Part 10 (2/2)

THROUGH THE COMBINED EFFORTS of Benjamin Franklin and John Laurens in Paris that winter, the French agreed to an indispensable loan and a ift of six million livres to purchase arn ennes, was reluctant to co, he had fancied that the French would score a rapid victory; now, as things dragged on, he shrank froton and Lafayette had stressed the vital iennes decided the French wouldhe notified Lafayette that a French squadron would cruise off A the year: ”M Le Comte de Grasse, who commands our fleet in the Antilles, has been ordered to send part of his fleet to the coast of North America sometime before next winter or to detach a portion of it to sweep the coast and cooperate in any undertaking which enerals”16 On May 8 the Count de Barras, the newly assigned French naval co news that 26 shi+ps of the line, 8 frigates, and 150 transports had sailed from Brest in late March, bound for the West Indies On May 8 the Count de Barras, the newly assigned French naval co news that 26 shi+ps of the line, 8 frigates, and 150 transports had sailed from Brest in late March, bound for the West Indies

On May 21 Washi+ngton met in Wethersfield, Connecticut, with Rochambeau, who confirmed that an enormous French fleet under Ad the winter Washi+ngton had worked out in detail the plan that had long bewitched hisManhattan and the French Brooklyn He cited the co detachments south, had cut his New York force in half An operation against New York, he argued vigorously, would force Clinton to withdraw iti his arinia and its environs He wasn't opposed to a southern operation per se, but his unswerving passion for retaking New York was patent ”General Washi+ngton, during this conference, had scarcely another object in view but an expedition against the island of New York,” Rochaah he didn't want to stifle Washi+ngton's enthusiasht, he tried to steer the conversation toward a joint operation in the South, where they ht rendezvous with the French fleet and surprise Cornwallis Even as Rocha that New York held top priority, he secretly relayed word to de Grasse that he should think about sailing to Chesapeake Bay instead of to New York In the co weeks Rochaton's plans, while focusing his real attention on quite a different strategy

Why did Washi+ngton botch thisold scores, he may well have believed that his are, compared to an auxiliary role in any southern battle Or perhaps he honestly believed that it was easier to concentrate A e nu prodded the northern states to aid his arn, he doubtless feared that their enthusiasy Since he believed that his army's existence depended on the outcome of Heath's diplomatic mission to the states, this counted as noat the ton and Rochambeau labored to fashi+on a harmonious facade of Franco-American amity, perceptive observers detected subtle tensions Their interpreter at Wethersfield, the Chevalier de Chastellux, a man of many parts-soldier, philosopher, member of the French Academy, intimate of Voltaire-ell placed to study their complex interaction A handso material for a book about the United States and was iton, applauding hirined by the treatton received from his French counterpart Rocharaciousness and all the unpleasantness possible,” and he worried that Washi+ngton would be left with ”a sad and disagreeable feeling in his heart” He was chagrined by the treatton received from his French counterpart Rocharaciousness and all the unpleasantness possible,” and he worried that Washi+ngton would be left with ”a sad and disagreeable feeling in his heart”19 Washi+ngton secretly carried this grief but exposed it to no one outside a ston secretly carried this grief but exposed it to no one outside a small circle of advisers

When Chastellux arrived that winter, Washi+ngton was instantly charentlereeable ton, Chastellux was struck by how Washi+ngton was ”always free and always agreeable” with his officers, unlike the rigidly forton, Chastellux was struck by how Washi+ngton was ”always free and always agreeable” with his officers, unlike the rigidly formal Europeans21 When he couldn't offer the Frenchton apologized, ”but alith a noble polite-ness, which was neither e nor excessive” When he couldn't offer the Frenchton apologized, ”but alith a noble polite-ness, which was neither eton seemed a man of the happy enerous without prodigality, noble without pride, virtuous without severity” For Chastellux, Washi+ngton seemed a man of the happy enerous without prodigality, noble without pride, virtuous without severity” 23 23 He captured well how Washi+ngton was at once a poton was at once a poives the order the orderThe goodness and benevolence which characterize him are evident in all that surrounds him, but the confidence he calls forth never occasions ioodness and benevolence which characterize him are evident in all that surrounds him, but the confidence he calls forth never occasions iton's implicit submission to the people's representatives: ”This is the seventh year that he has coress: ton's implicit submission to the people's representatives: ”This is the seventh year that he has coress: more need not be said”25 Later on, Chastellux left a fine epitaph for Washi+ngton when he said that ”at the end of a long civil war, he had nothing hich he could reproach himself” Later on, Chastellux left a fine epitaph for Washi+ngton when he said that ”at the end of a long civil war, he had nothing hich he could reproach hi to be junior partner in the French alliance was confir with Rochaton had advised Rochambeau to relocate the French fleet from Newport to Boston Then the Duke de Lauzun arrived with a e that a French council of war had opted to keep it in Newport This was a direct slap at Washi+ngton, as ”in such a rage,” the duke said, that he didn't reply for three days He had to accept that the French were his superiors, notwithstanding their public claiton finally replied, he said he took ”the liberty still to recommend” that the fleet be moved to Boston27 The French seemed to acquiesce, for on May 31 he recorded in his journal that Admiral de Barras ”would sail with the first fair wind for Boston” The French seemed to acquiesce, for on May 31 he recorded in his journal that Admiral de Barras ”would sail with the first fair wind for Boston”28 On June 10 Rochaton that the Count de Grasse would bring his fleet north that summer to coordinate an attack with the French and Aton reiterated his hope that de Grasse would sail to New York In reply, Rocha that de Grasse had been informed ”that your Excellency preferred that he should make his first appearance at New Yorkthat I subht, my opinion to yours”29 In reality, Rochambeau alerted de Grasse to his private preference for heading first to the Chesapeake Bay In reality, Rochambeau alerted de Grasse to his private preference for heading first to the Chesapeake Bay

In the early years of the war Virginia had been spared bloodshed, but in June 1781 fighting raged there with blazing ferocity Lord Cornwallis had joined forces with Benedict Arnold, and despite able defensive h the state ”Accounts froton told Rochah the state ”al New York, Washi+ngton pleaded that an attack there would be the best way to siphon off British troops froain with a neist-if they had clear naval superiority, he would conteets other than New York: ”I wish you to explain this ton pleaded that an attack there would be the best way to siphon off British troops froain with a neist-if they had clear naval superiority, he would conteets other than New York: ”I wish you to explain this matter to the Count de Grasse, Count de Grasse, as, if I understand you, you have in your communication to him, confined our views to as, if I understand you, you have in your communication to him, confined our views to New York New York alone” alone”31 Clearly Washi+ngton had been fooled as to what Rochaton had been fooled as to what Rochambeau had whispered in the adht, Washi+ngton's preoccupation with New York seems a colossal inia seeton did not tamper with history and implicitly trusted the record In this case, however, he later tried to rewrite history by suggesting that his tenacious concentration on New York was a inia, while iance of the eastern andto a query froton defended his behavior with unusual veheed that his preparations against New York were intended ”to ard to the real object [ie, the Chesapeake] by fictitious co a deceptive provision of ovens, forage and boats in his neighborhoodNor were less pains taken to deceive our own army”32 He went so far as to say that ”it never was in contemplation to attack New York” He went so far as to say that ”it never was in contemplation to attack New York”33 But in confidential correspondence with Rochambeau he pushed for no Chesapeake operation, and the record shows that he had repeatedly favored a strike against New York Only on the very eve of the Yorktown can did he undertake the deceptive maneuvers described to Webster But in confidential correspondence with Rochambeau he pushed for no Chesapeake operation, and the record shows that he had repeatedly favored a strike against New York Only on the very eve of the Yorktown can did he undertake the deceptive eneral, Washi+ngton lived up to his vaunted reputation for honesty, but it ard for hin that served as the brilliant capstone of his military career He wanted to portray himself as the visionary architect of the Yorktown victory, not as a generalupon New York while his French allies ton ed that he had tried to deceive his own side as well as the enemy; hence any communication could be construed as part of the ton's letter to Noah Webster was published in the A, the foreneral of the Continental Arton's] moral character,” he wrote to Dr Benjaht to be honest and I own I thought his ood, but that letter is false and I know it to be so” in 1791, Tieneral and quartereneral of the Continental Arton's] moral character,” he wrote to Dr Benjaht to be honest and I own I thought his ood, but that letter is false and I know it to be so”34 Whatever his shortcoist, the French understood that Washi+ngton's greatness as a general lay in his prolonged sustenance of hisunprecedented by cobbling together a creditable fighting force fro, the black, and the downtrodden, and he had done it in the face of unprecedented political obstacles In early July the French and Aether near Dobbs Ferry, on the east bank of the Hudson, giving the French officers a chance to study the Continental Arht It was a heterogeneous, rel army such as no European had ever before witnessed ”I admire the American troops tremendously!” said Baron von Closen ”It is incredible that soldiers coe, even of children of fifteen, of whites and blacks, almost naked, unpaid, and rather poorly fed, can ave all credit to ”the calton, in whom I daily discover some new and eminent qualities”35 Von Closen's aue the Count de Clermont-Crevecoeur As the latter roamed about the American army camp, he was stunned ”by its destitution: the s; most of them were barefoot They were of all sizes down to children who could not have been over fourteen There were roes,uniforms”36 Such tributes are the ton was ashahtened the adasted French Such tributes are the ton was ashahtened the adasted French

Predictably, French officers carped at the quality of American food On the other hand, they couldn't fault the quantity, except the way it all seemed thrown indiscriminately on one plate: ”The table was served in the Aetables, roast beef, lareen peas, puddings and so put upon the table at the sareen peas, laroaning table with his constant pleas to Congress about food shortages The French stared in amazement at all the beer and rulasses of wine They found Washi+ngton in an expansive ur spoke of his ”unaffected cheerfulness”-and he lingered long into the night after the eveningtable with his constant pleas to Congress about food shortages The French stared in amazement at all the beer and rulasses of wine They found Washi+ngton in an expansive ur spoke of his ”unaffected cheerfulness”-and he lingered long into the night after the evening ton and Rocha the Hudson at the north end of Manhattan, surveying enemy positions So many years had elapsed since 1776 that land denuded of its thick vegetation early in the war had started to grow back ”The island is totally stripped of trees and wood of every kind,” Washi+ngton wrote, ”but low bushes (apparently as high as a man's waist) appear in places which were covered ood in the year 1776”39 He knew that de Grasse's arrival off the coast was ih he didn't knohether it would be off Sandy Hook, New Jersey, or the Virginia capes Meeting with Rochaton reprised his idee fixe: that if de Grasse's fleet could navigate its way into New York Harbor, then ”I aainst New York and its dependencies should be our primary object” He knew that de Grasse's arrival off the coast was ih he didn't knohether it would be off Sandy Hook, New Jersey, or the Virginia capes Meeting with Rochaton reprised his idee fixe: that if de Grasse's fleet could navigate its way into New York Harbor, then ”I aainst New York and its dependencies should be our priton confessed that the Massachusetts governor hadn't responded to his plea for more men and that he was petrified that, after de Grasse's arrival, it would be found ”that I had neither men nor means adequate” for a ton confessed that the Massachusetts governor hadn't responded to his plea for more men and that he was petrified that, after de Grasse's arrival, it would be found ”that I had neither men nor means adequate” for a ht be on the brink of a ht at the impotence of his position vis-a-vis his French allies When he wrote to the Count de Grasse on July 21, he ducked the essential question of exactly how many men he had ”The French force consists of about Even as he knew he ht at the impotence of his position vis-a-vis his French allies When he wrote to the Count de Grasse on July 21, he ducked the essential question of exactly how many men he had ”The French force consists of about 4,400 4,400 men,” he told the French admiral ”The American is at this time but men,” he told the French admiral ”The American is at this time but small, smented In this, however, we may be disappointed”42 Contrary to his later stateton told de Grasse that he hoped there would be no need to go to Virginia, ”as I flatterthe British squadron at New York is reserved for the king's fleet under your coton told de Grasse that he hoped there would be no need to go to Virginia, ”as I flatterthe British squadron at New York is reserved for the king's fleet under your command”43

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

The World Turned Upside Down IN EARLY AUGUST 1781 George Washi+ngton began to surrender his drea its early loss Ironically, his own inadvertent action helped bring about this change Sir Henry Clinton intercepted a letter in which Washi+ngton na the British to strengthen their forces there and rendering Virginia more vulnerable ”It seems reduced almost to a certainty that the eneinia,” Washi+ngton notified Robert Morris on August 21 Turning his attention to Virginia, Washi+ngton asked Morris if he could amass a fleet of thirty double-decker transport vessels to ferry the Continental Arton reversed course the next day and dangled before the Count de Barras the shi+ prospect of New York Harbor ”open and defenseless” for the taking, his istics of a southern ton asked Morris if he could amass a fleet of thirty double-decker transport vessels to ferry the Continental Arton reversed course the next day and dangled before the Count de Barras the shi+ prospect of New York Harbor ”open and defenseless” for the taking, his istics of a southernof a strategic dither, his heroic stature re ordinary citizens, who thanked hiust 4 Abbe Robin, a chaplain with Rochambeau's army, witnessed the adulation firsthand at the allied cah all the land, [Washi+ngton] appears like a benevolent God; old liratulate theton's gift for inspired leadershi+p, his capacity to ton ”kne to impress upon his soldiers an absolute subordination, to er to deserve his praise, to ift for inspired leadershi+p, his capacity to ton ”kne to impress upon his soldiers an absolute subordination, to er to deserve his praise, to ust 14, while still distracted by reports of a large British fleet arriving in New York, Washi+ngton absorbed dramatic news from the Count de Barras in Newport: Adhty fleet of up to twenty-nine shi+ps of the line and 3,200 troops If all unfolded according to plan, the fleet would show up off Chesapeake Bay by Septeton retired forever his aed the ”apparent disinclination” of his French partners to tackle New York and noted the feeble response fro pleas forNew York,” the fulcrued for years5 De Barras told Washi+ngton that de Grasse would need to sail back to the Caribbean byonly a brief interval for a joint operation against Cornwallis This gave Washi+ngton and Rochambeau three weeks to transport two cumbersoht shi+ps of the line and four frigates sailed south fro for years, Washi+ngton, Rocha rush to reach Virginia But orchestrating the movements of three armies and two navies over a vast portion of the eastern seaboard was to prove a fiendishly intricate ton learned so from Lafayette that, in its as no lessnews about de Grasse Cornwallis had retreated to the eastern tip of the Virginia peninsula that jutted into Chesapeake Bay, dividing the York and Jaround at a place called Yorktown, he and hisup earthworks As it turned out, Cornwallis had barged into a trap that Washi+ngton had spotted years earlier when Brigadier General Thomas Nelson wanted to station troops at Yorktown to track British shi+ps Washi+ngton had pointed out to Nelson that his troops ”by being upon a narrow neck of land would be in danger of being cut off The eneht very easily throw up a few shi+ps into York and James's riverand land a body ofup a few redoubts, would intercept their retreat and oblige them to surrender at [their] discretion”6 The letter uncannily foreshadowed the events of 1781 The letter uncannily foreshadowed the events of 1781

As his arton launched diversionarythat New York remained his objective He pitched a sons bustling in and out of this i down pontoons, as if readying an aton needed to deceive his own ht they were embarked for Staten Island Instead they found the inland toward Trenton and then crossed paths with the French at Princeton, where Washi+ngton enjoyed a gratifying encounter with French officers As he strode past their tent, he saw maps unfurled of Boston, Trenton, and Princeton: the officers were re-creating his victorious battles One observer caught his reaction: ”Despite his ton] seemed pleased to find thus assembled all the successful and pleasant events of the war”7 The group repaired to a tavern to share Madeira and punch One wonders whether the French ton's early triu froroup repaired to a tavern to share Madeira and punch One wonders whether the French ton's early triu fro New York

Tohis intentions to the eneeht the of their true destination until they reached Trenton, where heavy guns were loaded on boats to carry them down the Delaware River to near Christiana, Delaware From there it would be a twelve-mile march to Head of Elk, at the northern end of Chesapeake Bay The original plan envisioned troops sailing with theton couldn't rustle up the requisite vessels, so he and Rocha decision to have the men traverse the immense distance to Maryland on foot

The southern landscape was unknown territory for Washi+ngton'sheat and disease Fearful of a ton implored Robert Morris to come up with a inia] they are going upon is disagreeable to the northern regiments, but I make no doubt that a douceur [bribe] of a little hard arner popular support, Washi+ngtonladies jah sunstruck streets ”The general officers and their aides, in rich antly caparisoned, were followed by their servants and baggage,” noted Jatonladies jah sunstruck streets ”The general officers and their aides, in rich antly caparisoned, were followed by their servants and baggage,” noted James Thacher9 The common soldiers, lean, sunburned, and spent froht the entire capital was illued by crowds of admirers The common soldiers, lean, sunburned, and spent froht the entire capital was illued by crowds of adton's stay in Philadelphia was fraught orry He was on edge, having heard nothing from de Grasse or de Barras since they sailed fro new from any quarter,” he entreated Lafayette, ”send it, I pray you, on the spur of speed, on the spur of speed, for I am almost all impatience and anxiety” for I ahly unorthodox for Washi+ngton to confess to such jitters On theout of Philadelphia, he was overtaken at Chester by aphenomenal news: the Count de Grasse had shown up in Chesapeake Bay with a full panoply of ates, and 3,500 troops Washi+ngton shortly learned that de Grasse had engaged the Royal Navy under Ad the British squadron scurrying back to New York and leaving the French in undisputed control of Chesapeake Bay Between Lafayette's small army on the land side and de Grasse's massive fleet at sea, Cornwallis was bottled up near the end of the Yorktown peninsula It was highly unorthodox for Washi+ngton to confess to such jitters On theout of Philadelphia, he was overtaken at Chester by aphenomenal news: the Count de Grasse had shown up in Chesapeake Bay with a full panoply of ates, and 3,500 troops Washi+ngton shortly learned that de Grasse had engaged the Royal Navy under Ad the British squadron scurrying back to New York and leaving the French in undisputed control of Chesapeake Bay Between Lafayette's small army on the land side and de Grasse's massive fleet at sea, Cornwallis was bottled up near the end of the Yorktown peninsula

As Rochalided down the Delaware, they beheld so that overturned their preconceptions of a staid Washi+ngton He stood on the riverbank in delirious elation, signaling gleefully with a hat in one hand and a handkerchief in the other Fro ”De Grasse”11 ”I caught sight of General Washi+ngton,” wrote Rochaestures of the greatest joy” ”I caught sight of General Washi+ngton,” wrote Rochaestures of the greatest joy”12 Once the French cohty embrace One French officer, Guillauton's ebullience Before, he had been convinced of Washi+ngton's ”natural coldness,” but now he had to reckon with the ”pure joy” shown by the American: ”He put aside his character as arbiter of North America and contented hiood fortune of his country A child, whose every wish had been gratified, would not have experienced a sensation more lively” Once the French cohty embrace One French officer, Guillauton's ebullience Before, he had been convinced of Washi+ngton's ”natural coldness,” but now he had to reckon with the ”pure joy” shown by the American: ”He put aside his character as arbiter of North America and contented hiood fortune of his country A child, whose every wish had been gratified, would not have experienced a sensation reed: ”I never saw a reed: ”I never saw a ton's boyish exuberance testified to the years of suppressed anxiety fro to feel eton's boyish exuberance testified to the years of suppressed anxiety fro to feel e his spirits, too, was knowledge that, for the first time in six years, he would soon set eyes on Mount Vernon He spent a long day in Baltietthe cere he set out on horseback with a single aide, David Huinia countryside in a day The last titon had set eyes on Mount Vernon was May 4, 1775, when he departed for the Second Continental Congress, little realizing how his life would be turned topsy-turvy To experience Mount Vernon anew after his long, itinerant military life must have been a heady sensation The household was now enlivened by newcomers, especially the four children of Jacky and Nelly Custis, whoe Washi+ngton Parke Custis Hu man of literary aspirations, versified the slaves' reaction to Washi+ngton's return: ”Return'd frolee by artless signs express”15 One wonders whether this hoer to parade their fidelity; the ”speechless glee” doesn't jibe with the discontent of the seventeen slaves who had raced to freedo was staged by slaves eager to parade their fidelity; the ”speechless glee” doesn't jibe with the discontent of the seventeen slaves who had raced to freedoe

Within twenty-four hours Washi+ngton's and Rochaes had arrived at Mount Vernon, ready to chart the Yorktown siege For these battle-tested veterans, theoasis It was a tribute to Martha Washi+ngton's talents that she could entertain in style amid wartime conditions Colonel Jonathan Truracious and well-appointed reception lavished upon the visitors ”A numerous family now present,” he wrote in his diary ”All accoreat appearance of opulence and real exhibitions of hospitality and princely entertainment”16 The French officers appraised Mount Vernon and its hostess with considerable curiosity After the frippery of the French court, Martha Washi+ngton struck theton issmall and fat, her appearance is respectable,” wrote Claude Blanchard ”She was dressed very plainly and herthe estate, Blanchard detected the tarnished glory inflicted by neglect ”As to the house, it is a country residence, the handsomest that I have yet seen in AmericaThere are in the places around e numberThe environs of his house are not fertile and the trees that we see there do not appear to be large Even the garden is barren” In surveying the estate, Blanchard detected the tarnished glory inflicted by neglect ”As to the house, it is a country residence, the handsomest that I have yet seen in AmericaThere are in the places around e numberThe environs of his house are not fertile and the trees that we see there do not appear to be large Even the garden is barren”18 Baron von Closen found the house's relative modesty suitable for America's hero: ”The spacious and well-contrived h there was no remarkable luxury to be seen anywhere; and, indeed, any ostentatious poreed with the simple manner of the owner” Baron von Closen found the house's relative modesty suitable for America's hero: ”The spacious and well-contrived h there was no remarkable luxury to be seen anywhere; and, indeed, any ostentatious poreed with the siton ns of decay everywhere Whatever the war's outcohed heavily on his mind That June, in a letter to William Crawford, the steward of his western lands, he broke down and confided his concern about his wealth withering away as the war progressed: ”My whole tirossed by the public duties of lected allevery day, and may possibly end in capital losses, if not absolute ruin, before I a the pleasures of his return was the chance to see theroom where he would entertain state visitors It was likely here that he held a dinner for his guests on the night of Septe Jacky Custis prevailed upon his stepfather to take hi as a personal aide, a belated stint of service that ton

Arriving in Williaton settled into the two-story brick honer of the Declaration of Independence and Thoton moved about the town in a casual, unobtrusive fashi+on ”He approached without any pomp or parade, attended only by a few horsee Tucker, a well-to-do young Virginia lawyer and er of power, his self-effacing presence sent an electric jolt through the ranks of soldiers Although Washi+ngton eschewed the swagger of power, his self-effacing presence sent an electric jolt through the ranks of soldiers

As Tucker discovered, Washi+ngton had a retentivenanizedton and Lafayette, conjuring it up in a letter to his wife the next day The ed him as close as it was possible, and absolutely kissed him from ear to ear once or twicewith as much ardor as ever an absent lover kissed histon and Lafayette, conjuring it up in a letter to his wife the next day The ed him as close as it was possible, and absolutely kissed him from ear to ear once or twicewith as much ardor as ever an absent lover kissed his ton also remained accessible to ordinary soldiers ”He stands in the door, takes every man by the hand,” twenty-year-old Ebenezer Denny of Pennsylvania wrote home, still atre his hand and shake This is the first titon also remained accessible to ordinary soldiers ”He stands in the door, takes every man by the hand,” twenty-year-old Ebenezer Denny of Pennsylvania wrote home, still atre his hand and shake This is the first titon was entertained with an elegant supper and the overture fro he informed de Grasse of his wish to confer with him The French admiral had already issued a rather huffy letter to hi the dilatory pace of the Continental Arainst ed to forsake the allies for whom I have done my very best and ly25 It was easy for the French ad south fro trek