Lieutenant General Rochambeau to George Washington, 7 May 1781
From Lieutenant General Rochambeau
Newport, May 7th 1781.
Sir,
I have received your Excellency’s Letter of the 3d instant, and Letters from the Ch. de La Luzerne along with it. The intelligences given by the vessel arrived from L’Orient at Philadelphy, about the courts of St James, and St Petersborough calling back their Ambassadors, and about the capture of several English East Indiamen taken by the French, are very interesting and deserve to be confirmed.1
The Chevalier Destouches waits only for a North wind to send two Battle of Line ships and his frigate to give chace and cause to go back to New-york the two British ships that were seen two days ago a cruizing off this coast.2 It is of great consequence not to Let them range about freely, under the expectation that we are in every minute of a convoy from France.3 It appears for certain that the Chatham of 50. guns from Charlestown has joined the Enemy’s fleet.4 The Ch. destouches is afraid least the junction of these small 44. and 50. guns ships, of which there are many upon this coast, should give them again a great enough Superiority to allow them to return to their Station at Gardner’s bay. I am with respect and personal attachment Sir, Your Excellency’s most obedient & most humble Servant
le Cte de Rochambeau
LS, DLC:GW; LB, in French, DLC: Rochambeau Papers, vol. 9; LB, in French, DLC: Rochambeau Papers, vol. 12. GW acknowledged receipt of this letter when he wrote Rochambeau on 11 May.
1. See GW to Rochambeau, 3 May, found at Rochambeau to GW, 28 April, source note. GW evidently included intelligence from a vessel that sailed from Lorient, France, in the receiver’s copy, which has not been found. The brig Virginia, which arrived at Philadelphia from Lorient on 25 April, probably was the vessel (see The Freeman’s Journal: or, the North-American Intelligencer [Philadelphia] for 2 May). The Pennsylvania Packet or, the General Advertiser (Philadelphia) for 28 April printed an “Extract of a letter from Amiens, dated February 6th, 1781, to a gentlemen in this city,” with a report that the French ship “la dame de Granvi[l]le has made seven or eight prizes, valued at about seven hundred thousand livres.” The same extract noted “the sudden departure of the Russian ambassador from the court of London, and that the English ambassador at Petersburgh has received orders to act in the same manner.”
2. British major Frederick Mackenzie, stationed in New York City, wrote in his diary entry for 5 May: “The Roebuck and Medea have been cruising for some days to observe the Motions of the French fleet, and one of them is daily expected in with intelligence respecting it” (, 2:517; see also Rochambeau to GW, same date). The French warships did not sail, likely because of unfavorable wind and inclement weather (see the entries for 7–9 May in , 2:518–19, and General Orders, 8 May, and n.1 to that document).
3. See Rochambeau to GW, 8 May, n.1.
4. The Chatham had arrived at New York City on 22 April (see the entry for that date in , 2:511).