1To John Jay from Alexander McDougall, 13 February 1776 (Jay Papers)
...to the Use of the British Navy. To Which Are Added, An Abstract of the Theory of Ship-Building; An Essay on Naval Discipline, by a Late Experienced Sea-Commander; A General Idea of the Armament of the French Navy; With Some Practical Observations
2From Benjamin Franklin to Charles Lee, 19 February 1776 (Franklin Papers)
, 366; Dull, French Navy, pp. 27, 377; James H. Hutson, “The Partition Treaty and the Declaration of American Independence,”
3To Benjamin Franklin from Jacques Barbeu-Dubourg, 10 June[–2 July 1776] (Franklin Papers)
Dull, French Navy, pp. 6–9, 31–3, 36–7, 44–9, 52–3; Doniol,
4The Committee of Secret Correspondence to William Bingham, 21 September[– 1 October 1776] (Franklin Papers)
The ships were being made ready, but none was yet in active service: Dull, French Navy, pp. 52–3, 60–1.
5From Benjamin Franklin to John Hancock, 8 [December] 1776 (Franklin Papers)
The report of the Spanish fleet was substantially correct, but the French and the British naval preparations were much exaggerated; see Dull, French Navy, pp. 60–3, 75.
6Pay Book of the State Company of Artillery, [1777] (Hamilton Papers)
At a certain period the French navy consisted of 115 sail of the line from 1st to fourth rates and 24 frigates &c. the whole having 7.080 ps. of Cannon—20618 sailors and 10904 marines.
The French navy was far from ready. The British, nevertheless, were sufficiently alarmed to have inaugurated a general press the previous October. Dull, French Navy, pp. 66–8; Gruber,
8The American Commissioners to the Committee of Secret Correspondence, 17[–22] January 1777 (Franklin Papers)
The preparations that were actually being made were less impressive; see Dull, French Navy, pp. 63–4.
Jacques Boux had achieved an eminence in the French navy remarkable for one who was not of noble birth. The government had called on him in 1771 for advice in reorganizing naval administration, and the following year had promoted him to (Geneva, 1976), pp. 117–8; Dull, French Navy, 12–13, 58–60, 66–7.
10To 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
11The 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,
12Memoir and Supplemental Observations, [before 18 June and before 3 July 1777?] (Franklin Papers)
, 448–69; Dull, French Navy, pp. 83–6.
13The American Commissioners to Vergennes, 12 August 1777 (Franklin Papers)
Dull, French Navy, pp. 77–8; Clark,
14The American Commissioners to Henry Johnson, 28 August 1777 (Franklin Papers)
Dull, French Navy, pp. 78–80.
15William 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.
16Conrad-Alexandre Gérard to the American Commissioners, 5 December 1777 (Franklin Papers)
, pt. 1 (Philadelphia, 1982), pp. 29–32, and French Navy, pp. 83–101.
17The 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.
18The 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.
19A 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.
20Intelligence 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.
21To 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,
22The 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.
23Franklin and Silas Deane to Arthur Lee, 26 February 1778 (Franklin Papers)
’s 26: Dull, French Navy, p. 356.
24To 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:
25To 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.
26Gérard 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.
27To 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.
28To 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...
29To 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.
30John 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
32Simeon Deane to the Commissioners, 16 April 1778 (Adams Papers)
French Navy and Amer. Independence
33John Paul Jones to the Commissioners, 9 May 1778 (Adams Papers)
French Navy and Amer. Independence
34To 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.
35To 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.
36Francis Coffyn to the Commissioners, 19 June 1778 (Adams Papers)
French Navy and Amer. Independence
37John 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.
38To 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,
39John Bondfield to the Commissioners, 27 June 1778 (Adams Papers)
French Navy and Amer. Independence
40John Bondfield to the American Commissioners, 27 June 1778: résumé (Franklin Papers)
...legal action against British vessels sequestered since March in French ports, and authorized attacks at sea against British shipping. The latter order was made formal on July 10 but no official declaration of war was ever issued. Dull, French Navy, pp. 119–20.
41Charles-Guillaume-Frédéric Dumas to the American Commissioners, 3 July 1778: résumé (Franklin Papers)
, 680; Dull, French Navy, 118–20.
42The American Commissioners to the President of Congress, 20 July 1778: résumé (Franklin Papers)
The French fleet with 32 ships of the line had sailed on July 10, the British with a slightly smaller number the following day: Dull, French Navy, 120–2; W.M. James, The commissioners were too optimistic. The Spaniards used their neutrality in an unsuccessful attempt to coax concessions from Britain: Dull, French Navy, 126–31. For the arrival of the treasure ships see
43From Benjamin Franklin to James Lovell, 22 July 1778 (Franklin Papers)
The fleet and army were returning from the 1777 expedition against Portuguese Brazil: Dull, French Navy, pp. 63, 75, 127 n.
44Dumas to the American Commissioners, 31 July 1778 (Franklin Papers)
...armies of Emperor Joseph and King Frederick, from Madrid about the arrival of the Vera Cruz treasure fleet at Cadiz, from St. Petersburg predicting a Russo-Turkish war, from Paris about the operations of the French navy and from London reporting the arrival of the Carlisle commission, General Clinton’s entry into New Jersey, and the sailing of an American squadron. For a further description...
45Intelligence from Toulon and Other Places, 3 August 1778 (Franklin Papers)
Dull, French Navy, pp. 352–5, provides information on French ship construction.
46From George Washington to Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens, 8 August 1778 (Washington Papers)
of 5 Aug. printed “A LIST of Admiral KEPPEL’S FLEET, which has blocked
up the principal part of the French Navy assembled at Brest.”
47John Bondfield to the American Commissioners, 29 August 1778: résumé (Franklin Papers)
The failure of the French navy to provide convoy protection from port of departure to port of arrival left merchantmen easy prey to British privateers. By the end of the year an improved convoy system was begun.
48John Bondfield to the Commissioners, 8 September 1778 (Adams Papers)
French Navy and Amer. Independence
French Navy and Amer. Independence
50Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams, 29 September 1778 (Adams Papers)
We have here a large portion of the French Navy. I never wanted to speak the language half so much before, it is difficult holding any intercourse with them. Many of the officers appear to be Gentleman of Education.