Allied Aid in U.S. Battles
Latest Changes: 2010-03-03: move RW map links to Maps page / 2011-03-18: reformat into tables /
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1781 Feb 12:
Fort St. Joseph (near Niles MI) was captured by French Captain Eugene Poure and a force of 120 men
raised from the French settlers and Indians in the area of St. Louis. The flag of Spain was raised over the fort
because the local Spanish governor at St. Louis provided supplies for the raid in the hoped that the raid
would deter an attack from the British post at Detroit. Fort St. Joseph had been built by the French
and turned over to the British after the French and Indian War.
Lost Link: www.serve.com/rbriggs/couriers/3-96/StJo.html was an article by Robert C. Myers on Fort St. Joseph. |
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1779 Sep-Oct:
Repulse from Savannah (GA)
- Some 3,200 British troops under Gen. Prevost repulsed an allied attack from 6,000 French troops
(including the 700-man Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue Regiment, comprised of free blacks
from the island colony of Saint Dominigue) plus 33 warships under Admiral d'Estaing plus 1,500 U.S. troops
under Gen. Lincoln. Some 2,000 French naval cannon bombarded the town for five days,
while 35 sailors died of scurvy each day. A badly coordinated attack on British fortifications failed and
caused many casualties. The French fleet then returned to France.
Dead: Est 50 U.S. troops, 150 French, 40 British Wounded: 200 U.S. troops, 640 French, 100 British  The Battle for Savannah [About North Georgia]
brief description [Georgia Society SAR] On 2007 Oct 08 the Haitian American Historical Society hosted a dedication for a monument commemorating the participation of the Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue Regiment in the 1779 battle of Savannah. Significance of Haitian participation [www.haitianhistory.org]
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1780 Feb 11 to 1780 May 12:
Second Siege of Charleston (SC) --
Britsh Gen. Howe left New York City by sea on 1779 Dec 26 with 8,500 troops, bound for Savannah GA.
After a difficult voyage he rested there, then on 1780 Feb 11 sailed to Charleston SC,
laid siege to the city (defended by the U.S. Southern Army), and forced it to surrender.
Casualties U.S. 90 killed, 140 wounded; British 76 killed, 189 wounded Taken Prisoner: U.S. 5,466, including 290 Continental officers. Many of these died while imprisoned. |
| 1781 Jun 10 - Jul 3: After eleven months of recuperation and planning General Rochambeau led the second French Expeditionary Force out of Newport, was joined in Providence by additional French troops who had landed at Boston MA, marched to the area around Philipsburg NY (now the Ardsley / Hartsdale area), and established several camps near the main U.S. Continental Army camp. |
| 1781 Jul 5-Aug 13: Testing the New York Defenses -- The U.S.-French allied troops under Generals Washington and Rochambeau spent six weeks in several campsites near Ardsley NY. Rochambeau was quartered at the Odell farm, at 425 Ridge Road, Hartsdale NY. They sent strong parties to probe the British lines for weakness. The British had spent five years developing their defenses, which included 18,000 troops and a strong fleet. |
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1781 Aug 14 - Oct 01:
Departure for Yorktown -- Upon getting word that Admiral deGrasse would take
the French fleet only as far north as the Chesapeake Bay (where a British army
of about 9,000 troops under British Gen. Cornwallis was vulnerable to attack
at Yorktown VA) Generals Washington and Rochambeau decided to focus their foces on Yorktown.
Washington split the American forces -- 2,500 Continentals (backed by thousands
of local militia) remained in New York under General Heath to keep the British bottled up
in New York City. Washington and Rochambeau led the other 2,500 American troops
and all 4,000 French troops on a rapid march 450 miles south to Yorktown VA
to join with Lafayette's troops in Virginia and the large French fleet
heading north from the Caribbean (led by French Admiral de Grasse) with additional French troops.
For a high-resolution map of Cornwallis' withdrawal into Virginia and Washington's march to Yorktown, noting the final Yorktown battle formations, See the index to the RW map collection [U.S. Military Academy].
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1781 Oct 3:
Battle of the Hook at Gloucester Point VA --
- French Brig. Gen. de Choisy with French troops and a battalion of 800 Virginia militiamen
clashed with 1,000 men under British Lt. Col. Dundas at Gloucester VA
-- across the York River from Yorktown. The allied presence cut off British ability to forage
for supplies outside their defensive perimeter and prevented an easy breakout from the siege.
The major battle action was between Lauzun's legion and Tarlton's light cavalry.
David R. Wagner's
"Virginia Militia Battle Tarleton" (used with the artist's permission)
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1781 Oct 6 - 19:
Yorktown (VA)
-- The allied armies (11,000 American, 8,800 French) and a quarter of the French navy converged
on Yorktown, isolating the British army (8,300 British) from supplies and military support.
The allies besieged the British camp and gained victory with minimal losses.
Gen. Cornwallis declined to participate in the surrender and grounding of arms, sending instead
the second in command, Gen. O'Hara, to present his sword to the the commander of the victors
as a token of surrender. O'Hara offered the sword to Gen. Rochambeau,
who directed him to Gen. Washington, who directed him to Gen. Benjamin Lincoln -- who had been forced to surrender
Charleston SC to the British in 1780 May. Thus the sword was presented by a senior subordinate
of Cornwallis to a senior subordinate of Washington.
Land battle casualties: 250 dead (30 American, 60 French, and 160 British)
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| U.S. (11,000) under Gen. George Washington |
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| Artillery under Gen. Henry Knox |
| Engineers under Gen. Duportail |
| First Division under Gen. Lafayette |
| Light Infantry: PA Riflemen, 4th Regt Cont. Light Dragoons,
Armand's Partisan Corps |
| First Brigade: Gen. Muhlenberg: Cos from NH (5),
MA (10), RI (1),
CT (5), and NJ (1) |
| Second Brigade: Gen. Hazen: Cos from NH (4),
MA (5), CT (7),
NY (2), and Canada |
| Second Division under Gen. Johan de Steuben |
| First Brigade: Gen. Gist: 3d MD Regt (with Delaware recruits),
4th MD Regt |
| Second Brigade: Gen. Wayne: 1st PA Battn, 2nd PA Battn,
VA Battn |
| Third Division under Gen. Benjamin Lincoln |
| First Brigade: Gen. Clinton: 1st NY Regt, 2d NY Regt |
| Second Brigade: Col. Dayton: 1st/ 2nd NJ Regts, 1st RI Regt |
| Virginia Militia under Gen. Thomas Nelson, Jr. |
| 1st Brigade, 2rd Brigade, Weedon's Brigade, Lewis' Rifle Corps,
1st Virginia State Regt |
| French (8,800) under Gen. Rochambeau |
| First Corps Infantry under Gen. de Velomenil |
| First Brigade under Col. de Laval: Bourbonnais,
Royal Deux Ponts |
| Second Brigade under Col. de St. Maime: Soisonnais |
| Second Corps Infantry under Gen. de Simone |
| Third Brigade under Col. d'Audechamp: Argenois, Gatinois |
| Fourth Brigade under Col. de Pondeux: Touraine |
| Artillery [Auxonne, Metz] under Col. d'Aboville |
| Gloucester Detachment under Gen. de Choisy |
| Col. Lauzun's Legion |
| Marines from the French Fleet |
| French Fleet (over 15,000) under Adm de Grasse |
| 28 ships-of-the-line in de Grasse's fleet had over 1,800 cannon |
| 6 ships-of-the-line in de Barass' fleet brought the siege cannon |
| British (8,300) under Gen. Cornwallis |
| 1st & 2nd Light Infantry: Lt. Col. Abercrombie & Maj. Armstrong |
| comprising one company from each regiment at Yorktown |
| Brigade of Guards under Gen. O'Hara |
| Regiments of Foot: 17th, 23rd, 33rd, 43rd, 71st, 76th, 80th |
| Queens Rangers |
| Germanic State Regts: Ansbach-Bayreuth, Fusilier Erbprinz,
Musketeer von Bose, Jagers |
| Royal Artillery under Capt. Rochfort |
| Gloucester Detachment: British Legion under Lt. Col. Tarleton |
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Yorktown: Climax of the Revolution
(National Park Service, Source Book Series No. 1) describes the siege in detail.
Rochambeau Map Collection
[Library of Congress] Search for "map Grasse Graves" to get a zoom-able map of the French fleet positions.
Seizure of Redoubts 9 and 10
(night of Oct 14) [Expédition Particulière] -- extracts from historical texts
and the memoirs of French officers.
For information and a link for ordering a three-hour DVD of the 225th anniversary ( in October 2006) re-enactment of the siege and surrender at Yorktown see W3R Merchandise page.
References: see Bibliography for: Greene, Hallahan, Landers |
100 photos|
After Yorktown activity in the global allied conflict continued outside of the
U.S. theater of operations. The naval and land forces of France and Spain forces engaged
in many battles with British forces all around the globe. This prevented any expansion
of British forces in the United States to aid in expanding their fortified enclaves here.
See After Yorktown [Expédition Particulière]
The British continued to hold the ports of New York NY, Charleston SC, and Savannah GA, and the U.S. sought to eject them so that these cities could not be used as bargaining chips in the peace negotiations, possibly allowing Britain to be granted control of some of the rebelling colonies. |
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1782 July 12:
Evacuation of Charleston SC by British forces due to continued pressure
on that garrison by Gen. Nathaniel Greene and the Southern Continental Army,
as well as the state militia.
See The British Evacuate Savannah, Georgia
, by Gordon B. Smith (Georgia Society SAR) on the Sons of Liberty SAR Website
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1783-03-10:
On a course from Havana to Philadelphia, Capt. John Barry was in command
of the 36-gun U.S. frigate Alliance guarding the Duc de Luzerne
-- named after the French Ambassador to the U.S.
The Duc de Luzerne's cargo included 72,000 Spanish milled dollars
as French foreign aid to the U.S. government.
Two British frigates spotted and chased the American vessels.
The 32-gun Alarm abandoned the chase after sighting
an approaching French 64-gun ship-of-the-line, the Triton.
The 28-gun Sybil suffered significant damage during an exchange
of several broadsides with the Alliance while the Triton,
fearing that this was a British trick to lure it into a trap,
remained at a distance until the Sybil broke off the engagement
and retired from the area.
See article by Lindsey Cook Brock
(Florida Society SAR) on the Sons of Liberty SAR Website
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