532 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



ing guard outside, the captain waited for 

 the first night storm that should arise, 

 when the watch was sure to be less strict, 

 started in the midst of one, after having 

 waited for eight days, was recognized, 

 but too late, was chased, had his masts 

 broken, repaired them, and reached Brest 

 safely. The sailor who did so well on 

 this occasion and who was to meet a 

 tragic death at Vanikoro, bore the name, 

 famous since, of La Perouse. 



DARK DAYS FOR THE PATRIOT CAUSE 



Time wore on — a sad time for the 

 American cause. One day the news was 

 that one of the most trusted generals, 

 famous for his services on land and 

 water — Benedict Arnold — had turned 

 traitor ; another day that Gates had been 

 routed at Camden and Kalb killed. In 

 December Ternay died. In January, 

 worse than all, the soldiers of the Penn- 

 sylvania line mutinied ; unpaid, underfed, 

 kept under the flag long after the time 

 for which they had enlisted, "they went," 

 Closen writes in his journal, "to extremi- 

 ties. In Europe they would not have 

 waited so long." 



The danger was great, but brief ; 

 tempted by the enemy to change sides 

 and receive full pay, the Pennsylvania 

 line refused indignantly. "We are honest 

 soldiers, asking justice from our compa- 

 triots," they answered ; "we are not 

 traitors." 



Owing to Washington's influence, or- 

 der soon reigned again ; but the alarm had 

 been very great, as shown by the instruc- 

 tions which he handed to Colonel Lau- 

 rens, now sent by him to Versailles with 

 a mission similar to that of young Ro- 

 chambeau. The emotion caused by the 

 last events is reflected in them : "The pa- 

 tience of the American army is almost 

 exhausted. . . . The great majority 

 of the inhabitants is still firmly attached 

 to the cause of independence," but that 

 cause may be wrecked if more money, 

 more men, and more ships are not imme- 

 diately supplied by the French ally. 



A SERIOUS SITUATION IN THE SOUTH 



While the presence of the American 

 and French troops in the North kept 

 Clinton and his powerful New York gar- 



rison immobile where they were, the situ- 

 ation in the South was becoming worse 

 and worse, with Cornwallis at the head 

 of superior forces, Lord Rawdon holding 

 Charleston, and the hated Arnold ravag- 

 ing Virginia, 



Against them the American forces 

 under Greene, Lafayette, and Morgan 

 (who had partly destroyed Tarleton's 

 cavalry at Cowpens, January 17) were 

 doing their utmost, facing fearful odds. 



With a handful of men, knowing that 

 the slightest error might be his destruc- 

 tion, young Lafayette, aged twenty-four, 

 far from help and advice, was conducting 

 a campaign in which his pluck, wisdom, 

 and tenacity won him the admiration of 

 veterans. Irritated ever to find him on 

 his path, Cornwallis was writing a little 

 later to Clinton: "If I can get an oppor- 

 tunity to strike a blow at him without, 

 loss of time, I will certainly try it." But 

 Lafayette would not let his adversary 

 thus employ his leisure. 



One day, however, something would 

 have to be done, and, in order to be 

 ready, Rochambeau kept his army busy 

 with maneuvers, military exercises, sham 

 warfare ("le simulacre de la petite 

 guerre"), and the building of fortifica- 

 tions. As for his officers, he encouraged 

 them to travel, for a large part of the 

 land was free of enemies, and to become 

 better acquainted with these "American 

 brothers," whom they had come to fight 

 for. French officers were thus seen at 

 Boston, Albany, West Point, Philadel- 

 phia. 



LATIN WAS THE LANGUAGE OF 

 COMMUNICATION 



Closen, who, to his joy and surprise, 

 had been made a member of Rocham- 

 beau's "family" — that is, had been ap- 

 pointed one of his aides — as soon as his 

 new duties left him some leisure, began, 

 with his methodical mind, to study, he 

 tells us, "the Constitution of the thirteen 

 States and of the Congress of America," 

 meaning, of course, at that date, their 

 several constitutions, which organization, 

 "as time has shown, is well adapted to 

 the national character and has made the 

 happiness of that people so respectable 

 from every point of view." He began 



