History of France in the American Revolution 

This page: France in America before 1765 | 1766 to 1783 | Print Resources Other Pages: W3R History | Allied Battles |

Latest Changes: 07Nov08 - add some to timeline, split off Hortalez, add notes on Adams and Lee / 08Mar15 - note DuPortail was sent by France / 08Dec02 - quote from Van Tyne /

The U.S. had only one-third the population of Great Britain,
had little money, and had no arms industry in 1775.
Without aid from other nations a fight for U.S. independence was doomed.
The U.S. sought aid from France, three times as large as Great Britain.
France immediately gave us arms and trained and experienced senior officers;
later aided us with dozens of ships, thousands of troops and millions of livres (dollars).
France was the only nation to recognize the independence of the U.S.
before the treaty which ended the war in 1783.

French Involvement in North America up to 1765  1755-1763 The French and Indian War started in southwestern Pennsylvania in 1755. For the next eight years France, Great Britain and Native Americans battled for control of one of the most important pieces of real estate in North America at that time. This point of land, then called the Forks of the Ohio, is now the City of Pittsburgh. In the 1700’s, the French, British and Native Americans each knew the value of this land where three rivers merged, for whoever controlled this point of land and these waterways also controlled access to the frontier beyond. Through this war -- known as the Seven Years' War in Europe -- French land claims in North America were transferred to Great Britain and Spain, changing the course of our world forever. Great Britain's treasury had been depleted by the cost of the Seven Years' War, and Parliament imposed new taxes on the American colonists to help replenish the treasury, justifying them by saying that since the colonists had benefitted from the removal of an enemy along their borders they should bear much of the cost. This started a series of escalating counter-actions that eventually ignited the American Revolution. Illustrated History and a Virtual Tour of the French and Indian War in America [Station WQED -- Pittsburgh PA]. France in America is a joint U.S.-France presentation on the role of France in North America up to about 1850. This includes a set of recommended books, a timeline, and many maps. Si vous parlez Française, cliquez sur La France en Amérique -- textes imprimés, manuscrits, cartes, estampes, etc. - sélectionnés dans les collections des deux bibliothèques partenaires History of French involvement with North America [Branche Française of the Society of the Cincinnati] Bourbon France - Ally and Antagonist [Artifacts.com] traces the history of conflict and cooperation between France and Spain in North America from 1564 to 1781. Les Français d’Amérique / French In America [Alliance Franco-Américaine du Midwest (AFAM)] is a bilingual site presenting the images and text of calendars produced by Marie-Reine Mikesell from 1985 to 2002. Sample the site's links and enjoy the diversity of material and events presented there.

French Involvement in the American Revolution 1766-1783  The France Society SAR provides extensive information about the contributions of France to U.S. victory in the American Revolution: . . . Contributions of France (in English) . . . Guerre d'Amérique: Sommaire (in French) Ethnic Heritage - The French [The SAR Magazine for Fall 2001], by A. Mims Wilkinson, Jr. (Georgia Society SAR) France in the Revolution, by James Breck Perkins [americanrevolution.org]

Political Involvement from 1766 to1783  For military engagements involving French forces see allied battles. Many items in the timeline shown above are noted in Timeline of French involvement in the American Revolution 1775-1783 [Expédition Particuliére Society] 1768 Jan to Apr: French Capt. Johan Kalb visited the U.S. in civilian attire to make a secret assessment of the American colonists' feelings toward Great Britiain. Kalb later became an American General and died in the battle of Camden SC in 1781. 1775 May: One of the first acts of the Continental Congress was to form a Committee for Secret Correspondence to plan and direct negotiations with foreign governments. The committee members were John Dickinson, Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Harrison, John Hay, and Robert Morris. 1775 Dec: A French diplomat, the Chevalier Julien Alexander Acard de Bonvouloir, was sent to Philadelphia see if the Americans might be actively considering independence after the battles at Lexington and Concord, Ticonderoga, and Bunker Hill. Bonvouloir contacted Francis Daymon -- a librarian at the free library in Carpenters Hall, whom he had met on an earlier trip to America -- and through him asked Benjamin Franklin (the founder of the free library) to set up a meeting to discuss the evolving situation. Franklin brought John Jay to the meeting (held in Carpenters Hall) at which Daymon acted as interpreter. Bonvouloir was not fluent in English, and Franklin and Jay were not fluent in French. This and other channels of communication soon led France to donate large quantities of military stores to the United States through various unofficial paths. [Ref. Blueprint for a Revolution, by Charles and Nancy Cook (Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia PA, 1996)] 1776 April: Silas Deane (one of Connecticut's delegates to the Continental Congress) went to Paris as U.S. Commssioner. He was on a secret mission to meet with French Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, the Comte de Vergennes. The Committee for Secret Correspondence had instructed him to stress that the colonies were moving toward "total separation" from Great Britain and would then need large amounts of arms and ammunition. Deane was promised unofficial assistance: military supplies and recommendations of experienced officers (military engineers and infantry commanders) who would offer their service as officers in the Continental Army. 1776 June: A somewhat clandestine method for securing and delivering military supplies to the rebel forces in America was conceived and implemented. During the disastrous campaign in New York and New Jersey in the last half of 1776 many of the state regiments had returned home with the muskets that the Congress had bought for them. In many cases enlistments ran out at the end of the 1776, and a soldier would retire and simply take the musket home rather than re-enlist. There were now inadequate guns available for new recruits 1776 Oct: French aid begins to flow toward the U.S. By October, Deane was able to send clothing for twenty thousand men, muskets for thirty thousand, gunpowder, cannon, shot, and shell in large quantities. French aid to America was, perhaps, never more effective than during the two years [1776-78] when she was ostensibly at peace with England. All the necessities of war, even to the gold to pay the soldiers, were sent to America through the agency of a new mercantile house with the fictitious name of Roderigue Hortalez et Cie. from p 213 of The American Revolution, 1776-1783, by Claude Halstead Van Tyne (Harper & brothers, 1905) -- available as page images and text at books.google.com : See also Conception and History of Roderigue Hortalez et Cie The French would send arms and ammunition to the Dutch-controlled island of St. Eustacius in the West Indies. The U.S. could pretend to buy them there, and U.S. vessels would then transport them to the U.S. Unfortunately one of Dean's colleagues was a British spy, so Great Britain was fully aware of the scheme, even learning many of the ports and sailing dates for the transports, which they then captured. 1776 Dec: Benjamin Franklin arrived in France to lead the diplomatic efforts there. Arthur Lee arrived soon thereafter and was asked to see if he could secure aid from Spain. He arrived there in 1777 Feb and arranged through intermediaries for substantial aid, but he was not allowed to travel to the capitol city of Madrid. 1777 Feb: French engineering officer du Portail arrived in the United States. The French government had secretly (a year before the treaty recognizing the United States as an independent nation) sent him with three other officers to provide experienced military engineers for the Continental Army. 1777 March: One shipment of French military supplies purchased by the U.S. arrived at Portsmouth NH. It consisted of 1,000 barrels of powder, 12,000 fusils [light flintlock muskets] -- 5,000 for the Council of MA, 3,000 for Connecticut, and 2,000 for NH --, blankets, and other military items 1777 March: A second shipment of French military supplies purchased by the U.S. arrived at Philadelphia PA. It consisted of 6,000 fusils for the new Continental Army and 5,000 fusels for state use. Now every soldier the Continental Army could have a modern firearm and bayonet -- crucial for battles with the British Army. 1777 May: Arthur Lee traveled to Berlin (in the Germanic state of Brandenburg) to seek aid, but was unsuccessful. 1777 Sep: By this time Hortalez et Cie had already shipped 5 million livres worth of cargo to America. In this month Arthur Lee returned to Paris, where he remained until 1779 Sept, when he was recalled to the U.S. 1777 Oct: The American victory at the Battle of Saratoga convinced the French that the U.S. could field forces that (with the aid of French armaments) could defeat significant British forces. The French would now publicly support the United States through a formal alliance that would help the U.S. cause by diverting a significant portion of Great Britain's military effort toward strengthening its homeland defense force against a possible attack by France. 1778 Feb 06: France and the U.S. signed a Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a secret Treaty of [Military] Alliance These provided the first diplomatic recognition of the United States by another nation and made it France's explicit policy to provide military support for the United States's struggle for independence. 1778 Apr: John Adams (of MA) arrived in Paris to serve as a commissioner with Deane and Franklin. He remained in Paris for 17 months. 1778 May 04: The French-U.S. treaties of alliance were ratified by the U.S. Congress. Discussion of the context and consequences of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, by Dr. Robert Selig, contains many interesting insights on how war can ensnare a nation in alliances that were never anticipated or agreed to. 1778 Apr: A French fleet under D'Estaing was sent to the U.S. almost immediately after the Military Treaty was signed. About 2,000 soldiers and 7,500 sailors under Admiral d'Estaing came to help the Americans dislodge British forces from U.S. cities. The threat that the French might cut his sea supply route led British Gen. Howe to evacuate his army from Philadelphia. However, D'Estaing's efforts to attack New York City, Newport RI, and -- after wintering over in the Caribbean -- Savannah GA failed, and his fleet returned to France in 1779 Dec. See Allied battles for French and Spanish activities around the globe outside the U.S. theater of war. 1779 Aug: John Adams returned to the U.S. with the first French Ambassador to the U.S., Conrad Alexandre Gérard. Two months later Adams was sent back to Europe (in Nov) to negotiate for peace with Great Britain, but this mission was vetoed by the French Foreign minister. 1780 May Gen. Rochambeau's Expeditionary Force with significant naval strength was sent to the U.S. to continue the direct military assistance that had begun in 1778. The ground forces consisted of about 4,500 soldiers and 1,000 support personnel 1780 July: John Adams moved to Holland to seek loans for the U.S. This took nearly two years -- see 1782 Apr. 1781 June to October -- After spending nearly a year in Newport Rochambeau's troops marched west to join Washington's Continental Army north of New York City. Together they marched to Yorktown VA while a French fleet with 24 ships-of-the-line under Admiral de Grasse and 3,000 more soldiers came north from the Caribbean, and another French fleet with nine ships-of-the-line under Admiral Barrass transported modern French siege guns from Newport RI to Yorktown. Roughly one-quarter of the entire French Navy was present at Yorktown. After de Grasse's fleet (about a quarter of the entire French fleet) fought off a British rescue fleet (about one-fifth of the total British fleet) under Adm. Graves the allied forces besieged British Gen. Cornwallis' garrison at Yorktown. The British surrendered on 1781 Oct 19. Adm. de Grasse returned to the Carribean, while Rochambeau's troops remained in Virginia over the winter. More on the French Expeditionary Force and Its March More on the Naval Battle of the Capes More on the Siege and Victory at Yorktown 1782 Apr 19: John Adams secured from Holland diplomatic recognition for the U.S., then a loan and a Treaty of Amity and Commerce (Oct.), after which he joined four other U.S. peace commissioners in Paris to conclude the negotiations with Great Britain. 1782 June-Dec -- Rochambeau's force marched north and most troops departed from Boston MA on 1782 Dec 24, bound for additional batttles in the Caribbean. Lauzun's Legion was stationed in Wilmington, Delaware, until 1783 May, when it departed for France. 1783 Jan 20: Preliminary Articles of Peace were signed in Paris by Great Britain, France, and Spain. Hostilities were officially ended, but it took many months for the news to reach the front lines worldwide. 1783 Sep 3: The 1783 Treaty of Paris [Yale Law School Avalon Project] -- usually referred to in the singular, but actually three separate peace treaties with Great Britain -- was signed in Paris, ending the war between the United States, Great Britain, and France. In addition to granting independence to the rebelling colonies (whose territory was bounded in 1776 by a line down the ridgeline of the Appalachian Mountains) Great Britain ceded to the United States control of all the land from that line to the Mississippi River -- land that king George III's Proclamation of 1763 had reserved for the use of several Amerindian nations, barring European colonists from making settlements here.

Print Resources  For books on French aid during the American Revolution see the bibliography entries for Dull, Dupuy, Idzerda, Perkins, Scott, Stone, and Villanueva Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, by Mark Boatner, has brief summaries of many of the key events involving France. The extent and importance of French assistance in the American Revolution is shown in the Expédition Particuliére Society's list of reference books EDITOR'S NOTE: In preparing this listing my personal understanding of the history of the W3R has benefitted greatly from considerable private correspondence and discussions since 1999 with Dr. Robert Selig, Jacques de Trentinian (FRSSAR), and Albert D. McJoynt (EPCCS) -- Ralph Nelson