USA > Rhode Island > Newport County > History of Newport County, Rhode Island. From the year 1638 to the year 1887, including the settlement of its towns, and their subsequent progress > Part 39
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99
On the appearance of the fleet in the offing General Heath was at once notified. The next morning a despatch was sent to Washington, who was then in the Jersies, and Heath came down the bay. The day being calm, the packet did not reach the wharf till midnight. Rochambean was that night on shore. In the morning General Heath waited upon him, and after breakfast visited the Admiral de Ternay on board his flag ship. the " Duc de Bourgogne." At ten o'clock the admiral saluted the town with thirteen guns, which were returned with a like number. On the evening of the 12th the town was illuminated and thirteen grand rockets were fired from the parade ground in front of the state house. A contemporary letter says of this occasion that "the brilliant appearance of the numerous gen- tlemen, officers of the fleet and army of our illustrious ally, who were on shore, with that of the ladies and gentlemen of the town, and the joy which every friend to liberty expressed on the happy occasion, afforded a pleasing prospect of the fnture felicity and grandenr of this country in alliance with the most polite, powerful and generons nation in the world."
The equipment, uniform and accontrements of the French were worthy of the most martial race of Enrope. The infantry wore long waistcoats and coats of white cloth ; the uniform of the officers differed from that of the men in the color of the cloth. The regiments were distinguished by the colors of the trimming. Thus part of the Bourbonnais wore crimson lappels with pink collars and white buttons, the Fores, which had been consolidated with it, but kept their own distinctive uniform, crimson lappels with green collar and white buttons ; the Sois- sonnais red lappels, sky blue collars and yellow buttons ; Sain- tonge sky blue collars and yellow buttons : Royal Deux Ponts blue uniform and collars and lemon color for the lappels. The buttons were marked with the numbers of the regiment. The non-commissioned officers and soldiers wore a panache of white plumes ; the grenadiers red plumes ; the chasseurs white and green. The artillery wore iron gray coats with lappels of red
1
398
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
velvet. The perfection of arms of precision had not in the last century destroyed the picturesqueness of armies. War was still a glorious pageant.
For several days there was an exchange of entertainments by the commanders. Meanwhile the French army was busy. The troops on their disembarkation were encamped across the island to the northward and covering the town, their left resting on the sea, their right on the ships at anchor, which lay under protection of the batteries which de Rochambean erected in the commanding positions, flanked with earth works. These were manned with great and small artillery, brass cannon of from four to forty-eight pounds calibre, beautiful pieces of ordnance garlanded, and bearing babtismal names, which were the delight of the American artillerists and the wonder of all who saw them.
In twelve days the port was in a state of reasonable defense, and it was well that there was no delay. Before the works were quite finished the arrival of Admiral Graves at Sandy Hook on the 13th was known. On the 21st the united squadrons of Graves and Arbuthnot appeared off the harbor. Eleven vessels, one of ninety, six of seventy-four; a total weight of metal of seven hundred and seventy-six guns, a force in number equal, and in armament fully a quarter superior to the French. And the next day the squadron was increased to nineteen vessels, of which eight or nine were line of battle ships. The French held their station, stretching from Rose island to Goat island har- bors. The English squadron hung cruising on the coast, afraid to run the fire of the French, and awaiting the arrival of the land force which Clinton was preparing at New York.
While awaiting the signal for active service, the French offi- cers were rapidly winning the affection of the Americans. Their courtly polish was in striking contrast with the overbearing ar- rogance which was the rule of British officers, and the coarse brutality of the Hessians, with all of which Newport was fa- miliar. " The French officers of every rank," says a letter of that period, "have rendered themselves agreeable by that po- liteness which characterizes the French nation"; and adds, "the officers and soldiers wear cockades of three colors, emblematic of a triple alliance between France, Spain and America." This seems to have been the first use of a tri-color. It was Lafayette, it will be remembered who, in 1784, adding the king's color to
399
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
the colors of Paris, made the tri-color the national banner of France, and predicted that it would make the tour of the world.
Newport was by no means an unattractive residence at this time, as the memoirs and letters of the French officers abund- antly show. Trading with all parts of the world which the British navigation laws left open to its commerce, and to some in secret disregard of their restrictions, and the natural port of refuge and supply on the New England coast, it had become, before the middle of the last century, quite a cosmopolitan town. Their British trade was with Bristol, the most liberal of English cities, the Jews had brought in something of Spanish and Portugese splendor, the Huguenots had leavened the mass with the amenity of their race, and the Newporters themselves, by their many voyages, had acquired something of that knowl- edge of the world, the absence of which is termed provincial. In no town in America conld more intelligence, refinement and elegance be found than here. Spanish, the medium of commer- cial correspondence during the entire century, was understood, and French also in the upper class of society, being then held indispensable to a polite education.
The French visitors were reminded of their Normandy coast by the irregularity of the country and the quality of its fruits, the fame of which was European. They were surprised by the wide stone fences and the long line of the villages miles in ex- tent, with scattered houses. Count de Bourg, an aid of Rocham- beau, a careful observer, writes that " Rhode Island must be- l'ore the war have been one of the most agreeable spots in the world, as in spite of the disasters it has been subjected to, its houses destroyed and all its woods cut down, it is still a most charming residence." The land seemed to him very much ent up. Before the French revolution there was but little subdivision of the French soil and the difference attracted his notice. The policy of the English settlers was from the begin- ning a limitation of land to individuals. The original distribu- tion in the Plymouth colony was "an acre to each in propriety besides their homesteads or garden plots." This kept them together for defense. Later, in 1627, "every one in each family was allotted twenty acres to be laid out five acres in breadth by the water side and four acres in length," a mean being kept in distribution; and in Rhode Island, though the
400
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
soil was bought by a few proprietors, there was never an at- tempt to hold large tracts, but on the contrary to promote settlement by sale or hire on moderate terms.
Newport the French officers described as the "only town on the island. with but two principal streets but still a pretty town. Three-fourths of the houses are scattered at a distance and are in themselves small farms." In the construction of the houses the French found little to admire, the summit of architeonre being a building of brick, but they were delighted with the interior comfort. There is still in existence, in the possession of Mr. Henry T. Drowne of Rhode Island the état or chart of the quartermaster-general of the French army with a complete list of the houses occupied by the French during the winter of 1780-1. The Count de Rochambean was quartered in the Vernon house, the residence of William Vernon in New Lane, which still stands, a charming specimen of colonial architec- tre, on the corner of Mary and Clarke streets; the Baron de Vioménil, his maréchal de camp, at the house of Joseph Wan- ton in Thames street: Desandrouins, colonel of engineers, at that of Colonel John Malbone in the same street; the Connt de Fersen with Mr. Robert Stevens in New Lane; de Choisy, briga- dier, with Jacob Rodriguez Riviera in Water street; the Chevalier de Lameth and the Count de Dumas together at Joseph Anthony's in Spring street; the brothers de deux Ponts at George Scott's and Nathaniel Mumford's in Broad street; the Vicomte de Noailles with Thomas Robinson in Water street; the Chevalier de Chastillux with Captain Maudsley in Spring street, and the gay Lauzun at the house of Deborah, the widow of Dr. William Hunter, who lived with her young daughters on the corner of Thames and Mary streets in a house still standing, though higher by a story, well known to the last and present generations as the pharmacy of the Taylors, father and son. The high officers of the fleet had also their residences assigned on shore: Admiral de Ternay at the (Colonel) Wanton house at the Point, convenient to the ship- ping, with a boat house and wharf at the foot of the garden; to-day the most interesting of all the buildings remaining from the last century, and the Chevalier des Touches at William Redmond's in the same street. The provost marshal opened his office at the town prison and the paymaster at the counting house and elegant dwelling of the Jewish merchants Seixas and
401
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
Levy in Ruppert street, which still preserves some remains of its once rich and elaborate interior decoration.
Here in the attractive climate Rochambean anxiously awaited the coming of the force left behind for want of transportation, amounting to twenty-six hundred and forty-five men. Wash- ington was eager for an immediate movement on New York, and Lafayette came on to Newport on the 21st of July to snb- mit the plan, but Rochambeau hesitated. He was expecting daily the second detachment and the admiral also the arrival of five vessels promised by de Guichen from the West India station. To Lafayette's urgent expostulation the self-contained veteran replied that he had an experience of command of forty years and that of fifteen thousand men who had been killed or wounded under his orders he could not reproach himself with the loss of a single person killed on his account. De Ter- nay positively refused to sail for Sandy Hook; considering the draught of water on the bar insufficient for the safe passage of his heavy ships.
On the 25th and 26th of July news came of a projected attack on Rhode Island by Clinton with ten thousand men. All was bustle and activity. General Heath ordered Colonel Greene with his regiment of continentals to take post at Bristol Ferry and on Butts hill to command the northern approaches. Rhode Island and Massachusetts were called on for militia men, the first for fifteen hundred the second eight hundred men. The Rhode Island regiments were those of Colonels Tyler and Perry. Signals were put ont as far as Watch hill. The bat- teries were strengthened, a new one erected on Rose island and redoubts thrown up on Coasters island and all the posts con- nected with the French encampment by avenues across the fields carefully marked out. "Never," says Heath, "did the militia discover more ardor in pressing to the field or more regularity when there." Washington threatened Kingsbridge from the Hudson Highlands. Clinton embarked six thousand men at Throg's neek in transports, then changing his mind crossed the sound to Huntington bay and disembarked at Whitestone on the 31st of July. The attack on Newport was definitely abandoned.
In August the general assembly met at Newport. and on the 21st addressed de Rochambeau and de Ternay. The reply of Rochambeau was a model of wisdom. He authoritatively set
26
402
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
at rest the suspicions aronsed by the tory press that the French would attempt to maintain an independent command, and ex- pressly subordinated himself to the wishes of Washington.
Clinton remaining quiet in New York, and de Guichen making his appearance on the southern coast, Rochambeau at Washing- ton's invitation, visited him and held a conference at Hartford on the 20th of September. Rochambeau took with him his aids, the Counts de Fersen, de Dumas and de Damas. The French general and his young staff were delighted with their journey and their interview with the "hero of liberty." At the end of September Admiral Rodney arrived off Newport. The fortifications had been greatly strengthened, new works thrown up at Brenton's point and on Conanient and Rose islands and armed with thirty-six and twenty-four pounders, the fire of which, crossing with that of the French ships, se- eured the main passages. Rodney reconnoitered the position, and abandoning the idea of attack, returned to New York. In November he sailed for the Antilles, leaving Admiral Arbuth- not with twelve vessels to watch the French fleet.
There had been some entertainment for the Frenchmen dur- ing the " summer season." On the 2d of August nineteen In- dian warriors of the Iroquois paid them a visit with an inter- preter. They were Oneidas, Tuscoraras and some Cagnawagas, from Sault St. Lonis, near Montreal. The deputation had been arranged by General Schuyler, the great " White Sachem" of the Mohawks, to detach the Iroquois from the English. They had maintained friendly relations with the French during the colonial wars. The Canada Indians heard mass on their ar- rival. Rochambeau entertained them at dinner with ceremoni- ous courtesy. Blanchard, the French commissary general. de- scribing the strange scene, says " they behaved themselves well and ate cleanly enough." After dinner they gave an exhibi- tion of their war dances. Heath gave them also what he de- scribes as a " sumptuous treat." On the 24th of August they were invited to witness a grand review of the French army, preceded by alternate discharges from the batteries in and around the town and a feu de joie from the troops. The splendid appearance of the French army made a happy im- pression on all the spectators, including the savages.
On Friday, the 25th, the birthday of his most Christian Majesty, Louis XVI., was celebrated with great pomp. The ships were
403
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
decked with the colors of the different maritime nations and fired a salute, and the transports were also decorated. Never before had the birthday of a Catholic king or a French mon- arch been celebrated in a town of Protestant Englishmen. Verily, the world was moving. And not only in Newport, but in every city not held by the English enemy, the white flag of France was flung to the breeze and the health of his majesty, the great ally of the United States, was drunk in bumpers oft renewed. The admiral also entertained the Indians at dinner on board the "Duc de Burgogne." After a harangue by Rochambeau, and gratified by a variety of presents, among which a number of red French blankets, they departed greatly pleased. The Indians marvelled much at the French drill and discipline, and to find even the apples in the orchards where they camped untouched-a different conduct from that of the outgoing British and Hessians in the preceding autumn, who "stripped all the gardens and orchards of their fruit " to take on shipboard.
On the 2d of October the French ambassador, the Chev - alier de la Luzerne, paid a visit to the camp and on the 6th a mock battle was fought on the island between a detachment of the French army and Colonel Greene's continentals. On the 28th of October La Perouse, later famous as a navigator, took out the frigate "Amazone" through the blockading squadron, part- ly dispersed by a gale of wind, and carried the Vicomte de Rochambean with dispatches to the court asking for the troops withheld and money to pay the army. La Perouse was hotly pursued but got safely through with the loss of his main mast.
Winter was now approaching and it was found impossible to hnt the troops, so complete had been the destruction of the trees on the island. It was arranged with the state authorities that the damaged houses should be repaired at French expense. There were several hundred of them and the cost to the French was twenty thousand livres. In November the corps went into quarters; the Bourbonnais first, the others in their order. The cavalry of Lauzun's legion and the artillery horses were sent to winter at Lebanon, Connecticut, where forage was plenty. The Duke de Lanzun gave a ball in Providence on his passage through on the 9th; de Chastellox followed him on a visit to Washington at the camp on the 12th; the Marquis de Laval, the Baron de Custine and the Count de deux Ponts made a tour to
404
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
the interior: the Vicomte de Noailles and the Count de Damas also visited Washington. Rochambeau occupied himself in looking for quarters for the second division when it should ap- pear and passed through New London, Norwich and Windham in Connectiont, looking in upon Lauzun on his journey.
When Rochambeau returned he found Admiral de Ternay ill of a fever, but as his state was not alarming, pursued his own journey to Boston. In his absence de Ternay died. He was taken on shore from his ship on the 14th and died in the Wanton house, at the point, on the 15th of December. On the 16th, the day being remarkably fine, the admiral was buried in great pomp. Newport had never witnessed such a cortége. The troops were all under arms ; the sailors bore the coffin on their shouldlers to the cemetery in Trinity church yard. At the grave nine priests chanted the funeral services. In 1785 an elegant monument was erected over the remains by order of the king. It was a large and beautiful slab of Egyptian marble, with an inscription in gold. Below the inscription and between the brackets is an escutcheon charged with the insignia of the Knights Hospitallus of Saint John of Jerusalem. The slab was designed for the interior of the church. but as no suitable place could be found for it inside the building, it was set up over the grave, where it crumbled under the exposure. It was at first erected on the west side of the gate, but its position was changed at the expense of the officers of the " Meduse " when on their visit in 1794. In 1873 it was restored at the expense of the United States, an appropriation of eight hundred dollars being unanimously voted by congress. The restoration was exe- ented under the direction of the Marquis de Noailles, then min- ister of France to the United States, and the slab transferred to the vestibule of the church, where it now is. A granite stone was placed over the tomb with a short inscription in Latin. That on the slab, also in Latin, is an elaborate record of the admiral's long service. Even the tory gazette of Rivington honored his memory, announcing his death as of "an offi- cer of distinguished reputation : a gentleman of most ex- cellent heart and amiable disposition. * A real ornament of the elegant nation from whom he was derived." The com- mand of the fleet now fell on the Chevalier des Tonches, who held as closely to his instructions as his predecessor. About Christmas a vessel from Nantes brought word that M. de Cas-
405
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
tries had succeeded de Sartines as minister of the marine. The Marquis de Castries had shown military ability in the Low Countries. Neckar had also undertaken a thorough reform of the finances, and activity by sea and land was expected.
In January, 1781, the Count des denx Ponts gave an elegant ball to the ladies of Newport. The great hall, which was con- structed by orders of Rochambean, for the use of the officers, was not completed till later in the month. It then became the place of nightly resort. Late in January the French frigate " Astreé " brought to Boston official news of the change in the ministry, and word from the Marquis de Castries that the second division would not be despatched. Lauzun was indig- nant and wrote to demand the men of his legion, of which he was colonel proprietor. On the 21st of January Generals Knox and Lincoln and Colonel Laurens visited the French camp. This young officer, an aid de camp to Washington, was on his way to France with a special mission. His father, the envoy to France, captured in crossing the Atlantic, was still a prisoner in the tower of London. Knox was the chief of American artillery, and greatly interested by the French arm- ament.
In February the weather was very cold and the officers took great deliglit in sleighing, a new pastime to many. On Tuesday the 6th of February, the anniversary of the ever memorable day when the treaty of alliance was signed at Paris, the brothers Vioménil, young men who are described as of resplendent beanty, gave an elegant ball to the ladies. Many are the tradi- tions of the fascinations of these dashing noblemen and the win- dow pane is still cherished on which they out their names. The wife of General Greene, whose operations in the Carolinas were at the moment of absorbing interest, graced this entertainment. A letter of the time says: "The decent gaiety and hilarity which characterized the assembly afforded a convincing proof of the general satisfaction the alliance caused to both nations."
THE NAVAL ENGAGEMENT. - While the French fleet lay se- cure within the sheltering haven of the Narragansett cliffs the English squadron in the offing had a severe experience. Canght at sea in a heavy Jannary gale, Arbuthnot lost one of his best vessels, another was disabled and a third driven far to sea. This giving the French a temporary superiority, Des Touches in February determined on an expedition. Dumas was sent by
40€
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
Rochambeau to New London to watch the British fleet which lay quietly off Montauk Point. The ships were gotten ready and the land forces selected.
In March Washington came on in person and the greatest in- terest in his visit was shown by the entire French force. His fame as the hero of the old French war was as familiar to the humblest of the allied force as to his own countrymen. He ar- rived on the 6th and reached Conanient abont two o'clock in the afternoon, where he found the admiral's barge in waiting to convey him directly to the " Duc de Bourgogne." Here he was met by Rochambeau and the general officers of the army and fleet. On his leaving the ship a salute was fired. Landing at Barney's ferry, the corner of Long Wharf and Washington street, he was again met by the French officers and escorted to the headquarters of Rochambeau in Clarke street, receiving the same honor that would have been paid to a marshal of France or a prince of the blood royal. The route was lined with the French troops three deep on either side and in close order the entire distancce. In the evening the fleet in the harbor and all the houses in the town were illuminated, the town conneil hav- ing voted candles to all who were unable to provide them. A procession was made through the streets. In front walked thirty boys, each bearing a candle fixed in a staff, then Generals Washington and Rochambeau with their aids and officers, fol- lowed by a large concourse of citizens. The night was clear and calm. Passing through the principal streets the commanders returned to headquarters.
The object of Washington in visiting Newport was to con- fer with the admiral, and to witness the departure of the French fleet and detachment, which was abont to leave Newport to co-operate with Lafayette, who was on the march by land, in an attempt to intercept and capture Arnold who, after his trea- son of the past summer, was now in command of an English force engaged in ravaging his countrymen of Virginia. Twelve hundred and fifty French troops were detached, placed under the command of M. de Vioménil and embarked. The chevalier himself, with the officers of the grenadier company of the Bourbonnais, were on board the flag ship. The men were embarked on the day of Washington's arrival. On the Sth Captain Des Touches led the squadron down the bay. Wash- ington and Major General Howe, who accompanied him, re-
407
HISTORY OF NEWPORT COUNTY.
turned to headquarters, and were taken leave of with the same form and ceremony with which they were received. The French army was paraded on Broad street, and lined the road for some distance beyond the town, the general officers in the center. As the American commander passed down the lines he received every known military honor, and as he reached Tonomy hill was finally saluted with thirteen guns from the French artillery.
The squadron with which Des Touches sailed consisted of one line-of-battle ship of eighty guns, two of seventy-four, four of sixty-four, one of thirty-two, and the "Romulus," a late capture from the English-in all five hundred and sixty guns. Arbuthnot, from his post of observation at Gardner's bay, was aware of the French movement and their point of destination on the 8th. On the 9th he dropped down with his squadron to the entrance to the bay. On the 10th he weighed anchor, and hoisting his pennant on the "London" followed in pursuit, with one line-of-battle ship of ninety eight guns, three of sev- enty-four, three of sixty-four, one of fifty-in all eight ships, carrying five hundred and sixty-two guns. Frigates accom- panied each fleet as signal vessels. The English fleet over- hanled the French on the morning of the 16th, about sixty miles from the capes of the Chesapeake. The sea ran high. After some manœuvering Des Touches gave signal for action, and in a sharp contest the van of the British squadron was severely handled. A fog now settled on the fleets, both of which held their course to the land. In the night Arbuthnot entered the Chesapeake and anchored his squadron in Lynn Haven bay.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.