The Revolution.
Posted on 09/05/2018 5:40:02 AM PDT by Bull Snipe
A French fleet of 24 ships under the command of Rear Admiral Francois Paul, (aka Comte de Grasse) defeats the British fleet of 19 ships commanded by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves off the entrance to Chesapeake Bay, Virginia. The French damaged 6 British ships and inflicted 336 casualties. They suffered 2 damaged ships and 220 casualties. Admiral Graves returned his fleet to New York and the Comte De Grasse fleet blocked the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. Wile not a big battle in Naval History, the action had a huge strategic importance for the American Revolution. With the British fleet defeated and withdrawn, there would be no assistance to Lord Cornwallis's army besieged at Yorktown, VA, by Colonial and French forces. In fact it sealed the fate of Lord Cornwallis's army. Ultimately they would surrender to the Colonial forces.
This naval action definitely shortened the war as it took Cornwallis and his army off of the table. If he had been reinforced or evacuated, the Revolutionary War might have gone on with that army being reinforced with new leaders.
and maybe another army or two to boot.
And the world turn’d upside down...
Pretty amazing.
This single naval battle really led in short order to American victory in the war.
I used to haunt old bookstores for used American Revolution books. One of my favorites I discovered 25 years ago is “Decision at the Chesapeake,” 1964, by by Harold Atkins Larrabee. There is a used hardcover copy on Amazon for $8.97. I thought it was excellent and it was the first time I understood how crucial this battle was.
Thanks
The Battle of the Virginia Capes: one of the most crucial victories in American history, thanks to our French allies!!! Admiral DeGrasse administered the coup de........oh, you know.......to the British.
There is a statue of de Grasse at the waterfront in Yorktown.
It may be the last time the French did something good for the United States. But it was a big one.
The Revolution.
——thanks to our French allies!!!-—
The French lacked the resources to come to the aid of the Americans. They came at their fiscal peril. The ultimate result of the debt was the French revolution and the deaths of the nobles and the king that came
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