operation to divide the allies and to negotiate with the Congress alone.

He did not have more success than previously, and Mr. de Rochambeau accelerated the walk of his troops. They crossed Philadelphia, then the Delaware and the Jersey S. the cavalry of the Légion of Lauzun, ordered by the count Robert Dillon, informed the right side on the reverse the heights which the army côtoyait. It crossed then Hudson to Kingsferry, as with the opening of the preceding countryside; and the junction of the two armies took place on this point. The French ravelled between two hedges of the American army, which was in great behavior for the first time since its organization. Its weapons came partly from France and the uniforms of the stores of York. This day was a true family celebration.

Position of the French Army in front of New York

The American army remained camped in Kingsferry having a rear-guard with the mouth of the Croton in the river of Hudson. The French Army took, in front of Crampond, a strong position in the mountain. The body of Lauzun was in avant-garde on the height which borders Croton, and in this position the two armies could, in only one day of walk, to go on New York and Staten Island.

The French government prepares itself to send new reinforcements in 1782

The French government projected to send new helps in America. As of the first days of April 1782, it had indeed joined together in the port of Brest several frigates and a convoy many of commercial vessels and buildings of transport, like two battalions of recruits intended to reinforce the army of Rochambeau. Mr. the count de Ségur, wire of the Minister for the war, which had obtained the place of colonel as a second of Soissonnais in the place of Mr. of Noailles, accepted the order to take the command, to inspect them and to inform them of it until the moment of the departure.

The Glory only share with 2 million books and officers

But an English squadron, informed of these preparations and supported by the winds, which were against the French, crossed in front of the roads, so that the departure had to be differed six weeks and that at the end of this time the frigate the Gloire accepted the order to only leave, carrying a sum of two million intended for the army of Rochambeau, and a great number of officers to the number of which were: the duke of Lauzun, the count de Ségur, the prince de Broglie, wire of the marshal; Mr. of Montesquieu, the grandson of the author of the Spirit of the laws ; of Vioménil wire, Laval, the Count de Loménie, of Sheldon, officer of English origin; a Polish gentleman, Polleresky; an aide-de-camp of the King de Suède, Mr. of Ligliorn; the knight Alexandre de Lameth, who was going to replace his Charles brother; the Viscount of Vaudreuil, wire of the captain of this name; moreover, Misters of Brentano, Ricci, Montmort, Tisseul and others.

This vessel fails on the coasts of France

This frigate of thirty-two guns of twelve was ordered by Mr. of Valongne, lieutenant. It put at the veil the May 19th 1782, by a rather fresh breeze so that one could hope to escape vigilance from the English fleet; but hardly it with three miles was at sea that a storm forces threw it towards the coast. The arrival of the twenty-two English cruisers obliged it to still follow a long time these dangerous trimmings.

He seeks a refuge in the Loire

When the calm one returned, a mast of the Gloire was broken; it had to return in the the Loire and to slacken with Paimbœuf to be repaired.

Until the July 15th, it remained thus on the coasts of France, sometimes receiving the order to put at the veil, sometimes the injunction to wait, and walking of Brest to Nantes, of Nantes with Lorient, then of Lorient with Rochefort.

It returns to Rochefort

In this last port, it met the Eagle , another stronger frigate, of forty guns of twenty-four, which was to go to preserve America with the Gloire . It was ordered by Mr. of the Key, man faces and informs who had the defect to be too recently entered the navy and of owes his rapid advance in support of many friends and in particular of the duke of Orleans. As he was captain, he had at once the step on Mr. de Valongne, who subjected himself without murmuring to see itself thus constrained to be useful under an officer less old than him. The passengers of the Eagle were not less condition that those of the Gloire : it was Mr. the Baron de Vioménil, which was going to take again its command with the title of Brigadier; Misters of Vauban, Melfort, Bozon de Talleyrand, of Champcenetz, Fleury, Laval, of Chabannes, and others.

Departure of this port with the Eagle

Mr. of the Key was undoubtedly accustomed too little to the severity of the payments of the navy to accept them in all their rigor. A woman of which it was violently enthusiast it had followed from Paris to La Rochelle, and as it was not to embark it on its frigate, it had the singular idea to put it on a commercial building and to make tow this one by the Eagle . The walk of the frigates was delayed necessarily much by it. Their safety even was compromised; but fortunately this manner of reconciling the love and the duty was fatal only with those which had imagined it.

Stop in the Azores

One spent three weeks to arrive at the the Azores, and as there were patients on board and than one missed water, Mr. of the Key took the resolution to slacken in some port of this small archipelago. The wind was opposed so that the frigates entered the port of Fayal. As that of Terceyre was not sure, one had to resign oneself to make them cross in front of the island while one was going to seek on boats the provisioning necessary. The young people and brilliant momentary of the two frigates went down to ground and visited during the few days that they remained there all that these fortunate islands could contain characters or curious things. Receptions which were made to them by the French Consul and the Portuguese governor. One finds there the existence this singular agent, at the same time consul of two enemy nations, the England and the Spain, familiar of the Inquisition and dancer of Fandango, the gallant interviews that its host spared with the French officers in a convent of young Portugueses, under the eyes of their Complaisante abbess.

The merry troop would have still remained well a long time in this stay which seemed enchanter, if the duty had not called it elsewhere. Mr. of the Key gave to the veil the August 5th and moved initially towards the North-West to take note of the dispatches which it was to open only with this height, before carrying on its road. However these dispatches enjoignaient to him to make greatest diligence, to avoid any combat, and to give with greatest possible celerity to the count de Rochambeau and the Marquis de Vaudreuil the plan of a new campaign. It repented, but too late, of time that it had lost, let go the commercial vessel by the ordinary way, and wanted to take with shortest while directing the frigates directly towards the west. It was mistaken in its forecasts, bus of calm frequent made him lose more than fifteen days, so that the commercial vessel that it had let only go, and who was pushed by the winds sorb-apples, arrived at the same time as him at the entry of the Delaware.

Fights with an English vessel

The two frigates were of the 4 with the September 5th with the height of the Bermuda, when one announced a man to the sea. It was a sailor of the Eagle , which one managed to save while lighting of the Fanaux and while launching a boat with the sea. Fires at once were extinguished, as one always did it in the night. But this moment had been enough to draw to the frigates the attention of an English vessel, which began the attack immediately. It was Hector , of seventy-four guns, recently taken on the Count de Grasse, and which took along a convoy of French prisoners. The Gloire only supported during three fifteen minutes the fire of the enemy and resisted heroically to him, then the Eagle came in its turn to support the fight until the day. In spite of the superiority of its armament, the English vessel would have been taken if one had not seen with far a many fleet which one feared the attacks. It was learned later that Hector had been maltreated so much that it had run with three hundred miles of the coast. An American building which was in these trimmings saved the captain and part of the crew.

This brilliant business was worth the greatest praises with Mr. of the Key, and Mr. de Valongne the rank of captain.

The loss of the two frigates from approximately thirty or forty was killed and hundred wounded. The Gloire was also extremely damaged and made water of all shares. One however managed to repair his damages rather well. The ground was not distant. It was seen the September 11th. The 12, one recognized the entry of the Delaware, and one prepared to wet against the Cape May when the head wind was opposed to it. At the same time, an English corvette came to be placed étourdiment between the two French frigates, which she believed of her nation. It was taken after an exchange of some blows of gun. Its amarinage, by the heavy sea which it made, took a time very-length.

The two French ships arrive at the entry of Delaware

Mr. of the Key was forced to wet along the coast while it sent a boat to seek pilots to enter Delaware. The wind broke this boat against the coast; the officer and two sailors only could run away themselves with the stroke.

The French officers join the army with Crampond

Misters de Lauzun, from Broglie, from Ségur, came to join the French Army with Grampond, a few away days, like all their travelling companions. Their great concern, as of this moment was to know if one would not finish the countryside by an unspecified company against the enemy.

Orders of the court

But the orders of the court, given by Mr. of Ségur, were formal. If the English evacuated New York and Charleston, or only one of these places, the count de Rochambeau was to embark the army on the French fleet, to lead it to Saint-Domingue, under the orders of the Spanish general Don Galvez.

The English evacuate Charleston

However the evacuation of Charleston then was announced. The count de Rochambeau thus informs Mr. of Vaudreuil which it had to place at his disposal to embark the army with Boston. It indeed left the October 12th its quarterings of Grampond. Seven days after it was with Hartford, where one remained four or five days. There, Mr. de Rochambeau made public his resolution to turn over to France with Mr. de Chastellux and most of his staff.

But Mr. de Vaudreuil was not ready. He even declared that he would be it only at the end of November, and than he could take on board only four thousand men, including their officers and their continuation. The count de Rochambeau proposed then with the Baron de Vioménil and his brother to put itself at the head of the two brigades of infantry and of part of artillery to lead them to the Antilles. He left the body of Lauzun with artillery of seat, which had remained detached with Baltimore, at the bottom of the Baie of Chesapeak, under the orders of Mr. of Valetta, and he charged the duke with Lauzun of the command of the ground troops which would remain in America with the orders of the general Washington.

The French Army embarks on December 12th, 1782 in Boston

The November 4th the army went Hartford to Providence, where it took its winter quarters, and on February 1st the baron de Vioménil, remained only chief of the army, made raise the camp of Providence to go to Boston. The December 24th, it put at the veil, and the fleet, after having run many dangers, came to approach the February 10th 1783 with Oporto-Cabello, on the coast of Caracas, where it was to join to the Count d' Estaing and the admiral Don Solano

Rochambeau returns to France

On his side, the count de Rochambeau, after having said good-bye to his troops, turned over to New-Windsor to see last once the Washington general, and went to embark on a frigate which awaited it in the Bay of Chesapeak. The English, who were prevented of his loading, sent some vessels of New York to stop the frigate which carried it; but the captain, Mr. of Quénai, could thwart these attempts, and Rochambeau arrived at Nantes without difficulty.

Reception which the king makes him

At once after his arrival in France, the general of Rochambeau went to Versailles, where the king accepted it with much distinction. He says to him that it was with him and the catch of the army of Cornwallis that he owed the peace which had just been signed. General asked him permission to divide this praise with man from of which misfortunes recent him had be learned only by papers public, but that he would never forget and requested His Majesty not to forget that Mr. Fatty had arrived, on his simple requisition, with all the helps that he had asked him, and that, without its contest, the allies would not have taken the army of Cornwallis. The king retorted to him at once that he remembered très-bien all his dispatches; that he would never forget the services that Mr. de Grasse had returned there jointly with him; that what had arrived to him since was a business which remained to be judged.

Honors which are granted to him

He gave the following day to the count de Rochambeau the entries of his room; little time after, the cordon-bleu cook of his kinds instead of the red cord, and command of Picardy which became vacant afterwards one year.

Rewards granted to the army

The general officers, the subalterns and the soldiers of the task force accepted also titles, pensions, advance or honors.

Lauzun and its troops are entirely forgotten

By an unexplainable exception, about which Lauzun complains bitterly in its Mémoires , its legion alone did not obtain any favor. The disgrace whose this colonel after the death of his guard was struck, Mr. of Maurepas, was only the consequence forced of one of these reversals so common to the court at that time.

Random links: