Victory at Yorktown (44 page)

The rare agreement between Clinton and Arbuthnot is noted in Clinton xxxii ff.

Washington reported his anxiety about the South to James Duane, Oct. 4, 1780, in Freeman 5:226.

Johnston 23 notes that Clinton could “ill spare” Arnold's command.

The Thomas Jefferson broadside of Jan. 19, 1781, is in GLC 0448; William North to Lewis Morris, Jan. 25, 1781, is in GLC 04829.

Closen 56 has his diary note.

Ward
The War of the Revolution
2:740 describes Ferguson.

Scheer and Rankin 413–16 has accounts of the battle preliminaries.

Boatner 1174–75 discusses the massacre of Buford's men.

Ward
The War of the Revolution
2:741 has an apt description of the over-mountain men.

Scheer and Rankin 416–21 and Commager and Morris 1140–41 have details on the Kings Mountain battle.

Freeman 5:227 has Washington's reaction to news of the battle.

Clinton 476 contains Cornwallis's letter to General Clinton.

5. A Little Persevering and Determined Army

Greene 280, 285–91 relates his move to the South.

Commager and Morris 1151–52 has the remark about the state treasuries, Greene's anger at slackers, and his letter to Joseph Reed.

Greene 64–67 has details about his experience in the siege of Boston.

Scheer and Rankin 427–28 includes Greene's message to Morgan, Tarleton's plan, and comments about Greene by his men.

Boatner 1087–88 has an entry on Tarleton.

Commager and Morris 1158 has Morgan's decision to stand and fight.

Greene's battle plans and the action are discussed in Scheer and Rankin 430–32 and Commager and Morris 1153–55.

Commager and Morris 1157 and Flood 375 have material on Colonel Howard and the British captain.

Casualty figures are from Flood 376 and Scheer and Rankin 432, and the latter source, 433, has Walpole's comment.

Cornwallis's reaction and plans are in Flood 381–82.

Ward
The War of the Revolution
2:765–76 discusses the race to the Dan, as does Thayer 315–18.

My description of the Yadkin comes in a letter from Ethan K. Murrow.

Ward
The War of the Revolution
2:769 relates the story about Greene and Mrs. Steele. That same excellent source describes the race to the Dan and the skirmishing between Greene's and Cornwallis's men.

For Arnold's activities in Virginia, I have drawn on Brandt 146 and 240–41; and Lee 298–300, 394, and 408–10. Ward
The War of the Revolution
2:868–70 also covers Arnold's movements.

Arnold's arguments to Germain appear in Brandt 235–36, and his request to return to New York is in the same source, 245.

Commager and Morris 1201 cites Cornwallis's letter to Phillips.

Greene's moves and his army's exhaustion are detailed in Commager and Morris 1164, and the same source includes Sergeant Lamb's rescue of Cornwallis at Guilford (1160), Greene's plans (1167–68), and Cornwallis's April 23 letter to Clinton (1161).

Richard Henry Lee's letter to Arthur Lee, June 4, 1781, is in Commager and Morris 1205.

Billias's
Opponents
213 has casualty figures for Cornwallis's army, and the earl's comments on North Carolina are in the same source, 1168.

Scheer and Rankin 441 quotes Cornwallis's chagrin over the lack of Tory strength. The same source, 1169–70, has the Andrew Jackson story.

Boatner's entry on Marion, 675–79, is helpful. Greene's thanks are from the same source, 1173.

Freeman 5:304 and fn has Washington's praise for Greene.

6. Our Deliverance Must Come

Commager and Morris 1210–11 has the letter from Lafayette to Vergennes from New Windsor on the Hudson, Jan. 20, 1781.

Washington to Laurens, Apr. 9, 1781, is in Bonsal 251, appendix C.

Shreve 136 gives the figure of 5,835 for Washington's force on July 15, 1781.

Washington's journal observations are in Freeman 5:256.

Johnston 72 notes Washington's pessimism over his prospects.

Bonsal 79–80 cites Franklin's letter.

Young Rochambeau's news is in Rice and Brown 1:26.

Freeman 5:292 has Washington's call for a conference.

Flexner 2:429 indicates the General's hope for a blow at New York.

The difficulty of an attack on New York is examined in Shreve 143.

Closen 79 fn44 notes the French army's plans.

Flexner 2:430 discusses Rochambeau's letter to de Grasse and the difficulties of dealing with the former.

For Clinton's exchange with de Grasse, see Clinton 299, 306.

Flexner 2:365 mentions Washington's request that Rochambeau deal through Lafayette.

Tilghman's education is described in Shreve 35–36.

Blanchard 122 discloses how hard it was dealing with Rochambeau.

Chastellux's portrayal of Washington is in Flexner 2:399–401.

Chastellux 1:87 compares medicine in the rebel army with that in Agamemnon's.

The quotation about Americans from Lafayette appeared in Stacy Shiff's “Vive l'Histoire” in
New York Times
, op-ed, Feb. 6, 2003.

The Verger journal is in Rice and Brown 1:124.

Acomb, in Closen 82–83, has the details of the trip.

Rice and Brown 135 fn39 mentions the beautiful Polly Lawton.

The Tory threat is in Clermont-Crèvecoeur's journal, Rice and Brown, 1:28–29. His appraisal of the dragoons is on pp. 30–31.

Scheer
Yankee Doodle
214 and Rice and Brown 1:32 fn30 describe the line of march. The site of the first brigade's camp, or bivouac, was on the outskirts of present-day Bedford Village, near the intersection of Seminary and Court roads.

Closen's remark is on p. 91.

Rhode Island's black regiment is noted in Rice and Brown 1:32–34. The same source, 33 fn34, quotes Rochambeau's letters to France.

Berthier's observations are from Rice and Brown 1:251, July 6, 1780.

Balch 162 relates the episode when Washington and Rochambeau were nearly stranded.

Closen 102 quotes his admiration for the rebel army.

Berthier's adventure is from Rice and Brown 1:251–52 and also notes his encounter with the Tories.

Closen's close call is on pp. 99–100.

Shreve 147 describes de Grasse's plans.

Washington's need for water transport is noted in Flexner 2:436, and the same source, 441, quotes Lafayette's description of York.

Johnston 59 quotes the young Frenchman's estimate of what Cornwallis's Virginia campaign cost.

The Internet “Maps” mileage from Newport to Williamsburg is 565.9, but this is over modern roads. The Vicomte de Noailles calculated the distance he walked from Newport to Yorktown at more than 750 miles.

Washington's allotments of his resources are in Freeman 5:310 fn68d and 313.

Scheer and Rankin 473 quotes the French officer on Clinton's lethargy.

Cumming and Rankin 318–19 mentions Prince William's arrival.

“A Gentleman from Philadelphia” to Capt. Beckwith, July 24, 1781, is in GLC 05223.

The hazards faced by the French navy are recited by Flexner 2:439–40; see also Freeman 5:312 and Ward
The War of the Revolution
2:882.

“War Diary”; Anthony Wayne to Robert Morris, July 12, 1781, GLC 02620 describes how Wayne dealt with mutineers.

The source of George Mason's letter to his son George, June 3, 1781, is GLC 03256.

The captured letter is discussed in Flexner 2:431, as is the importance of the boats in persuading Clinton that the plan was to attack Staten Island. See also Clinton 307–9 and 531, which includes his belief that loyalists were of little use.

Freeman 5:314 fn97 has Thacher's comment comparing the situation to a theatrical exhibition. The same source, 315–17, relates the relative strength of the British and French fleets.

Rice and Brown 1:44 describes Washington's meeting with the French officers.

7. A Partial Engagement

George Washington to Governor Thomas Nelson, Aug. 27, 1781, and the Nelson broadside Sept. 1, 1781, are in GLC 04828, MA 488/1, 31.

Freeman 5:317 and 319 fn121 discusses Washington's visit to Philadelphia.

Closen 116–17 characterizes the French officers' reception at Morris's home.

Washington's letter to Lafayette is in Commager and Morris 1217.

Johnston 92 describes the troops' march through Philadelphia.

Martin's comment on marching is in Scheer
Yankee Doodle
289.

Francis Barber to his wife, July 18, 1781, is in MA 0488/1, 114.

Flood 403 has Clinton's letter to Cornwallis about Washington's march south.

Bonsal 127, Johnston 92–93, Flood 403–4, Ward
The War of the Revolution
2:884, and Thacher 271–72 all describe the triumphant French march through Philadelphia.

Clermont-Crèvecoeur's observations are in Rice and Brown 1:47–49.

Shreve 149 describes the unusually enthusiastic Washington.

Closen 123, Bonsal 129–31, and Flexner 2:443 discuss the episode.

Material on the Battle of Rhode Island is in Boatner 788–94; the quote is in Scheer and Rankin 341–42.

Freeman 5:68, 74 has more on the Battle of Rhode Island.

The unhappy saga of d'Estaing's career comes from Boatner and Scheer and Rankin.

Tornquist 35–42 describes the battle between the two fleets. The same source, 14 and 43–44, has material on Tornquist and his journal.

Mackesy 184 has the quotation from Germain and much information on British trade with the West Indies.

Tornquist 48 has the remarks quoted here.

Boatner 444–45, Balch 2:137–40, and Tornquist 53 have details on the French fleet and the search for money. Tornquist gives a figure of 700,000 piastres; Balch, chap. 13, states that the French government placed 6 million livres at Washington's disposal. Balch, chap. 15, says de Grasse was carrying 1.2 million livres for the American commander.

Tornquist 55 notes the arrival of de Grasse in the Chesapeake.

Flexner 2:445 lists the fleet's strength.

George Weedon to Nathanael Greene about the new Virginia governor, dated Sept. 5, 1781, is from MA 488/1, 96.

Blanchard 172 describes the drought in Head of Elk.

Freeman 5:323–24 fn11 quotes one of Clinton's informers.

The source for the footnote on Mordecai Gist is his letter to Smith and Wooton, Sept. 18, 1781, in MA 488/1, 147.

The fireships are described in Rice and Brown 1:52–53 fn91, and the same source, 55 fn98 and 56, lists the trials of other French soldiers.

Tornquist 57 has the author's experience near Hampton.

Freeman 5:324–28 and Flexner 2:445–47 tell of Washington at Mount Vernon and the message concerning de Grasse.

Scheer and Rankin 470 quotes the Marquis de Lafayette to George Washington; another message of July 8, 1781, between the two is in GLC 05467.

Johnston 96–99 tells of the plan to bottle up Cornwallis.

Freeman 5:328–30, Flexner 2:448, and Scheer and Rankin 476 describe Washington's arrival in Williamsburg and the festivities.

Tuchman discusses the Dutch salute to
Andrea Doria
in the first chapter.

Johnston notes how Graves missed Rodney's dispatch (99) and Graves's arrival off the Chesapeake (100–101).

The source for the footnote about the Doyles and Lord Rawdon is Closen 137 and fn.

Tornquist 58–61, Flood 406, Flexner 2:448 and fn, and Commager and Morris 1220–21 all provide valuable details on the sea battle. The last-named source includes a journal of an anonymous French officer with the French fleet—a good eyewitness account.

8. Prepare to Hear the Worst

The fascinating correspondence between and about Clinton and Cornwallis is in Clinton's
The American Rebellion,
and I have quoted from Sir Henry's letters of Apr. 10 and Apr. 23 to the earl; Apr. 23 to Germain; Apr. 24 to Phillips; Apr. 30, July 11, and July 14 to Cornwallis.

Gordon, in Peckham,
Narratives of Colonial America
252 depicts Yorktown before the Revolution, and Lossing 2:301–3 has a description of the place in 1848.

Clinton has several letters recording the naval situation (559–63) as well as letters from Cornwallis and Clinton relating the arrival of the French fleet (563–64).

The journal of Johann Conrad Doehla has the description of unsanitary conditions inside British lines.

Willcox 429 cites the warning by General Robertson.

For the period Sept. 8 to Sept. 23, 1781, covering the conversations in New York about Cornwallis's plight, and the earl's increasingly desperate letters, I have relied on Clinton 565–72.

Flexner 2:449 describes Washington's meeting with de Grasse.

The arrival of the English brig alongside the
Ville de Paris
is mentioned in Rice and Brown 1:136–37.

Both Freeman 5:334–35 and Flexner 2:449 note de Grasse's decision to depart on Oct. 31. The latter source describes the spectacular
feu de joie
(450) and quotes the general's optimistic message (451).

Closen 138 records Washington's operational plans.

Freeman 5:335–43 and Closen 133–37 describe the visits of Washington and Closen.

Closen 138–39 has an account of the allies setting up camp.

9. I Propose a Cessation of Hostilities

Lee 496–98 has a long and comprehensive account of this affair. Other material is in Rice and Brown 1:57–58, 139 fn69, and Boatner 1179–80.

The firsthand account by Armand-Louis de Gontaut-Biron, Duc de Lauzun, is in Commager and Morris 1216–17.

Rice and Brown 1:57–58, 138–39 has the story of Lauzun's heroism.

Cornwallis's statement that only the promise of relief led him to defend Yorktown appears in Clinton 583.

Tucker 381 describes the terrain.

Cornwallis's optimistic assessment is in Billias's
Opponents
218.