The French navy was far from ready. The British, nevertheless, were... .... Dull,French Navy...
2The American Commissioners to the Committee of Secret Correspondence, 17[–22] January 1777 (Franklin Papers)
...were actually being made were less impressive; see Dull, French Navy, pp. 63–4.
3From Benjamin Franklin to John Jay, 4[–28] October 1779 (Franklin Papers)
...partly because mortality from the illness was increasing: Dull, French Navy, pp. 164–5.