Note 1031 — Chapter VI

The Marquis of Rochambeau, in his Memoirs, took to himself the credit of appointing the Chesapeake as a rendezvous for the fleet. He also claims to have intimated to De Grasse that perhaps it would be best to attack the English in Virginia. At all events, the French admiral sent word that he should go into the Chesapeake, and he hoped, as his stay on the coast would be short, that the land forces would be ready to coöperate with him. This decided the matter. There is in print (dated Mount Vernon, July 13, 1788; Carey's Museum; also in Niles, Principles and Acts, 1st ed, p. 273) a letter from Washington to the effect that, although the point of attack was not decided on at the outset, the movement against New York was a feint.