528 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



"In case of an equality of rank and 

 duration of service, the American officer 

 will take command. . . . The troops 

 of the King will yield the right side to 

 the allies ; French troops will add black 

 to their cockades, black being the color 

 of the United States," and some such 

 hats, with black and white cockades, are 

 still preserved at Fraunce's Tavern, New 

 York. 



"The intention of His Majesty," the 

 general continues, "is that there be per- 

 fect concert and harmony between the 

 generals and officers of the two nations. 

 The severest discipline will be observed. 

 . . . It is forbidden to take a bit of 

 wood, a sheaf of straw, any kind of vege- 

 tables, except amicably and in paying. 

 . . . All faults of unruliness, disobedi- 

 ence, insubordination, ill will, brutal and 

 sonorous drunkenness . . . will be 

 punished, according to ordinances, with 

 strokes of the flat of the sword." Even 

 "light faults of lack of cleanliness or 

 attention" will be punished. "To make 

 the punishment the harder for the French 

 soldier, he will be barred from military 

 service during his detention." 



The army, but not the fleet, had been 

 placed under the orders of Washington. 

 Ternay's instructions specified, however, 

 that while his squadron had no other 

 commander than himself, it was expected 

 that he "would proffer all assistance that 

 might facilitate the operations of the 

 United States," and that he would allow 

 the use of our ships "on every occasion 

 when their help might be requested." 



Good will was obviously the leading 

 sentiment, and the desire of all was to 

 give as little trouble and bring as much 

 useful help as possible. 



the French fleet at Newport 



On the nth day of July the fleet 

 reached Newport, after seventy days at 

 sea, which was longer than Columbus 

 had taken on his first voyage, but which 

 was nothing extraordinary. Abbe Robin, 

 a chaplain of the army, arrived later, 

 after a journey of eighty-five days, none 

 the less filled with admiration for those 

 "enormous machines with which men 

 master the waves" — a very minute enor- 

 mity from our modern point of view. 



"There were among the land troops," 

 says Closen, "endless shouts of joy" at 

 the prospect of being on terra ftrma 

 again. The troops, owing to their hav- 

 ing been fed on salt meat and dry vege- 

 tables, with little water to drink (on 

 board the Comtesse de Noailles water 

 had become corrupt ; it was now and then 

 replaced by wine, "but that heats one very 

 much"), had greatly suffered. Scurvy 

 had caused its usual ravages ; 600 or 700 

 soldiers and 1,000 sailors were suffering 

 from it ; some had died. 



They were now confronted by the un- 

 known. What would that unknown be? 

 Rochambeau had only his first division 

 with him ; would he be attacked at once 

 by the English, who disposed of superior 

 naval and land forces about New York? 

 And what would be the attitude of the 

 Americans themselves? Everybody was 

 for them in France, but few people had a 

 real knowledge of them. Lafayette had, 

 but he was young and enthusiastic. 

 Would the inhabitants, would their 

 leader, Washington, would their army, 

 answer his description? 



A GAME OF NAVAE CHESS 



On the arrival of the fleet Newport had 

 fired "13 grand rockets" and illuminated 

 its windows, but that might be a mere 

 matter of course. Of these illuminations 

 the then president of Yale, Ezra Stiles, 

 has left a noteworthy record : "The bell 

 rang at Newport till after midnight, and 

 the evening of the 12th Newport illumi- 

 nated ; the Whigs put thirteen lights in 

 the windows ; the Tories or doubtfuls 

 four or six. The Quakers did not choose 

 their lights should shine before men, and 

 their windows were broken." 



The game was, moreover, a difficult 

 one and had to be played on an immense 

 chess-board, including North and South 

 (Boston, New York, Charleston, and the 

 Chesapeake), including even "the Isles" — 

 that is, the West Indies — and what took 

 place there, which might have so much 

 importance for continental operations, 

 had constantly to be guessed or imagined 

 for lack of news. 



Worse than all, the reputation of the 

 French was, up to then, in America such 

 as hostile English books and caricatures 



