Admiral d'Estaing Sets Sail

On 13 April 1778, Vice-Admiral d'Estaing's squadron left Toulon for the American coast, the first French naval force sent to aid the Insurgents

On 13 April 1778, the squadron of Vice-Admiral Charles-Henri, comte d’Estaing, set sail from Toulon bound for the American coast. It was the first French naval force sent across the Atlantic to support the operations of the Insurgents, who lacked a navy of their own.

  • Date: 13 April 1778
  • Location: Toulon
  • Commander: Vice-Admiral Charles-Henri, comte d’Estaing
  • Forces: 12 ships of the line, 5 frigates, 10,542 men

The terms of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between France and the United States, signed on 8 February 1778, provided among other things for the dispatch of a French naval force to the American coast capable of supporting the Insurgents’ operations. It was thus decided to detach across the Atlantic a squadron fitted out at Toulon and placed under the command of Vice-Admiral d’Estaing.

The port of Toulon then harboured 17 ships of the line. Lieutenant General of Naval Forces de La Ferté-Saint-Aignan, who commanded the Navy there, received on 22 January 1778 the order to arm 10 of them (a number later raised to 12), together with 5 frigates. Antoine de Sartine, Secretary of State for the Navy, having demanded the utmost speed, the port hastened to clean the hulls, complete the stores (cordage, sails, tar, munitions, etc.), embark six months’ provisions and four months’ water, and assemble the crews. The fitting-out was nearing completion when Vice-Admiral d’Estaing arrived on 27 March.

Composition of the Squadron

D’Estaing formed his staff with port lieutenant Jean-Charles de Borda, appointed “major d’escadre.” Although not every detail of the fitting-out had been settled, he decided to sail as soon as possible, and on 13 April, at the first favourable breeze, the squadron put to sea. It comprised 12 ships of the line (the Languedoc, 90 guns; Le Tonnant, 80 guns; the César, Le Zélé, l’Hector, le Guerrier, le Marseillais, le Protecteur, 74 guns; Le Vaillant, la Provence, Le Fantasque, 64 guns; and le Sagittaire, 50 guns) and 5 frigates (la Chimère, L’Engageante, la Flore, L’Aimable and l’Alcmène). This naval force carried 10,542 men, including a small landing corps of about a thousand soldiers drawn from the Hainaut and Foix regiments, and two general officers attached to the commander-in-chief: chefs d’escadre Pierre-Claude Hocdenau de Breugnon (aboard Le Tonnant) and Jean-Joseph de Rafélis de Broves (aboard the César). Furthermore, as soon as the Languedoc cleared the roadstead, the frigate la Chimère discreetly transferred to her Conrad-Alexandre Gérard, appointed Minister of France to the United States government, and Silas Deane, a member of Congress, both embarked under assumed names.

The Crossing

Although a swift crossing had originally been planned, d’Estaing’s squadron set records for slowness. Owing to the uneven speed of the ships (not all being copper-sheathed), questionable decisions taken by the Vice-Admiral during a violent mistral that caused numerous damages, and the many manoeuvring exercises he ordered to improve his captains’ training, it took 33 days at sea to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar on the night of 16–17 May. An English frigate observing from a distance confirmed after a few days that the Vice-Admiral did not intend to join the Brest fleet to attack the British Channel fleet, thus enabling the latter to detach a squadron of 13 ships towards the West Indies under Rear-Admiral John Byron.

For d’Estaing’s squadron, the Atlantic crossing was no faster. A further 52 days elapsed before the French squadron finally appeared off the entrance to the Delaware on 7 July 1778, intending to blockade Major-General Henry Clinton’s army in Philadelphia and attack Vice-Admiral Richard Howe’s small covering force. Too late! The British army and squadron had had ample time to abandon their vulnerable positions and fall back on New York, a far more difficult target to attack.

Philippe Henrat, member of the SAR History Committee

References