confidence, the sums necessary for the purchase he is ordered to make. These expenses, joined to those occasioned by sending a fleet and army to this continent, far exceed what Congress had a right to expect from the friendship of their ally, and the Chevalier de la Luzerne is persuaded, that from this moment Congress will abstain from that ruinous measure of drawing bills of exchange without the previous knowledge and consent of his Majesty's Ministers. And as their attention is employed in what may be most for the convenience of the United States, they propose that Congress should furnish the fleet and army of his Majesty, which are in this country, with the necessary provisions, and receive in payment bills on the treasury of France, which will be punctually discharged. As to the manner in which this arrangement may be made, the Minister will have the honor of entering into a minute discussion with a committee, which he begs Congress would be pleased to appoint to confer with him on the subject.* TO GEORGE WASHINGTON. Translation. LUZERNE. Sir, Philadelphia, March 27th, 1781. I have the honor to send to your Excellency an open packet for the Count de Rochambeau. You will there find the copy of a letter to me from M. Destouches. I lament the ill success of an expedition, *The above was referred to a committee of six, namely, Mr Jones, Mr S. Adams, Mr Burke, Mr M'Kean, Mr Madison, and Mr Hanson which, if it had succeeded, would have been doubly agreeable to us by its utility to our allies, and by the honor it would have reflected upon the arms of the King. As to the rest, it appears that our commanders have fulfilled this latter point, and all the world is satisfied, that, having a superior force to contend against, the manner of the contest has been highly honorable to them. I wait for happier events, Sir, from the campaign, which is now about to open, and I doubt not the Count de Rochambeau has given you in detail the news, which he has received from France. I have the honor to be, &c. LUZERNE. GEORGE WASHINGTON TO M. DE LA LUZERNE. Head Quarters, New Windsor, March 31st, 1781. Sir, I was last evening honored with your Excellency's favor of the 27th, covering an open letter for the Count de Rochambeau, by which you have been so good as to make me the earliest communication of the action on the 16th, between the French and British fleets off the Capes of the Chesapeake. By the enclosed you will be informed of the return of the former into the harbor of Newport. I must confess to your Excellency, that I was never sanguine as to the success of that expedition, after the sailing of the two fleets so nearly together, knowing it would turn in great measure upon the arrival of M. Destouches in the Chesapeake before Mr Arbuthnot; a circumstance of the utmost uncertainty, not depend ing upon the skill or valor of the commanding officer, but upon winds and weather. And I assure you I more sensibly feel the anxiety expressed by the Baron Viomenil and the Chevalier Destouches, lest anything should be attributed to the want of execution on their parts, than I do the disappointment in the plan, which we had in contemplation. But certain I am, that instead of sentiments of so ungenerous a nature, there will be a universal admiration of the good conduct and bravery exhibited by the officers and men of his Most Christian Majesty's squadron, when opposed to one of superior force. I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect and warmest personal attachment, &c. GEORGE WASHINGTON. Sir, TO GEORGE WASHINGTON. Translation. Philadelphia, May 7th, 1781. I have the honor to send you the copy of a letter, which I write to the Chevalier Destouches. I pray you to be persuaded, that I do not take upon me to propose an expedition to that commander, except at the pressing entreaties of the invaded States. But if it should be found at variance with the plans of the campaign, which you have formed, I beg you to withdraw my letter to M. Destouches, and the packet addressed to the Count de Rochambeau, from the express, who will deliver this to you, and to send them back to me by the first safe opportunity. I am, with respectful attachment, &c. LUZERNE. 1 Sir, TO M. DESTOUCHES. Translation. Philadelphia, May 7th, 1781. The accounts from Virginia and the other southern States leave no doubt but the English are resolved to attack them in very superior forces. They are already in a condition to command them by the advantage, which they have of transporting themselves by the sea and by all the rivers, as it suits them. Virginia, one of the most powerful States in the Union, finds herself by these means reduced to a state of inaction, and as the Bay of Chesapeake is entirely in the possession of the enemy, it is to be feared that Maryland will find herself shortly in the same condition and in the same danger. It is manifest, that the plan of the English is to harass and desolate them without intermission, to inspire part of the inhabitants with a desire of seeing an end of the quarrel, and when they think their weariness and their calamities are at the height, to make them propositions advantageous enough to withdraw them from the Confederation. Although these States are firmly attached to their independence, it has in the meantime become very important to make them participate as much as it is possible in the assistance, which his Majesty has granted to his allies, and I can assure you, Sir, that you cannot in present circumstances render them a greater service, than by entering the Bay of Chesapeake, and endeavoring to establish yourself there. Many other political considerations, into the details. of which I shall not enter, press that measure, and if it be possible for you to carry it into execution, I have. reason to believe that you will entirely disconcert the enemy's plans against Virginia and Maryland, and when you shall have given to those two States the liberty of exerting themselves, you will contribute very much at the same time to the relief of the more southern, by the assistance which they will be capable of affording. Your position in the Bay of Chesapeake will restrain also their communication between New York and Charleston, and perhaps prevent other events, which may be yet more grievous to the invaded States. In giving, Sir, my opinion upon the utility of the movement, I avow to you that I am totally incapable of forming one as to the possibility of carrying it into execution. I have had the honor of transmitting to you from time to time the details and plans, which can enable you to form a judgment. M. de Tilly having been better situated during his stay in Hampton Roads to make the necessary observations, you can decide by them. I pray you also to regard my entreaties, although pressing as the circumstances render them, as entirely subordinate to the instructions, which you may have received from the Court. I do not propose to you to change your position, only upon a supposition that you have no orders to the contrary, and that you have received no other destination. As to the measures you are in this case to expect from the States, which you will go to assist, I beg you to assure yourself, Sir, that they will spare nothing to satisfy you, and if an assemblage of land forces is |