OUR FIRST ALLIANCE 



539 



like the Viscount de Xoailles, perform- 

 ing on foot the whole distance of 756 

 miles between Newport and Yorktown. 

 Cases of sickness were rare. 



On the 6th of July the junction of the 

 two armies took place at Phillipsburg, 

 "three leagues," Rochambeau writes, 

 ''from Kingsbridge, the first post of the 

 enemy in the island of New York," the 

 American army having followed the left 

 bank of the Hudson in order to reach the 

 place of meeting. 



On the receipt of the news Lord Ger- 

 main, the British colonial secretary, wrote 

 to Clinton, who commanded in chief at 

 New York: "The junction of the French 

 troops with the Americans will, I am per- 

 suaded, soon produce disagreements and 

 discontents, and Mr. Washington will 

 find it necessary to separate them very 

 speedily, either by detaching the Amer- 

 icans to the southward or suffering the 

 French to return to Rhode Island. . . . 

 But I trust before that can happen Lord 

 Cornwallis will have given the loyal in- 

 habitants on both sides of the Chesapeake 

 the opportunity they have so long ago 

 earnestly desired, of avowing their prin- 

 ciples and standing forth in support of 

 the King's measures." 



Similar proofs of my lord's acumen 

 abound in his partly unpublished corre- 

 spondence. He goes on rejoicing and de- 

 ducting all the happy consequences which 

 were sure to result from the meeting of 

 the French and American troops, so 

 blandly elated at the prospect as to re- 

 mind any one familiar with La Fontaine's 

 fables, of Perrette and her milk-pot. 



Washington, in the meantime, was re- 

 viewing the French troops (July 9) and 

 Rochambeau the American ones, and — a 

 fact which would have greatly surprised 

 Lord Germain — the worse equipped the 

 latter were, the greater the sympathy and 

 admiration among the French for their 

 endurance. 



THE PATIENT CONTINENTAL SOLDIERS 



"Those brave people," wrote Closen, 

 "it really pained us to see, almost naked, 

 with mere linen vests and trousers, most 

 of them without stockings; but, would 

 you believe it? looking very healthy and 

 in the best of spirits." And further on: 



"I am full of admiration for the Amer- 

 ican troops. It is unbelievable that troops 

 composed of men of all ages, even of 

 children of fifteen, of blacks and whites, 

 all nearly naked, without money, poorly 

 fed, should walk so well and stand the 

 enemy's fire with such firmness. The 

 calmness of mind and the clever combi- 

 nations of General Washington, in whom 

 I discover every day new eminent quali- 

 ties, are already enough known, and the 

 whole universe respects and admires him. 

 Certain it is that he is admirable at the 

 head of his army, every member of which 

 considers him as his friend and father." 



These sentiments, which were unani- 

 mous in the French army, assuredly did 

 not betoken the clash counted upon by 

 the English colonial secretary, and more 

 than one of our officers who had a few 

 years later to take part in another revo- 

 lution must have been reminded of the 

 Continental soldiers of '81 as they led to 

 battle, fighting for a similar cause, our 

 volunteers of '92. 



FRANCE FOUGHT FOR AN IDEA 



No real hatred, any more than before, 

 appeared among the French troops for 

 those enemies whom they were now near- 

 ing, and with whom they had already had 

 some sanguinary skirmishes. During the 

 intervals between military operations re- 

 lations were courteous and at times ami- 

 cable. The English gave to the French 

 news of Europe, even when the news was 

 good for the latter, and passed to them 

 newspapers. "We learned that news" 

 (Necker's resignation), writes Blanch- 

 ard, "through the English, who often 

 sent trumpeters and passed gazettes to 

 us. We learned from the same papers 

 that Mr. de La Motte-Picquet had cap- 

 tured a rich convoy. 



"These exchanges between the English 

 and us did not please the Americans, nor 

 even General Washington, who were un- 

 accustomed to this kind of warfare." 

 The fight was really for an idea, but, 

 what might have dispelled any misgiv- 

 ings, with no possibility of a change of 

 idea. 



Two unknown factors now were for 

 the generals the cause of deep concern. 

 What would de Grasse do ? What would 



