Admiral de Grasse, the French Navy and American Independence

Admiral de Grasse, the French Navy and American Independence. . , The Global Context , "His Majesty, Sir, has entrusted me with the command of the naval forces which he has destined to protect his possessions in America and those of his allies in North America. The forces which I command, Sir, are sufficient to fulfill the offensive designs which it is in the interest of the Allied Powers to execute in order to bring about an honorable peace." , Admiral François Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse' letter written from on board his flagship the 104-gun ship Ville-de-Paris, on March 29, 1781, reached General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau, in Providence, Rhode Island, on June 10, six weeks after de Grasse had reached Martinique on April 28. In the same letter he informed Washington that he could be in American waters by July 15 though would only stay until October 15. These lines bolstered General George Washington's hope that de Grasse offensive designs indicated an attack on New York City, the center of British political and military power in the United States. That was the decision Washington and Rochambeau had taken in the Conference at Wethersfield, Connecticut, on May 22, 1781., De Grasse sails to Virginia , In a letter of May 28, Rochambeau however hinted strongly that he would prefer the admiral to sail for Virginia rather than New York City. Knowing that his 74-gun ships could not cross the sand banks at the mouth of the Hudson River, de Grasse on July 28 decided to head for the Chesapeake. His letter reached allied headquarters in Westchester County, New York, on August 14. De Grasse had forced Washington's hand. Allied land forces would have to go wherever de Grasse took his fleet. On August 18, Washington and Rochambeau set out for Virginia., De Grasse' fleet of 28 Ships of the Line and four frigates and two cutters set sail from Cap Français, today's Cap-Haïtien, in Haiti, on August 5. Their regular crews ranged from around 600 to almost 900 for a Ship of the Line. In addition, they carried 2,814 Line Infantry soldiers from 17 different regiments doing duty as marines. Rochambeau had requested additional troops and de Grasse had boarded the Câtinois, Agenois, and Touraine infantry regiments, a detachment from the Metz Artillery Regiment, and the Volontaires de St. Simon about 100 hussars strong, altogether 3,289 officers, non-commissioned officers and rank and file under the command of Claude Anne de Rouvroy, Marquis de Saint-Simon Montbléru. In the evening of August 29, look-outs discovered Cape Henry. Around noon the next day the fleet anchored in Lynnhaven Bay., George Washington on board the Ville-de-Paris , Bienvenue, mon petit général - welcome, my little general! , This is how Admiral de Grasse, 6'4" tall, greeted General George Washington, at 6'2" also much taller than most of his contemporaries, as he boarded the Ville-de-Paris., Though the greeting may be apocryphal, de Grasse heartily welcomed Washington in the morning of September 18, 1781. Washington, accompanied by the Comte de Rochambeau, the Chevalier de Chastellux and Generals Henry Knox and Presle Duportail had come to plead with de Grasse to stay beyond the deadline of October 15. Washington received the answer he had hoped for. De Grasse would stay until the end of October., Battle of the Capes , Just as St. Simon's regiments were landing near Jamestown on September 5, the look-out on the frigate l'Aigrette spied Vice Admiral Thomas Graves' armada of 19 Ships of the Line and six frigates approaching the Chesapeake Bay. There was nothing de Grasse could do while wind and tide were against him. When he cut cables around noon, his crews were short some 90 officers and around 1,500 sailors who had not yet returned to their ships., As the French fleet struggled out of their anchorage, Graves wasted valuable time lining up his vessels. Thanks to Graves' maneuvering, de Grasse now had 24 ships and 1,794 cannons in his battle line versus 19 British ships with 1,410 guns when the battle commenced at 3:46 p.m. When Graves ordered fire to cease at 6:30 p.m., his 74-gun-ships Shrewsbury and Ajax were almost un-sailable, the Terrible had to be burned at sea. His fleet had suffered 336 casualties. The French side mourned around 230 casualties but the 74-gun-ships Diadème and Pluton and the 64-gun-ships Réfléchi and Caton needed extensive repairs., For the next few days, de Grasse drifted to the southward pulling Graves with him. This opened the Chesapeake for Admiral jacques-Melchior Saint-Laurent, Comte de Barras' fleet from Newport with the siege artillery to enter. When de Grasse returned to Lynnhaven Bay on September 11, he saw Barras ships riding at anchor. The Battle of the Capes had achieved its goal; with 36 Ships of the Line under his command, de Grasse had established an unassailable naval superiority around Yorktown. Lord Cornwallis escape route was cut off., Departure , On October 19, British forces laid down their arms. De Grasse' chief administrative officer Lieutenant de Vaisseau Guillaume Jacques Constant de Liberge de Granchain represented the French Navy in the surrender negotiations. De Grasse never set foot on American soil. On November 4, his fleet sailed for the West Indies and anchored in Port Royal, today's Fort-de-France on Martinique, on November 25., I consider myself infinitely happy to have been of some service to the United States... reserve me a place in your memory.", "Je me considère infiniment heureux d'avoir rendu service aux États-Unis ... réservez-moi une place dans votre mémoire." , - Admiral de Grasse to George Washington. , November 3, 1781, The Siege , The victory of September 5 established the siege ring on water. The landing of St. Simon's forces reenforced the lines around Yorktown. On September 29, a day after the siege of Yorktown had begun, Rochambeau asked de Grasse for troops to tighten the siege lines across the river. In the afternoon of August 30, 21 officers and 800 men from the regiments doing duty as marines departed for Gloucester where they joined American militia under General George Weedon and the Duc de Lauzun's Legion. Together they defeated Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton on October 3 in the Battle of the Hook, the largest cavalry engagement of the War of Independence. The presence of the French Navy was felt on land and on water, it impacted every aspect of the siege., The contributions of the French Navy made the victory at Yorktown possible. , 1) It brought 3,000 troops under the Marquis de St. Simen to strengthen the siege lines in Yorktown , 2) The victory on September 5 closed the siege ring on water and ended all hope of escape for Lord Cornwallis , 3) It provided 800 men from its ship garrisons to Gloucester to strengthen the siege lines around Gloucester Point , 4) It brought the majority of Rochambeau’s forces from Annapolis to Yorktown, allowing for an early start of the siege , 5) It brought 1.2 million livres from Havana, allowing Washington to pay his Army before embarking at Elkton, (captions) , The Ville-de-Paris at its launch in De Grasse sails to Virginia January 1764, Americans were an immensely practical people as evidenced in the presents offered de Grasse upon his arrival in Virginia. , Recto of Robert Carter's and Richard H. Lee's proportion of present to De Grasse, circa 1775-6. Courtesy of Chicago History Museum, ICHi-176988-001, "Your Excellency will have observed that whatever efforts are made by the Land Armies, the Navy must have the casting vote in the present contest." , - George Washington to de Grasse, October 28, 1781 , François Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse (1723-1788) by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse, Château de Versailles, Admiral de Grasse (left) extends a handshake to General George Washington on board his flagship Ville-de-Paris, September 18, 1781, by Charles Cerny (1956) , , Ville-de-Paris(front) , The victory in the Battle of the Capes provided Washington with the temporary naval superiority in a narrowly defined maritime area that he needed to force the surrender of Lord Cornwallis , Battle of the Capes, September 5, 1781 by Vladimir Zveg (1962). Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Norfolk, VA, De Grasse brought 1.2 million livres from Havana, allowing Washington to pay his army before embarking at Elkton, Carte 1781 - Carte imprimée, Paris, Esnauts et Rapilly Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C. , “I wish it was in my power to express to Congress, how much I feel myself indebted to the Count de Grasse and the Officers of the Fleet under his Command.” , , George Washington reporting the surrender of Lord Cornwallis to Congress, October 19, 1781