To Benjamin Franklin from Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont, [on or before 14 July 1779]
From Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont
AL: Historical Society of Delaware
[on or before July 14, 1779]1
M. de Chaumont suplie Son Excellence M. franklin d’ecrire a M. Jones que M. de Sartine desire que M. Chamillard de Varville Lieutenant Colonel d’infanterie2 aye Le Commandement en Second des volontaires francais du Bonhomme Richard, attendu que M. Chamillard de Varville devoit S’embarquer avec M. le Marquis de la fayette dont il est Connu pour un officier Experimenté et qui a l’avantage d’avoir Commandé dans Les Colonies.3
C’est aujourdhuy La poste.
1. The date on which BF enclosed it in a letter to Jones, immediately below. Another request from Chaumont is not as easy to date. Addressed to BF, it reads, “M. de Chaumont prie Monsieur franklin de faire ce matin Les lettres pour h.” APS.
2. Lt. Col. Paul de Chamillard de Varville, who subsequently served as one of Jones’s officers. Jones chose him to bring BF his account of the battle with H.M.S. Serapis: Jones to BF, Oct. 3, below. A recent authority identifies the officer in question as Charles Chamellard de Bonnemare, a former major in the regiment of Guadeloupe: Boudriot, John Paul Jones and the Bonhomme Richard, p. 62. On July 19 Chaumont wrote Jones directly to reinforce what he here requested for the officer: Bradford, Jones Papers, reel 4, no. 689.
3. Jones later thanked Lafayette for Chamillard’s assistance: ibid., no. 723. Lafayette subsequently supported his application for membership in the Society of the Cincinnati: Lasseray, Les Français, I, 152–4; Asa Bird Gardiner, The Order of the Cincinnati in France … (Providence, 1905), p. 207.