Battle of the Capes, September 5, 1781

Battle of the Capes, September 5, 1781. . , As the barge carrying the Comte de Rochambeau and his staff approached Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, around 4 p.m. on September 5, 1781, Baron Ludwig von Closen "discerned in the distance General George Washington… waving his hat and a white handkerchief joyfully." As "MM. de Rochambeau and Washington embraced warmly on the shore" the American informed his ally that the French fleet under Admiral de Grasse had arrived off Lynnhaven Bay on the evening of August 29. With 28 ships-of-the-line (SOLs) and four frigates carrying 3,300 troops under the Marquis de Saint-Simon riding at anchor west of Cape Henry; Continental forces under the Marquis de Lafayette encamped in Williamsburg; and, a large allied army on the march, "the soldiers from then on spoke of Cornwallis as if they had already captured him.", Just as Washington and Rochambeau rejoiced in the welcome news, French gunners were firing broadsides at a British fleet of 19 SOLs and eight frigates under Rear Admiral Thomas Graves. Learning of de Grasse' arrival, Graves had hurriedly sailed from New York City for the Chesapeake Bay. At about 9:30 a.m. on September 5, the French frigate l'Aigrette and H.M.S. Solebay sighted each other and Graves headed for the bay. With some 2,000 of de Grasse' officers and sailors ashore, his vessels anchored southwest of the Middle Ground Shoal off Cape Henry, and the tide against him, de Grasse hoisted sail. It was almost 1 p.m. before his flagship the Ville de Paris, cleared the channel and headed for the open sea., Rather than head for the disorganized French fleet, Graves, following Royal Navy "Fighting Instructions", at around 2:15 p.m. ordered vessels into a roughly parallel position with the approaching French fleet. the maneuver took 1½ hours to perform and allowed the remainder of de Grasse' vessels to take their places. When Graves gave the order to attack at 3:46 p.m., de Grasse had hundreds more cannon on five more ships sailing in close formation with his best and fastest ships lined up against Graves' slowest and weakest., British confusion over conflicting signal flags and French superiority in numbers proved decisive. When Graves ordered fire to cease at 6:30 p.m., his vessels had suffered more damage and higher casualties than the French. As both fleets drifted southward during the night, they cleared the bay entrance for the eight SOLs under Admiral de Barras carrying French siege artillery from Newport, Rhode Island. With de Barras safe in the Chesapeake, de Grasse had achieved his goal: Cornwallis was trapped by sea., In late afternoon of September 14, Washington and Rochambeau rode into Williamsburg. The next day, Washington apprised de Grasse of "the Wish of the Count De Rochambeau, as well as myself, to have the Honor of an Interview". On September 17, Washington's Private Secretary Johnathan Trumbull entered in his journal that Washington and Rochambeau had embarked "on board the fine little Ship Queen Charlotte" for the Ville de Paris., Shortly before noon, the 6' 2" admiral welcomed the equally tall Washington on board his flagship with exclamations of "mon cher petit general." Having persuaded de Grasse to extend his stay until November 1, Washington re-embarked on the "Queen Charlotte" that afternoon. After a three week siege, on October 19, Cornwallis surrendered. Two days later, accompanied by Lafayette, Washington returned to the Ville de Paris to request de Grasse' assistance in an attack on Charleston, South Carolina, or Wilmington, North Carolina. Nevertheless, de Grasse, the victor who never set foot on American soil, hoisted sail on November 4 for his journey back to the West Indies.