coup-de-main on the extensive position which he had fortified, abandoned the entrenched camp at Pigeon's-hill, and retired within his enclosure. The 30th we were employed in fixing ourselves in the works abandoned by the enemy; which enabled us to enclose him in a narrower circle, and gave us great ad vantages.

On the same day, we sent M. de Choisy to request of M. de Grasse a detachment from his squadron, to reinforce M. de Lauzun in Gloucester county; M. de Grasse gave him eight hundred men. He marched forward to take a position nearer to Gloucester. He overtook Tarleton on the route with four hundred cavalry and two hundred infantry on a foraging party. The legion of Lauzun, supported by a body of American militia, attacked him so vigorously that they beat him, and forced the detachment to retire into the fort with some loss. After this action M. de Choisy pushed his advanced posts to within a mile of Gloucester.

The trenches were opened by two attacks above and below York, on the night of the 6th of October. That on the right was of six or seven hundred fathoms front, and flanked by four redoubts. It was completed without any loss, because we made the left commence the work, which, although the attack on this side was a feint, drew all the attention of the enemy. The strength of the army enclosed, and the character of the man who commanded it, obliged us to conduct these attacks with a great deal of method and precaution. The American army had charge of the right of the trenches, and the French of the centre and left.

It is but justice to the Americans to declare, that they conducted themselves with a zeal, a courage, and an emulation which prevented them from being at any moment behind-hand in their part of the duty, although they were quite unacquainted with the operations of a siege.

We set fire to an enemy's ship of war by our batteries, and to three transports, which had anchored with a view of acting on

our rear.

In the night of the 14th, the soldiers on duty in the trenches having been relieved by the regiments of Gatinois and of Royal Deux-Ponts under the Baron de Viomenil, we resolved to at tack the two redoubts on the enemy's left. General Washing. ton entrusted to La Fayette the attack on the right, and I committed that on the left to M. de Viomenil. Four hundred grenadiers led this assault under M. de Deux-Ponts and M. de l'Estrapade, Lieutenant-colonel of the regiment of Gatinois. M. de Viomenil and La Fayette, made so vigorous an attack that the redoubts were carried at the same moment, sword in hand. We killed, wounded, or took the greater part of the troops which defended them. The lodgment was made by

opening a communication between these redoubts and the right of our second parallel. Their situation furnished us with the opportunity of establishing new batteries which completely enveloped the army of Cornwallis, and enabled us to batter the whole interior of his defences at such a distance as could not but be very effectual. Count de Deux Ponts, Charles de Lameth, and M. de Gimet aide-de-camp to La Fayette were wounded.

On the night of the 15th, the enemy made a sortie with six hundred chosen troops; he met with resistance at all our redoubts, but took possession of a battery in the second parallel, where he spiked four cannon. The chevalier de Chatelus marched up with his reserve, and repulsed this sortie. The four pieces badly spiked, were ready to be fired again within six hours, by the exertions of General d'Abeville commanding our artillery. The Marquis de Saint Simon was wounded at the trench the next day, but went through his twenty-four hours without suffering himself to be relieved.

At length, on the 17th, the enemy opened a parley, and the capitulation was signed on the 19th of October, by which Lord Cornwallis and his army became prisoners of war. At noon, the Americans and French took possession of two bastions. The garrison defiled at two o'clock, between the two armies, with drums beating, and carrying their arms which they afterwards stacked, with about twenty stand of colours. Lord Cornwallis being sick, General O'Hara marched out at the head of the garrison. On reaching us, he presented his sword to me; I showed him General Washington, opposite to me, at the head of the American army, and told him, that the French army being but an auxiliary in the war, he was to receive his orders from the American General.

Colonel Laurens, the viscount de Noailles, and M. de Granchain, had been appointed by their respective commanders, to prepare the articles of capitulation with the superior officers of Cornwallis' army. It was signed by General Washington, myself, and M. de Barras, on the part of the Count de Grasse, and immediately put in execution. We found eight thousand men, of whom seven thousand were regular troops, and one thousand sailors, two hundred and forty pieces of cannon, seventy-five of which were cast, and twenty-two colours. Among the prisoners may be reckoned two thousand who were in the hospitals, of whom the greatest care was taken. The rest were sent into the interior.

I despatched the duke de Lauzun and count de Deux Ponts, in two frigates to carry the capitulation to France; and Mr. Tilghman, aide-de-camp to General Washington, was sent by him to congress.

This affair was hardly over, when the English squadron of twenty-seven sail, appeared off Cape Henry, on the 27th of OcVOL. II.

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tober; it had on board a body of troops under General Clinton. After having ascertained that the succour was too late, it put to sea again; and the fleet of M. de Grasse, sailed for the West Indies on the 4th of November. He sent back to Saint Domingo, the body of troops which he had borrowed from the governor, and left at York a light squadron, of which the frigate Romulus was the largest vessel, under M. de la Villebrune. General Washington returned to his head-quarters on the river Hudson, opposite to New York, with the detachment from the northern states. He sent the troops which had been under the command of M. de la Fayette, to reinforce General Greene in the south. The French remained at York, Gloucester, Hampton, and Williamsburg, where they took up the quarters which the enemy had expected to occupy, and rebuilt the houses destroyed during the siege.

The congress, as soon as they heard of the surrender of Cornwallis, passed a resolution, to have a marble column erected at York, in Virginia, adorned with emblems, commemorating the alliance between the United States and France, with a succinct account of the surrender of the army of Cornwallis to Generals Washington, Rochambeau, and De Grasse. They voted also to present two colours to General Washington, and four pieces of cannon, taken from the English army, to count de Rochambeau and count de Grasse, with an inscription declaring the gratitude of the United States, for the glorious part which they had acted in this brilliant expedition.

General Greene obtained new successes in the south: he descended from the mountains of the Santee, passed the Wateree and Congaree, marched to Dorchester, and forced the enemy to abandon all the posts which he had in the open country, and to retire within the lines of Charleston. The English, at the end of this campaign, which had commenced so unfavourably for the Americans, held nothing on the continent of North America, but Charleston, Savannah, and the islands of New York. All these successes contributed not a little to the overthrow of the English ministry, when the news of the capture of Cornwallis reached Europe, and induced Parliament to relinquish all offensive operations on the continent of America. *****

During the month of May, 1782, we were informed of the defeat of the count de Grasse, by a published account of admiral Rodney, which the English at New York took good care to circulate. This was the more important, as congress, and the assemblies of several of the states, were convoked to determine whether they should listen to the proposals of General Carleton, who had succeeded Sir Henry Clinton in the command of the English army. He proposed to the United States, in the name of his government, the acknowledgment of their independence, without restriction, provided they would renounce the

alliance which they had contracted with France. The congress refused to receive Carleton's secretary, who came with these offers; and the state of Maryland published a resolution, denouncing as an enemy to the state, whoever should propose to treat without the concurrence of France; accompanying this procla mation with declarations of the gratitude which they owed her. This example was followed by the general assembly of Virginia, and afterwards by all the other states, at the usual times of holding their assemblies. The English general having, at the same time, despatched a body of troops from Charleston to Jamaica, proposed a suspension of hostilities to General Greene, who as well as the legislature of South Carolina, refused it. The chevalier de la Luzerne, sent accounts of all these transactions to France, by the chevalier Clouard. They confirmed the good opinion which had been entertained there of the firmness of the Americans, and of their gratitude towards their ally.

The chevalier de la Luzerne, had succeeded M. Gérard, as minister plenipotentiary in America. His frank and conciliating manners, gained the esteem and confidence of the Americans to such a degree, that although he was apparently unwilling to take any part in their internal affairs, yet there were few matters of consequence in which he was not consulted.

The unhealthiness of the season in Virginia, began to cause much sickness in the army: the chevalier de la Luzerne, received letters at this time from M. de Vaudreuil, who, after the capture of M. de Grasse, had succeeded to the command of the fleet. This admiral requested him to make preparations for refitting it at Boston. We were also informed, that a body of troops was about embarking at New York, which was supposed to be destined against some of the French colonies. These circumstances induced me to put the French army in motion, to bring it nearer to New York. I requested a conference at Philadelphia with General Washington. It was there resolved, that the two armies should unite on the Hudson, should approach as near as possible to New York, to threaten the place, and prevent it from sending out any detachment against our colonies. During this time the army under the chevalier de Chatelus, and the chevalier de Viomenil, marched during the night, and reposed in the daytime. Through the judicious precautions of these generals, it arrived in health and safety at Baltimore, where it was joined by a detachment under M. de la Vallette, whom I had left at York and Gloucester, to demolish the fortifications, after removing the artillery. Although these troops had been conveyed up the bay by the little squadron of M. de la Villebrune, while the rest of the army was proceeding slowly by land; yet from the commander to the lowest soldier, they arrived every man sick.

During the stay which the army was obliged to make at Bal

timore, to recruit the sick, and to allow the great summer-heats to pass by, we were informed of the evacuation of Savannah in Georgia; a part of the garrison had returned to New York, and the rest was sent to Charleston, from which place also the enemy was preparing to withdraw his magazines. I received at the same time a letter from M. de Vaudreuil, who was on his way to Boston, with the remains of the fleet of M. de Grasse, requesting the assistance necessary for his protection, while refitting. He had detached M. de la Peyrouse, towards Hudson's bay, who destroyed all the British establishments there. I sent M. de Choisy, to command his land forces, and the officers of artillery and engineers whom he wanted.

General Carleton made another attempt to obtain a truce; he announced the absolute and unqualified acknowledgment of the independence of America, which had passed the two houses of the English parliament, and the prospect of preliminaries of peace being signed immediately. At the same time however, we heard of the arrival at New York, of admiral Pigott, who had succeeded Rodney in the command of the enemy's fleet, and of the preparations which were making to embark troops for the French islands. This last piece of news determined the speedy march of the French army, in order to effect a junction with that of Washington, and to present our united force before the place. This march was made in the same order and by the same road which we had taken the year before. The junction was effected at King's ferry, on the North river.

General Washington wishing to testify his respect and gratitude to France, made us pass between two lines of his soldiers dressed, equipped and armed completely, for the first time since the revolution, partly with clothes and arms sent from France, and partly from the English magazines taken with the garrison of Cornwallis, which the French army had relinquished to that of the Amercans. He made his drums beat the French march during the whole of this review, and the two armies met each other with marks of the greatest reciprocal satisfaction.

The council in France had directed that if the enemy should evacuate New York and Charleston, or either of those places, General Rochambeau should embark his army for Saint Domingo under the orders of a general officer, to be delivered over to M. de Galves, a Spanish lieutenant-general, who commanded the troops of the two nations, intended for a combined operation. All our information stated the immediate evacuation of Charleston; and the march of the French army from Virginia to the North River rendered it easy to execute the orders of the council. I communicated my instructions to M. de Vaudreuil, and informed him that I was ready to lead the army to Boston, whenever he should be ready to take it on board. M. de Vaudreuil answered, that his squadron could not be prepared before the end