LS, DLC:GW.

Destouches assures GW that the Fantasque, a warship serving as a transport, will be rapidly returned to service after having run aground, and that the mishap will not significantly delay the departure of his squadron or hinder the expedition.

A French fleet comprising Fantasque, seven ships of the line, two frigates, and the 44-gun Romulus (recently captured from the British) sailed from Newport on this date. Lieutenant General Rochambeau’s aide-de-camp Ludwig von Closen wrote in his journal that GW observed as the “Fantasque ran onto Brenton’s Point, but, a quarter of an hour later, it was set afloat again, and the fleet left the mouth of the harbor with a good wind from the Northwest” (entry for 8 March in Acomb, Closen Journal description begins Evelyn M. Acomb, ed. The Revolutionary Journal of Baron Ludwig von Closen, 1780–1783. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1958. description ends , 64). For specifics on refloating the Fantasque, see the entry for 8 March in Barneville, “Journal,” description begins Gilbert Chinard, ed. “Journal de Guerre de Brisout de Barneville, Mai 1780–Octobre 1781.” The French American Review: A Quarterly Published by the Institut Francais de Washington 3 (1950): 216–78. description ends 256.

The fleet went to support Major General Lafayette’s corps in its move to contest British forces under Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold operating in the lower Chesapeake Bay region (see GW to Lafayette, 20 Feb., both letters ([1], [2]); and Rochambeau to GW, 25 Feb.). For its progress southward and initial contact with the British fleet, see French lieutenant Verger’s journal in Rice and Brown, American Campaigns of Rochambeau’s Army description begins Howard C. Rice, Jr., and Anne S. K. Brown, eds. The American Campaigns of Rochambeau’s Army, 1780, 1781, 1782, 1783. 2 vols. Princeton, N.J., 1972. description ends , 1:127–28. The Battle of Cape Henry occurred on 16 March and resulted in the French fleet’s return to Newport (see Destouches to GW, 19 March, source note, and Rochambeau to GW, 27 March).