Brief History of the French Campaign

With great fanfare, France signed a Treaty of Amity in January 1778, openly committing itself to support of America's war for independence. Coming at a time when Washington was struggling to hold the army together, the guns, ammunition, and uniforms, along with an infusion of money, sent by the French, kept the American rebellion alive. But even with that aid, Washington was unable to bring the war to a decisive victory without additional help. "A corps of the gallant French would be very advantageous to the common cause," he told Lafayette in September 1779.  

King Louis XVI soon approved a plan to send an expeditionary force sufficiently large to affect the outcome of the war. Comte de Rochambeau was given the task and he set sail in May 1780 with an army of 5,000. But, a full year after the French landed at Newport, the hoped-for decisive action had not yet taken place. Washington was still searching for a way to use the combined forces drive the British out of their New York stronghold. But without naval support, confronting the British in New York City, along with their powerful fleet, was too formidable a task.  

In June and July 1781, after spending the year in Newport, Rochambeau marched through Rhode Island and Connecticut to join Washington’s Army just north of New York City. Then in August, word came from Admiral de Grasse that a French fleet, which had been active in the West Indies, was on its way north - but not to New York. He proposed a rendezvous with the allied forces on the Chesapeake where they might intercept Cornwallis, commander of Britain's Southern campaign.

Abandoning the idea of attacking the British force in New York City, who under the command of General Sir Henry Clinton, Washington and Rochambeau embraced the southern campaign strategy - to attack British Lord Cornwallis in Virginia. In August and September, Washington and Rochambeau’s armies marched south through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, reaching Williamsburg in late September. 

Time was short, the distance great, and surprise essential. To maximize its advantage, Rochambeau's army set out from Suffern, New York, on August 25th, on a carefully planned route down the Ramapo Valley via Pompton Plains, Whippany, to Liberty Comer; and then via the Millstone Valley to Princeton, Trenton, and across the Delaware to arrive in Philadelphia September 3rd. Washington, meanwhile, deployed the American forces along a variety of eastern routes, feinting the possibility of an attack on Staten Island, before turning inland to Trenton and Philadelphia. 

The ruse worked. Cornwallis was cut off from escape or reinforcement, either by land or sea, at Yorktown. Together, the American and French forces laid siege to the British-fortified town. The siege guns had been delivered by De Barres on French ships from Rhode Island. The French fleet under the command of de Grasse blocked the Chesapeake Bay from British reinforcement, as well as from possible escape. On October 19, 1781, three weeks after the siege began, General Cornwallis surrendered to the allies.

Shortly after the surrender, Washington and the Continentals returned to defend the northern colonies. Rochambeau and his army wintered in Williamsburg and then marched back north in the summer of 1782. Small contingents of French troops remained in southern ports and returned to France the following year. The main body of Rochambeau’s army sailed from Boston on Christmas Eve, 1782.

In all, nine states formed the route of the march, providing ports, roads, campsites, officers’ lodging, and provisions along the way. The states were Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia. 

Historical Prospective

By 1780, the Revolutionary War had been grinding on for five long years. Neither the British Army with their loyalist supporters, nor the Continental Army in conjunction with local militias, were strong enough to press for a final victory. Suffering was widespread on all sides as the conflict degenerated into a vacillating stalemate. 

Washington’s northern army spent the winter at Jockey Hollow near Morristown. It was one of the worst winters on record. Extreme cold and heavy snow had made life miserable for the Continental troops; and shortages of food, clothing, and pay had brought the ranks to the point of rebellion.

In the spring of 1780, the northern army had dwindled to about 3,500 men. Fortunately, a mutiny by the Connecticut Line brought on by food shortages had been narrowly averted, but new recruits were almost impossible to find. 

In April, Sir Henry Clinton moved half the British army south from their base in New York City. Washington responded by sending part of his remaining forces to reinforce his southern army. Nevertheless, Charleston fell to the British resulting in the greatest loss of American arms and men at any time during the war. 

While the British, with the support of their Navy, were able to take and control major cities, they were unable to destroy Washington's army or break the back of the rebellion. An attempt to penetrate New Jersey and capture Washington's Headquarters at Morristown in June of 1780 ended in defeat when a combined force of Continental and militia forces routed the British at the battles of Connecticut Farms and Springfield.

The spirits of the American forces soared when French General Rochambeau, sailed into Newport in July of 1780 with an army of 5,300 officers and men. However, Rochambeau was initially reluctant to act against the British without the support of French Navy, which was being held in the Caribbean to protect French interests.

Following the defeat in New Jersey, the British turned their attention to the South with the intent of isolating the southern colonies from the North. In August of 1780, the Continental Army was badly mauled at Camden S.C. Faced with a strong British advance, the Americans continued to retreat until a brave stand in January 1781 at Cowpens, S.C., resulted in one of the most important victories of the war. Although Cornwallis attempted to press his campaign with a weakened force, he was ordered to retreat to Yorktown and wait for reinforcements. Instead of reinforcements, he was sent the full force of the allied army.