Memoirs, Correspondence and Manuscripts of General Lafayette Part 22

Havre, 29th August, 1779,

Sir,--Whatever expectations might have been raised from the sense of past favours, the goodness of the United States to me has ever been such, that on every occasion it far surpa.s.ses any idea I could have conceived. A new proof of that flattering truth I find in the n.o.ble present, which congress has been pleased to honour me with, and which is offered in such a manner by your excellency as will exceed everything, but the feelings of an unbounded grat.i.tude.

In some of the devices I cannot help finding too honourable a reward for those slight services which, in concert with my fellow soldiers, and under the G.o.d-like American hero's orders, I had the good fortune to render. The sight of those actions, where I was a witness of American bravery and patriotic spirit, I shall ever enjoy with that pleasure which becomes a heart glowing with love for the nation, and the most ardent zeal for its glory and happiness. a.s.surances of grat.i.tude, which I beg leave to present to your excellency, are much too inadequate to my feelings, and nothing but such sentiments can properly acknowledge your kindness towards me. The polite manner in which Mr. Franklin was pleased to deliver that inestimable sword, lays me under great obligations to him, and demands my particular thanks.

With the most perfect respect, I have the honour to be, &c.

FROM GENERAL WASHINGTON TO THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE.

(ORIGINAL.)

West Point, 30th Sept., 1779.

MY DEAR MARQUIS,--A few days ago, I wrote a letter in much haste; since that, I have been honoured with the company of Chevalier de la Luzerne, and by him was favoured with your obliging letter of the 12th of June, which filled me with equal pleasure and surprise; the latter at hearing that you had not received one of the many letters I had written to you since you left the American sh.o.r.e. It gave me infinite pleasure to hear from your sovereign, and of the joy which your safe arrival in France had diffused among your friends. I had no doubt that this would be the case; to hear it from yourself adds pleasure to the account; and here, my dear friend, let me congratulate you on your new, honourable, and pleasing appointment in the army commanded by the Count de Vaux, which I shall accompany with an a.s.surance that none can do it with more warmth of affection, or sincere joy, than myself. Your forward zeal in the cause of liberty; your singular attachment to this infant world; your ardent and persevering efforts, not only in America, but since your return to France, to serve the United States; your polite attention to Americans, and your strict and uniform friendship for me, have ripened the first impressions of esteem and attachment which I imbibed for you into such perfect love and grat.i.tude, as neither time nor absence can impair. This will warrant my a.s.suring you that, whether in the character of an officer at the head of a corps of gallant Frenchmen, if circ.u.mstances should require this; whether as a major-general, commanding a division of the American army; or whether, after our swords and spears have given place to the ploughshare and pruning-hook, I see you as a private gentleman, a friend and companion, I shall welcome you with all the warmth of friendship to Columbia's sh.o.r.es; and, in the latter case, to my rural cottage, where homely fare and a cordial reception shall be subst.i.tuted for delicacies and costly living. This, from past experience, I know you can submit to; and if the lovely partner of your happiness will consent to partic.i.p.ate with us in such rural entertainment and amus.e.m.e.nts, I can undertake, in behalf of Mrs.

Washington, that she will do everything in her power to make Virginia agreeable to the Marchioness. My inclination and endeavours to do this cannot be doubted, when I a.s.sure you that I love everybody that is dear to you, and, consequently, partic.i.p.ate in the pleasure you feel in the prospect of again becoming a parent; and do most sincerely congratulate you and your lady on this fresh pledge she is about to give you of her love.

I thank you for the trouble you have taken, and your polite attention, in favouring me with a copy of your letter to congress; and feel, as I am persuaded they must do, the force of such ardent zeal as you therein express for the interest of this country. The propriety of the hint you have given them must carry conviction, and, I trust, will have a salutary effect; though there is not, I believe, the same occasion for the admonition now that there was several months ago. Many late changes have taken place in that honourable body, which have removed, in a very great degree, if not wholly, the discordant spirit which, it is said, prevailed in the winter, and I hope measures will also be taken to remove those unhappy and improper differences which have extended themselves elsewhere, to the prejudice of our affairs in Europe.

I have a great pleasure in the visit which the Chevalier de la Luzerne and Monsieur Marbois did me the honour to make at this camp; concerning both of whom I have imbibed the most favourable impressions, and I thank you for the honourable mention you made of me to them. The chevalier, till he had announced himself to congress, did not choose to be received in his public character; if he had, except paying him military honours, it was not my intention to depart from that plain and simple manner of living which accords with the real interest and policy of men struggling under every difficulty for the attainment of the most inestimable blessing of life, _liberty_. The chevalier was polite enough to approve my principle, and condescended to appear pleased with our Spartan living. In a word, he made us all exceedingly happy by his affability and good humour, while he remained in camp.

You are pleased, my dear marquis, to express an earnest desire of seeing me in France, after the establishment of our independency, and do me the honour to add, that you are not singular in your request. Let me entreat you to be persuaded, that, to meet you anywhere, after the final accomplishment of so glorious an event, would contribute to my happiness; and that to visit a country to whose generous aid we stand so much indebted, would be an additional pleasure; but remember, my good friend, that I am unacquainted with your language, that I am too far advanced in years to acquire a knowledge of it, and that, to converse through the medium of an interpreter, upon common occasions, especially with the ladies, must appear so extremely awkward, insipid, and uncouth, that I can scarcely bear it in idea. I will, therefore, hold myself disengaged for the present; but when I see you in Virginia, we will talk of this matter, and fix our plans.

The declaration of Spain in favour of France has given universal joy to every Whig; while the poor Tory droops like a withering flower under a declining sun. We are anxiously expecting to hear of great and important events on your side of the Atlantic; at present, the imagination is left in the wide field of conjecture, our eyes one moment are turned to an invasion of England, then of Ireland, Minorea, Gibraltar; in a word, we hope everything, but know not what to expect, or where to fix. The glorious success of Count d'Estaing in the West Indies, at the same time that it adds dominion to France, and fresh l.u.s.tre to her arms, is a source of new and unexpected misfortune to our _tender and generous parent_, and must serve to convince her of the folly of quitting the substance in pursuit of a shadow; and, as there is no experience equal to that which is bought, I trust she will have a superabundance of this kind of knowledge, and be convinced, as I hope all the world and every tyrant in it will be, that the best and only safe road to honour, glory, and true dignity, is _justice_.

We have such repeated advice of Count d'Estaing's being in these seas, that, though I have no official information of the event, I cannot help giving entire credit to the report, and looking for his arrival every moment, and I am preparing accordingly; the enemy at New York also expect it; and, to guard against the consequences, as much as it is in their power to do, are repairing and strengthening all the old fortifications, and adding new ones in the vicinity of the city. Their fears, however, do not r.e.t.a.r.d an embarkation which was making, and generally believed to be for the West Indies or Charlsetown: it still goes forward; and, by my intelligence, it will consist of a pretty large detachment. About fourteen days ago, one British regiment (the forty-fourth completed) and three Hessian regiments were embarked, and are gone, as is supposed, to Halifax. The operations of the enemy this campaign have been confined to the establishment of works of defence, taking a post at King's Ferry, and burning the defenceless towns of New Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk, on the Sound, within reach of their shipping, where little else was, or could be, opposed to them, than the cries of distressed women and helpless children; but these were offered in vain. Since these notable exploits, they have never stepped out of their works or beyond their lines. How a conduct of this kind is to effect the conquest of America, the wisdom of a North, a Germain, or a Sandwich can best decide, it is too deep and refined for the comprehension of common understandings and the general run of politicians.

Mrs. Washington, who set out for Virginia when we took the field in June, has often, in her letters to me, inquired if I had heard from you, and will be much pleased at hearing that you are well and happy. In her name, as she is not here, I thank you for your polite attention to her, and shall speak her sense of the honour conferred on her by the Marchioness. When I look back to the length of this letter, I have not the courage to give it a careful reading for the purpose of correction: you must, therefore, receive it with all its imperfections, accompanied with this a.s.surance, that, though there may be many inaccuracies in the letter, there is not a single defect in the friendship of, my dear Marquis, yours, &c.

TO GENERAL WASHINGTON.~[1]

(ORIGINAL.)

Havre, 7th October, 1779.

My dear general--From those happy ties of friendship by which you were pleased to unite yourself with me, from the promises you so tenderly made me when we parted at Fishkill, gave me such expectations of hearing often from you, that complaints ought to be permitted to my affectionate heart. Not a line from you, my dear, general, has yet arrived into my hands, and though several ships from America, several despatches from congress or the French minister, are safely brought to France, my ardent hopes of getting at length a letter from General Washington have ever been unhappily disappointed: I cannot in any way account for that bad luck, and when I remember that in those little separations where I was but some days from you, the most friendly letters, the most minute account of your circ.u.mstances, were kindly written to me, I am convinced you have not neglected and almost forgotten me for so long a time. I have, therefore, to complain of fortune, of some mistake or neglect in acquainting you that there was an opportunity, of anything; indeed, but what could injure the sense I have of your affection for me. Let me beseech you, my dear general, by that mutual, tender, and experienced friendship in which, I have put an immense portion of my happiness, to be very exact in inquiring for occasions, and never to miss those which may convey to me letters that I shall be so much pleased to receive.

Inclosed I send to your excellency the copy of my letters to congress, which, in concert with Mr. Franklin's longer despatches, will give you a sketch of European intelligence. Contrary winds have much delayed an expedition which I think should have been undertaken much sooner: the kings of France and Spain seem desirous of carrying it on before the winter; it may be, however, deferred till next spring, and the siege of Gibraltar would be the only land expedition for the present campaign. In a few weeks time, when West India successes may be compared to those in Europe, my gazettes and predictions will have a greater degree of certainty, but one must not be a conjuror to see that England is in such a way that one may defy her to get up again, and that a happy peace, blessed with American independence, will, in this or the ensuing campaign, be the certain effect of the present war.

As my private circ.u.mstances are somewhat interesting to your friendship, I will tell you, my dear general, that since my last letter I have hardly quitted this place, where head-quarters had been fixed. I was to disembark with the grenadiers forming the vanguard, and am, therefore, one of the first who will land on the English sh.o.r.e. The king's own regiment of dragoons, which he gave me on my return, was to embark at Brest, and join us a few days after the landing. From Count d'Estaing's expedition on the American coasts, the nation raises great expectations, and very impatiently waits for intelligence. How unhappy I am to find myself so far from you on such an occasion you will easily conceive. The impression of sorrow such a thought gives me cannot be alleviated but by the sense I have that the general opinion of the turn warlike operations will take this campaign, the ties of my duty towards my own country, where my services had been employed for the expedition against England, and the hope I entertained of being here more useful to the United States, had not left me the choice of the part I should take for this campaign. I hope, my dear sir, you will agree in opinion with me.

Whatever may be Count d'Estaing's success in America, it will bring on new projects and operations. My ideas I laid before your excellency at Fishkill; but permit me to tell you again how earnestly I wish to join you. Nothing could make me so delighted as the happiness of finishing the war under your orders. That, I think, if asked by you, will be granted to congress and your excellency. But be certain, my dear general, that in any situation, in any case, let me act as a French or as an American officer, my first wish, my first pleasure, will be to serve again with you. However happy I am in France, however well treated by my country and king, I have taken such a habit of being with you, I am tied to you, to America, to my fellow soldiers by such an affection, that the moment when I shall sail for your country will be one of the most wished for and the happiest in my life.

From an American newspaper I find that a certain English intelligence had been propagated through the United States, that, at the head of fifteen hundred officers or non-commissioned officers, I was going to embark for America, and that, with soldiers of your army embodied under them, I wanted to teach military discipline throughout the _American army_. However remote I am from thinking of teaching my own masters, and however distant from such views was that command in France, whose end you very well know, I could not help taking it as a reflection on the _American army_. The English troops may remember that on some particular occasions I have not had to lament the want of discipline and spirit in the troops which I had the honour to command. Whilst we have but the same British army to fight with, we need not be looking out for any other improvement than the same qualities which have often enabled my fellow American soldiers to give, instead of receiving, pretty good lessons to an enemy, whose justly-reputed courage added a new reputation to American bravery and military conduct.

The above article, my dear general, I beg you will have _printed in the several newspapers_.

As there is but a little time to write before the sailing of the vessel, I cannot call to mind all the friends I have in the army, unless your excellency is pleased to make them a thousand compliments from one who heartily loves them, and whose first wish is to be again in their company.

I congratulate you, my dear general, on the spirited expedition of Stony Point,~[2] and am glad it has added, a new l.u.s.tre to our arms.

Be so kind, my dear friend, as to present my best respects to your lady.

Mine begs leave to be kindly remembered to you and to her. Thousand a.s.surances of friendship wait from me on your family.

Oh! my dear general, how happy I should be to embrace you again!

With such affection as is above all expressions any language may furnish, I have the honour to be, very respectfully, &c.

Footnotes:

1. To this letter was joined a long letter to the president of congress, which contained nearly the same things, expressed in a different manner.

2. A brilliant exploit of General Wayne, who, on the 15th of July, took by a.s.sault the fort of Stony Point, and forced five hundred and fifty-four English to capitulate.

TO M. DE VERGENNES.

Versailles, February 2d, 1780.

You approved, sir, of my putting down in writing, before conversing with you upon the subject of the expedition, some of the measures necessary to be taken in either of the following cases: first, if I should command the French detachment; and secondly, if I should resume an American division.~[1]

I must begin by observing that this commission is not only a military and political, but also a social affair: and from the circ.u.mstances under which I am now placed, I a.s.sure you, on my honour, that I believe the first measure would be most favourable to the public service, and the interest of France as regards her allies.

As I must immediately begin my preparations, I should wish to be informed of the decision in sufficient time to select some officers of proper age, experience, and talents, with whom I can become acquainted before I take charge of the corps; and on this account it is necessary to arrange matters immediately with the Prince de Montbarrey. Two old experienced lieutenant-colonels should command the infantry under me: in distant expeditions, it is necessary that officers should suit each other, and I am particularly fond of old officers.

In regard to myself, sir, I ask for nothing,--and as during the course of a war I may hope to acquire rank, you might either give me one of those commissions of M. de Sartine, which are only of use in America, or one that would not prevent my seniors from resuming afterwards their rank, or else letters of service, to enable me simply to command in the capacity of an American general officer.

There are three methods of concealing the real aim of the expedition: 1st, to set out together for Lorient, under pretence of taking an island, and operating in Carolina in the autumn;--2nd, to pretend to send troops to M. de Bouille; there need be no commander, and I should have the t.i.tle of _marechal-des-logis;_--3d, for me to set out immediately with the grenadiers and dragoons for America, and that the four battalions, commanded by the two ancient officers, should join me at Rhode Island.

If I should have the command, you may act with perfect security, because the Americans know me too well to feel the slightest anxiety. I will bind myself, if it be desired, to ask for neither rank nor t.i.tles, and, to put the ministry quite at their ease, I will even promise to refuse them should they be offered me.

In the second case, sir, it would be necessary to prevent, beforehand, in America, the bad effects that the arrival of another commander would excite: that I am not to lead that detachment is the last idea that could ever occur in that country; I will say, therefore, that for myself I prefer having an American division.

I must be in the secret to prepare the various measures, and inform General Washington of the transaction. A secret with which I was not acquainted would appear very suspicious at Philadelphia.

Three merchant frigates and a transport ship would be procured at Lorient. We have, it is said, an American crew; the fifteen thousand suits of clothes, and fifteen thousand guns, &c. might be embarked; at the end of the month it would be necessary to set out for the continent.

On arriving at a port, I should endeavour to commence my operations with General Washington; I should take a division in the army, and, with M.

de la Luzerne's aid, prepare everything for the arrival of the French.

To increase the number of my division,--to serve as an example to them,--to change the ideas entertained respecting us,--and to shew in what perfect good intelligence French and Americans may live together,--I should request to take with me, at once, a battalion of six hundred grenadiers, three hundred dragoons, and one hundred hussars.

Two or three officers, whom I should bring back with me, must obtain the same rank in France which they had in America, and I should say that I have refused that rank myself from motives which are purely social. This attention is necessary to flatter the self-love of the Americans. We may stop at Bermuda on our way, and establish there the party for liberty.

I shall set out on Wednesday for Nantes, where the clothes are making; I shall also attend to the selection of the arms; I shall see the king's regiment at Angers, to form a detachment from it; I shall repair to Lorient to hasten the arrangement of the frigates, and to see the battalion of grenadiers; I shall only be here the 20th, and as my departure must be public, I shall take leave the 25th, in an American uniform, and if the wind be favourable, I shall sail the 1st of March.