![]() ![]() In Santo Domingo, on the island of Hispaniola, (Dominican Republic), De Grasse loaded 3000 French troops from the Gatinais, Agenois and Touraine infantry regiments aboard his ships. General George Washington hoped to use De Grasse's fleet and Rochambeau's army to assist the American army in an attack on the British at New York City.Rochambeau and Washington sent word to De Grasse that his fleet was desperately needed and that any troops and money that De Grasse could bring with the fleet would also be of great help.They suggested that De Grasse come to either New York City which Washington favored or to the Chesapeake Bay to assist General Lafayette's American army opposing British General Cornwallis and his army that had recently moved into Virginia a course of action favored by Rochambeau.ĭe Grasse decided to bring his fleet to the Chesapeake Bay because of the shorter sailing distance to it and it was more navigable than the New York harbor. ![]() ![]() He sent word to French General Comte de Rochambeau, in Newport, Rhode Island, that he was under orders to sail his fleet north to assist the French and the American armies. On September 5, 1781, off the coast of Virginia, near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, one of the most critical naval battles in United States history took place.The "Battle of the Capes" only lasted two and a half hours and did not involve any Americans, but this battle was one of the decisive factors that assured the United States would win independence from Great Britain.įrench Admiral Francois Joseph Paul, Marquis de Grasse Tilly arrived in the West Indies with a French fleet in April 1781. "It deserves the name of 'British Naval Waterloo of Cape Henry.'" -Emil Reich (European Historian) "Few naval battles have decided more." -Professor Randolph G Adams Before it, the creation of the United States of America was possible after it, it was certain." -Michael Lewis, The History of the British Navy "The Battle of Chesapeake Bay was one of the decisive battles of the world. "No land force can act decisively unless it is accompanied by maritime superiority" Navy and on display at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, VA ![]()
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