11To Benjamin Franklin from the Chevalier de Brus, 6 May 1777 (Franklin Papers)
...when the British captured Martinique during the last war. On June 2 he writes again, virtually repeating himself, and says that he will come on the 4th for an answer. On June 1 Bruslé, a surgeon in the French navy, inquires from Paris whether Franklin is interested in a young lieutenant who was
12The American Commissioners to the Comte de Vergennes, 7 May 1777 (Franklin Papers)
captured a South Carolina ship; Versailles in turn ordered its patrols to give protection on demand. Dull, French Navy, pp. 64–5, 70–1; Stevens,
13Memoir and Supplemental Observations, [before 18 June and before 3 July 1777?] (Franklin Papers)
, 448–69; Dull, French Navy, pp. 83–6.
14The American Commissioners to Vergennes, 12 August 1777 (Franklin Papers)
Dull, French Navy, pp. 77–8; Clark,
15The American Commissioners to Henry Johnson, 28 August 1777 (Franklin Papers)
Dull, French Navy, pp. 78–80.
16William Bingham to the American Commissioners, 28 November 1777[–4 December 1777] (Franklin Papers)
..., despite British objections, sailed from France in October. The departure of the Spanish “galleon” (the treasure fleet) was delayed, thereby eliminating any possibility that Spain would join the Franco-American alliance the following spring. Dull, French Navy, pp. 81, 94–5.
17Conrad-Alexandre Gérard to the American Commissioners, 5 December 1777 (Franklin Papers)
, pt. 1 (Philadelphia, 1982), pp. 29–32, and French Navy, pp. 83–101.
18The American Commissioners to the Committee for Foreign Affairs, 18 December 1777 (Franklin Papers)
Spain considered a treaty with the U.S. premature, and declined to take any action until her fleets returned: Dull, French Navy, pp. 100, 102.
19The American Commissioners’ Interview on January 8 with Gérard: Four Documents, 1778 (Franklin Papers)
For the background of this decision see Dull, French Navy, pp. 94–100.
20A Proposed Article for the Treaty of Alliance with France, [on or before 27 January 1778] (Franklin Papers)
...at the same time permit France to invoke its treaty with Austria; if Vienna, as expected, did not comply, Versailles would have cause to remain aloof in the event of an Austro-Prussian war over Bavaria. Dull, French Navy, p. 113.
21Intelligence from Brest, 12 January 1778 (Franklin Papers)
, Feb. 1; Dull, French Navy, pp. 96 n, 102 n. had in fact sailed for America on Jan. 6 with Simeon Deane and his dispatches: Dull, French Navy, p. 93 n.
22To Benjamin Franklin from the Marquis d’Argenson, 24 January 1778 (Franklin Papers)
The Sieur de Pellevée is said to have lived near Caen and to have been a former auxiliary officer in the French navy. He specialized in Anglo-French trade and, according to the same source, had not only spent 20 years in England but had married the Bishop of Ely’s daughter: Louis-Pierre Manuel,
23The Franco-American Treaty of Alliance, 6 February 1778 (Franklin Papers)
Vergennes learned on Feb. 4 that Spain would not at that time be a party to the treaties; see Dull, French Navy, pp. 94–101.
24Franklin and Silas Deane to Arthur Lee, 26 February 1778 (Franklin Papers)
’s 26: Dull, French Navy, p. 356.
25To Benjamin Franklin from the Duchesse de Melfort, 26 February 1778 (Franklin Papers)
Lord Henry Benedict Drummond was a chevalier de St.-Louis and a captain in the French navy by the time he died in 1779:
26To Benjamin Franklin from Joseph-Etienne Bertier, 3 March 1778 (Franklin Papers)
...-du-Faou near Carhaix. News comes slowly to a small, isolated town, and he has just learned that Frenchmen are allowed to offer their services to America. He has been through eighteen campaigns as a surgeon in the French navy.
27Gérard to the American Commissioners, 17 March 1778 (Franklin Papers)
...had informed Britain of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the two countries were breaking diplomatic relations; Stormont had already announced his recall, and on the 17th the French Ambassador was ordered home from London. See Dull, French Navy, pp. 103–5.
28To Benjamin Franklin from the Comte de Louitz(?), 21 March 1778 (Franklin Papers)
...Christ and His Prophet foretold. On the 24th Nicephore Clerget, a Capuchin priest from Besançon but in Gien-sur-Loire, explains that he wants to go as chaplain on a ship now that his two brothers are in the French navy. He can leave in a fortnight if Franklin will get him permission from Sartine.
29To Benjamin Franklin from [ ——— Montécot], 26 March 1778 (Franklin Papers)
...the other hand, would hold the work force together until the end of the war and furnish revenue to recoup some of the purchase money. On May 13 D. Monttessuy, a Parisian banker who supplies the French navy with wood, sailcloth, rope, and tar, offers with Sartine’s approval to furnish the same goods to the United States. On June 11 Sikes, also in Paris, offers to demonstrate a pantograph or...
30To Benjamin Franklin from the Duc de La Rochefoucauld, 27 March 1778 (Franklin Papers)
Deane was in fact bound for Toulon, not Brest. La Rochefoucauld’s regiment, along with others, was on the move toward Norman and Breton ports to stimulate British fears of invasion: Dull, French Navy, p. 112 n.
31John Paul Jones to the American Commissioners, 4 April 1778 (Franklin Papers)
The frigate they promised was to accompany Jones until he was clear of the coast. She was new, and of only 26 guns: Dull, French Navy, p. 357.
French Navy and Amer. Independence
33Simeon Deane to the Commissioners, 16 April 1778 (Adams Papers)
French Navy and Amer. Independence
34John Paul Jones to the Commissioners, 9 May 1778 (Adams Papers)
French Navy and Amer. Independence
35To George Washington from Jean-Baptiste-Lazare Théveneau de Francy, 10 May 1778 (Washington Papers)
...vindicate himself. Instead, his increasingly erratic behavior drove the crew to mutiny on the grounds that their captain had gone insane. After a court-martial in January 1781, Landais was ejected from the navy. He served in the French navy after the war and returned to America in 1797, settling in New York City.
36To Benjamin Franklin from Antoine Salvator, 16 June 1778: résumé (Franklin Papers)
The Spanish treasure fleet; for its eventual arrival see Dull, French Navy, p. 127 n.
37Francis Coffyn to the Commissioners, 19 June 1778 (Adams Papers)
French Navy and Amer. Independence
38John Bondfield to the American Commissioners, 23 June 1778: résumé (Franklin Papers)
Almodóvar, the new Spanish ambassador to St. James’s, was charged with discovering what Britain would offer Spain to remain neutral: Dull, French Navy, p. 114.
39To Benjamin Franklin from Genet, 24 June 1778 (Franklin Papers)
escaped with heavy casualties, and the next day the others were captured. See Dull, French Navy, pp. 118–19; William M. James,
40John Bondfield to the Commissioners, 27 June 1778 (Adams Papers)
French Navy and Amer. Independence