French depiction of the Siege of Yorktown circa , artist unknown. The first attempt to mount a joint American-French military operation, however, ended in failure. The French ships were not able to join in an attack on British-occupied New York City because they could not get across a sandbar that blocked the entrance into the harbor. The next plan called for an assault on British troops at Newport, Rhode Island, with the French providing naval support to an American land force. Unfortunately, a combination of poor communication and a lack of coordination once again led to failure.
These failures were due in part to cultural differences between the new allies. The British were now shifting the main theater of their operations to the southern states, and by December they had captured Savannah, Georgia. Once again the campaign was unsuccessful. The allied army assaulted the strong British fortifications but was repulsed with heavy casualties. As a result of these failures many Americans had become disillusioned about the French alliance, and some even began to suspect French intentions.
Growing ill will toward the French was only counterbalanced by the money and supplies that continued to arrive from France. The year was perhaps the lowest point in the American struggle to win independence. The British were securely dug in at New York, had taken Charleston, South Carolina, in May after a brief siege, and were on the verge of overrunning the Carolinas. The only encouraging development was the arrival of another French expeditionary force under the command of the Comte de Rochambeau in July.
After conferring with General Washington in the spring of , Rochambeau and his four regiments marched overland to join up with the Continental Army near White Plains, New York. His small fleet, which had on board state-of-the-art siege artillery, remained in Rhode Island. The situation changed dramatically, however, on August 14, , when Rochambeau learned that Admiral de Grasse and a large French fleet, as well as some additional French infantry, would soon arrive in the vicinity of the Chesapeake Bay.
De Grasse was prepared to support a military campaign in the area but was not willing to go as far north as New York, and he warned that he had to return to the West Indies by mid-October. Twenty-three people died in the crash, including eight players from the Manchester United soccer team, which had just qualified for the semifinals of the European Cup. The Manchester United team A judge reinstates the suspended sentence of school teacher Mary Kay Letourneau and sends her back to prison for seven years after she is caught violating a no-contact order with her former student Vili Fualaau, when she is found in a vehicle with the boy.
Letourneau first met Pegram graduated from West Point in , and served in various posts in the West before resigning his commission at the start of the Just three days after U.
Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Roaring Twenties. Throughout , Vergennes delayed as he conducted negotiations with the Spanish Government, which was wary of U.
Vergennes finally decided in favor of an alliance when news of the British surrender at the Battle of Saratoga reached him in December Vergennes, having heard rumors of secret British peace offers to Franklin, decided not to wait for Spanish support and offered the United States an official French alliance.
The Treaty of Alliance contained the provisions the U. Spain officially entered the war on June 21, Between and the French provided supplies, arms and ammunition, uniforms, and, most importantly, troops and naval support to the beleaguered Continental Army.
French assistance was crucial in securing the British surrender at Yorktown in With the consent of Vergennes, U. Franklin informed Vergennes of the agreement and also asked for an additional loan.
0コメント