After Connor lit a signal fire, the fleet opened fire, breaching Fort George's walls and creating the diversion Connor desired. De Grasse's victory at Chesapeake was so important that Washington wrote to him the day after Charles Cornwallis ' surrender at Yorktown, saying that the honor of the victory there belonged to the admiral.
De Grasse died in , briefly before the beginning of the French Revolution. Despite his actions during the Revolutionary War, the French revolutionaries considered him nobility, and his estate was ransacked.
His family fled to the United States afterwards, being welcomed as the children of a hero. Assassin's Creed Wiki Explore. Unity Syndicate. Origins Odyssey Valhalla. Valhalla: Song of Glory. Other media. Leaving behind a small contingent of militiamen to make British General Sir Henry Clinton think the allies were still planning for a siege of New York, the American and French generals joined forces. De Grasse had declared he could stay no later than October 15; there was no time to lose.
On August 19, the armies began the mile march to Yorktown. It took 11 days to inform de Barras of the change in plans and to secure his cooperation in the campaign. De Grasse had left it open for de Barras to join him.
De Grasse had once been de Barras's junior in the service and, under the 18th-century code of honor, de Barras could have refused to serve under de Grasse. Heeding Rochambeau's request, de Barras swallowed his pride for the greater good and slipped out of Newport with nine ships, including seven ships of the line, loaded with troops, supplies, and the siege artillery on the night of August If fortune shone on the fleurs-de-lis, the same could not be said for the British.
Assuming that de Grasse, too, would sail for the mainland once the hurricane season arrived, rear admirals Samuel Hood and Sir Francis Drake left the West Indies on August Their 14 copper-sheathed ships were faster than de Grasse's, so fast they passed the French without sighting them and arrived off the Virginia Capes on August 25, the day de Barras sailed from Newport.
He, Hood, and Drake agreed that de Barras, whose departure was known in New York, was on his way to join de Grasse, presumably for an attack on New York. Next, the 19 ships headed south. Destination: de Grasse's fleet, wherever it might be. De Grasse was already in the Chesapeake. On August 30, his 28 ships had dropped anchor in the mouth of the York River and were unloading men and material for the siege of My Lord Cornwallis.
His lordship, as unaware as Graves and Hood that Washington, Rochambeau, and de Barras were on their way to the Chesapeake, did nothing to impede the activities of the French navy. The FrancoAmerican army, still in Pennsylvania, marched through Philadelphia in a parade before Congress in the first days of September. Reporting on the event on the fifth, the Freeman's Journal said, "the appearance of these troops far exceeds any thing of the kind seen on this continent, and presages the happiest success to the cause of America.
Rochambeau, coming out of Philadelphia to meet Washington in Chester, could hardly believe his eyes. The usually stoic American ran to greet his French counterpart, hat in one hand and handkerchief in the other. Embracing Rochambeau, over and over again Washington shouted: "He's here!
He's arrived! De Grasse had arrived indeed. The day that saw Washington jump for joy and the Freeman's Journal predict the triumph of American arms, the foundations for victory were laid off the coast of Virginia. Graves knew the ships had to be French and made straight for the main entrance of the ten mile wide bay. It lay about three miles north of Cape Henry.
Not much later, the French frigate Aigrette, cruising off Cape Charles, sighted approaching sails as well.
Her captain assumed these belonged to de Barras, bringing the siege artillery from Newport, but he was soon undeceived. Graves and his armada of 19 ships of the line - two gun vessels, twelve 74s, one 70, and four 64s, a gun ship, six frigates and a fire ship, were bearing down on the bay at full speed: about six knots or seven miles per hour. Though he knew by a. Wind and tide were against him, and many of his personnel were ashore. But he was not unduly worried; the British were still more than 20 miles or almost four hours away.
As the tide was turning around noon, de Grasse cut his cables. Slowly his flagship, the gun Ville de Paris, the largest ship in the French navy, three 80s, seventeen 74s, and three 64s moved out of the channel to meet the enemy. Short of hands, de Grasse had to leave 90 officers and about 1, men behind. Hampered by contrary wind, his ships were slow forming a line: the Ville de Paris, the eleventh ship in line, did not clear the bay until p. Rather than order "close action" and head straight for the French line straggling into the open sea, Graves, just as Hood's lead division was about to enter the bay at around p.
In accordance with the British Admiralty's fighting instruction, which demanded that battle be waged in close line formation with each ship engaging her opponent, he wanted to bring his vessels into a roughly parallel position with the approaching French fleet. This meant that his ships, sailing west-southwest, had to turn almost degrees to change course to east-southeast and head back out to sea. The maneuver took 90 minutes, and strung out the heretofore tight formation of the British fleet.
In the meantime, the French cleared the entrance of the bay. As Graves lined up for battle, his fastest ships, which had been in the lead, found themselves at the end of the column. That included Hood on the Barfleur, who had been fourth in line, but now had 15 ships ahead of him.
Three 74s under Drake, which had already been leaking badly when the fleet had sailed from New York five days earlier and been put into the rear, now formed the lead division. As the ships took their places in the line, Graves, much to the consternation of his officers, ordered them to be brought to and wait for the French center to come abreast. This, too, was in accordance with the fighting instructions. De Grasse was only too happy with the delay, which allowed him to bring up his rear.
When battle commenced, he not only would have five more ships but also 1, cannon versus 1, British guns. Thanks to Graves, they would also be sailing in closer formation than the British. The flagship Ville de Paris during the Battle of the Saintes in In , the American War of Independence broke out when American colonists rebelled against British rule. France supplied the colonists with covert aid, but remained officially neutral until The battle, fought off Britanny , was indecisive. In , he joined the fleet of Count d'Estaing in the Caribbean and distinguished himself in the battles of Dominica and Saint Lucia during and of Tobago during He contributed to the capture of Grenada and took part in the three actions fought by Guichen against Admiral Rodney in the Battle of Martinique De Grasse landed the 3, French reinforcements in Virginia, and immediately afterward decisively defeated the British fleet in the Battle of the Chesapeake in September He drew away the British forces and blockaded the coast until Lord Cornwallis surrendered, ensuring the independence of the United States of America.
He returned to the Caribbean, where he was less fortunate and was defeated at the Battle of St. Kitts by Admiral Hood. Shortly afterward, in April , he was defeated and taken prisoner by Admiral Rodney at the Battle of the Saintes.
He was taken to London, and while there briefly took part in the negotiations that laid the foundations for the Peace of Paris , which brought the war to an end. Once again, he was taken prisoner and carried to England. After peace came in , de Grasse returned to France and defended his actions, blaming his captains for his defeat. A court martial exonerated all his captains. He died in Paris four years later. Rev War Biography.
Comte de Grasse.
0コメント