It is a tradition that when General Pershing arrived in France in 1917 at the head of the American Expeditionary Forces he knelt at the tomb of the Revolutionary hero, General LaFayette, and appropriately said, “LaFayette nous voila.” These words represented in terse language the thought of many Americans, that our Army in France was to repay the debt we owed on account of the services of the French General LaFayette.
Less epigrammatically, but obviously expressing a like sentiment, Admiral Gleaves on landing in France expressed himself in these terms:
A few weeks ago I was at the foot of the monument at Yorktown, Virginia, which commemorates the gaining of our independence with the assistance of the great French Admiral de Grasse. Today, when our Navy is receiving the hospitality of the French port, where our Army has landed, is the happiest day of my life.
As Pershing returned the visit of LaFayette, so Gleaves, coming straight from Virginia to France, greeted, before the whole world, De Grasse, the French admiral of 1781.
It is coming to be appreciated in this country that the deeds of Admiral de Grasse in behalf of American independence take rank next only after those of Washington himself, for the story tells of the determining influence of De Grasse’s fleet on the outcome of the Yorktown campaign and the attainment of our national life. As Washington wrote to the admiral:
The surrender of Yorktown which has won so much glory and profit for the Allies, and the honor of which is due to your Excellency, is far beyond our most sanguine expectations.
While De Grasse’s name has been scarcely a memory in America and unknown even to most Frenchmen, from the career of this man it is unmistakable that he was no ordinary type of naval officer but one of wide experience in actual battle, and as well an accomplished strategist and tactician. Not the least of his virtues was the ability to make quick decisions and willingness to accept immense responsibilities, even to the extent of disregarding the orders of the French ministry when he considered it necessary for the common cause. The life of De Grasse, whose traits of character have not hitherto been revealed to us, will make it clear why history should place him in the front rank of distinguished naval officers. Is it not time for us to give to that eminent sailor the place to which he is entitled?
Francois-Joseph-Paul de Grasse was born on September 13, 1722, at the feudal castle of Bar, a picturesque village of Provence, situated six miles from the town of De Grasse. The family from which he sprang was one of the oldest of the French nobility, claiming descent from Rodoard, prince of Antibes in 993, and boasting of its alliance by intermarriage with the royal houses of France, Spain, and Sicily. The Captal de Buch, so famous in Froissart, was one of the ancestors of the Count de Grasse. His family bore the name of De Grasse from the eleventh century, and that of Rouville from 1676. His father, Francois de Grasse-Rouville, Marquis de Grasse, was a captain in the army.
The family castle was of stately proportions and flanked by two lofty towers. We know that the castle in as early times as the Crusades was in the hands of the high and powerful lords De Grasse, and it was owned by them until 1832. During the French Revolution it had been partially destroyed and in the latter half of the last century its towers were overthrown by seismic disturbances. At the present day it is seen by tourists as only a majestic ruin.
It seemed as if nothing was wanting to complete the distinction and eminence of the De Grasse family; saintliness was not even denied them. One of their female ancestors was canonized under the name of Sainte Maxime de Grasse, whose feast day on May 16 is especially revered in the diocese of Frejus, particularly in the little village of Callian, where her relics are kept and venerated. Each of Admiral de Grasse’s five daughters bore the name of Sainte Maxime.
On the day following his birth the child was baptized in the church of Bar as Chevalier de Grasse de Bar. Later were added the titles of his illustrious ancestors as well as those he himself earned in the service of his country. We shall see him: Comte de Grasse, sovereign prince of Antibes, marquis de Tilly, seigneur de Flins, Mondreville, Saint-Tourent, Valette et Vernes, commander of the order of Saint Louis, knight of St. John of Jerusalem, and of Cincinnatus, lieutenant general of the naval forces.
Being of robust constitution and great strength, in early childhood he developed a liking for energetic sports. Family tradition has it that his private tutor was unable to repress his impetuosity or outbursts of temper. Foremost among youths as unruly as himself, his rambling propensities led him daily into the gorges and on the craggy slopes about the Castle de Bar.
Such a spirit as this must be curbed, so his parents decided when at the age of eleven years that he should be sent to the school of the Gardes Maritimes at Toulon. Here the boy’s general behavior was satisfactory and his promising character resulted in his being received with a payment of 300 crowns as an aspirant to the Order of the Knights of Malta. The Knights of Malta had their origin in 1048 a.d. with the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, and acquired great wealth and power during the Crusades. When the Holy Lands reverted to the Moslems, the order withdrew its seat successively to Acre, Cyprus, and Rhodes and finally they obtained from Charles V the privilege of settling on the island of Malta. There they equipped ships for the defense of the Mediterranean Sea against the Mussulman pirates; in fact at the time young De Grasse joined, they were alone in combating these corsairs with any success.
Thus the young knight, twelve years old, enrolled on board the frigate Eole, “religious” ship as it was called, beginning a long and illustrious career as a sea fighter. In doing so he sacrificed an opportunity to go to the court of Louis XV as a page. We can but conjecture what would have been the future of one of his noble lineage, brilliant intellect, and commanding figure. But in his heart was love of the sea and adventure and in this vigorous school of fatigues and perils the young sailor quickly developed a sturdy physique and a calm and self-reliance which stood him in good stead in many a tempest and sea fight. His energy and impetuosity led him into the thick of every fray and even in later years he retained these most typical characteristics. Of his exceptional bravery, friend and foe alike testify.
Canon Max. Caron tells the following story which sheds some light on a trait in De Grasse’s character:
When but an ensign of fifteen or sixteen years of age, he gives a soldier an order which the latter refuses to obey. Instantly the youth, already a giant in stature and strength, seizes the culprit and throws him as a projectile through space from the starboard to larboard. But fearing to have hurt him he rushes to pick him up. Fortunately there were only slight bruises and reconciliation was effected by mutual excuses.
As page to the Great Master of Malta, as midshipman and as ensign, the young officer went through numerous strenuous campaigns in the Mediterranean against the Moorish pirates. At the age of twenty (1742) he entered the French Navy and served on board numerous vessels. In 1747 he was on board the frigate Emeraude in La Jonquiere’s squadron of six ships and six frigates under orders to escort to Pondicherry a convoy of twenty-five ships belonging to the East Indian Company. This squadron was met off Cape Finisterre on May 11, 1747, by seventeen English vessels under Admiral Anson, and after a vigorous engagement six French vessels, including the Emeraude, were captured and De Grasse was taken to England a prisoner, where he remained two years. While a prisoner De Grasse acquired many English friends and gained knowledge of the enemy that stood him in good stead in after years.
Upon his return to France, De Grasse became lieutenant de vaisseau (corresponding to our lieutenant, senior grade) and participated in divers campaigns in the Mediterranean and the West Indies until 1758, when he received command of the sloop Zephyr. He remained in this vessel three years and accomplished various important missions, one an exploring expedition to the coast of Guinea (Juina).
In January, 1762, he was promoted to capitaine de vaisseau (corresponding to our captain) and was assigned to command of the Protèe, on board of which he took part in another campaign in Santo Domingo and the West Indies. In 1764, he received the title of chevalier de St. Louis and assumed command of the frigate Heroine in the squadron of Comte du Chaffault, under whose orders he took a gallant part in the bombardment of Sale (1765). Various services called him to all parts of the world, and at the age of fifty we find him ripe in experience, taking part in the maneuvers of the squadron of D'Orvilliers. France and the budding new republic in America were soon to have need of him.
In February, 1778, Louis XVI signed a treaty of alliance with the United Colonies of America. On July 27 of that year we see Count de Grasse in command of the Robuste taking part in the famous battle of the Ouessant (Ushant) between Keppel and D'Orvilliers. The battle was indecisive due to failure of the French van squadron commander to obey the commander-in-chief's orders. No ships were sunk and both fleets returned intact to home ports. The action nevertheless occasioned notoriety in England, where a storm of indignation arose over the lack of results. De Grasse was one of the French captains who showed marked ability as a seaman and fighter and was afterwards promoted to command of a squadron of five ships of the line with attendant light craft. In this capacity he was ordered to the West Indies to join Count d’Estaing.
He served in the triumphs and reverses of D’Estaing’s campaign, in the reduction of Granada, and the siege of Savannah, after which he joined De Guichen, the new commander-in-chief, who was a worthy rival of Admiral Rodney in the Antilles. The fleets fought an indecisive engagement off Martinique. De Grasse in the Robuste at the head of the line distinguished himself by closely engaging the English Admiral Parker, and rescuing the Sphynx and Artesien from superior English forces. Twice more in the following weeks the two fleets clashed with no results, and the supremacy of those waters remained undecided.
De Guichen, advanced in years and in ruined health, was recalled to France, taking with him De Grasse and his squadron. Although in a secondary role, De Grasse had fought with skill and distinction and his fame had already preceded him to France. He was received at Versailles with conspicuous consideration. The king welcomed him with cordiality and the queen showed him the unusual honor of offering her arm when crossing the galleries of the castle.
The plan of sending a strong fleet to America was in the making. All eyes turned towards De Grasse, as the personification of bravery and professional skill, to lead this new expedition upon which rested the fate of the struggling American colonies.
On March 22, 1781, there were assembled in the spacious harbor of Brest the ships of the expedition. Never before had the port accommodated so many craft and the spectacle brought thousands of visitors who lined the cliffs and cheeringly bade Godspeed to De Grasse and the sailors of France. M. de Casties, minister of the navy, and his suite, from the elevated Fort Ric, proudly viewed this forest of masts and signaled leave to get underway. Sails were loosed, prows stood seaward, and it was not until late into the night that the roadstead was empty. The immense convoy of 150 merchant vessels escorted by twenty-one ships of the line, three frigates and thirteen sloops of war, were now on their way to Martinique in the Caribbean Sea. After an unheard of quick passage of thirty-six days, the fleet with convoy intact sighted land. Here De Grasse had a skirmish with Admiral Samuel Hood with eighteen ships but brought his entire command safely to port.
The islands of St. Vincent and Granada were revictualled; an armed expedition sent against Gros Islet; St. Lucia and Tobago were captured and on July 16 De Grasse arrived at Cape Frangois (now Cape Haitien) with a convoy of 150 sail. Five more ships of the line joined under De Monteil, who had just returned from the capture of Pensacola, Florida. Help for the hard- pressed colonies was near at hand and De Grasse put his energetic mind to the task without delay.
The complete story of De Grasse’s borrowing troops and money, of his ruse in deceiving Rodney, of his passage to the Chesapeake capes, of his prompt landing of troops, munitions and food, of his masterful tactics in defeating and out-maneuvering the British fleet under Admiral Graves was told in the November, 1927, issue of the Naval Institute Proceedings under the title, “Sea Power and the Yorktown Campaign.”* These brilliant events brought the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, the suspension of hostilities on the continent, and made American independence an assured fact.
In this campaign the part taken by De Grasse was without flaw, the mission was always kept in the forefront and his sound strategical and tactical decisions were executed as planned. Washington was lucky indeed to have the aid of this determined and experienced admiral.
A close study of the campaign reveals De Grasse to have been a man of unusual initiative and judgment. His refusal to weaken the fleet by as much as a single ship for convoy duty was unprecedented in that day—a mistake Rodney made which caused the English fleet to be numerically inferior in the battle which was to follow. The borrowing of troops from Haiti without authority from the ministers at home was shouldering a great responsibility and the embarking of these troops on his ships of war rather than on transports, showed unerring realization of the time factor involved. The quick disembarkation, the ready cooperation with Washington, the landing of stores and marines from his ships, and even the donation to the army of his fresh cattle, shows De Grasse to have been a man of generosity as well as of action. Of his getting underway, with ninety officers and 1,900 of his best men ashore assisting in the disembarkation, upon sighting Graves’s fleet, it can be said that this was a difficult decision to make but undoubtedly the only correct one. Graves was out-fought, decoyed away from the capes, and out-maneuvered, by which tactics De Grasse made it possible for De Barras’ squadron carrying the siege artillery to reach the York River. By this move his force had now become overwhelmingly preponderant and all hope of succor for Cornwallis had vanished. For this turn of affairs De Grasse deserves unstinted praise and the glory will forever be solely his.
Washington was anxious that the admiral now assist in an attack on Charleston, South Carolina, but De Grasse was under obligations to the governor of Santo Domingo to return the borrowed troops, and events in the West Indies required his attention.
Fortune had smiled upon De Grasse until now but with the return of the king’s fleet to southern waters began the succession of dramatic and tragic events with which this sailor of forty-eight years’ service was about to close out his career.
At the famous Battle of the Saints near Dominica, De Grasse himself in his flagship the Ville de Paris, was captured by Lord Rodney. While escorting a large convoy of 150 vessels with his fleet, Rodney came up with him and forced the undecisive, but probably the most talked of sea fight of contemporaneous history. Students of naval history are apt to find that the decisions of De Grasse in this encounter were sound, but that his actions were attended by an unparalleled chain of misfortunes over which he could exercise no control.
A single ship, the Zélé, was so atrociously handled during the maneuvers preceding the action that she first collided with and seriously crippled the Jason, and the next night, in violating the rules of the road and De Grasse’s express orders, she actually rammed the flagship, doing considerable damage and disabling herself to such an extent as to require towing. In his efforts to protect the Zélé, De Grasse was brought to battle in the baffling winds under the lee of Dominica while giving up an advantageous position far to windward. All would have been well however, had it not been for the almost unbelievable neglect of his ship captains in failing to execute a signal to the fleet to wear simultaneously and bring the battle line abreast the enemy on the same tack. At this juncture a trick of fate interposed in a shift of wind which took his ships aback and favored the English, who quickly seized the opportunity and broke through the French line placing several French ships under heavy fire. Attempting to reform the line to leeward, again his captains failed to obey signals and De Grasse was left to his fate surrounded by nine enemy ships without support. He kept up the unequal battle against heavy odds until sails were torn, rigging shot through, mast and yards splintered, most of his officers and men killed and ammunition expended. Four other ships besides his own were taken but the main body escaped to leeward without being followed.
The Ville de Paris was a three-decker, carrying 1,200 men, the largest ship of her time, which had been presented to the French Navy as a gift from the city of Paris. Rodney was so exalted over her capture with De Grasse aboard, that he refused to leave her and take up the chase. For this he was severely criticized by Admiral Hood, his second in command.
De Grasse felt the dereliction of his captains so keenly that on the day following the battle he wrote a report in which he threw upon them the blame for the misfortunes of the day. Some had disobeyed his signals, others had abandoned him. Later, while still a prisoner, he published several pamphlets which were made public. Had not his impetuosity caused him to make these charges public before returning to France, he would have been in a much more favorable position in the court-martial which was to follow.
This was the first time a French commander-in-chief had ever been captured in his flagship and in England the extent of the victory was therefore magnified out of all proportion. De Grasse was taken to Jamaica, then to England, where in London he was received more as a guest of honor than as a prisoner. He was treated with that magnanimous and flattering attention which comes easily from the victor to the vanquished and for which his personal valor and fame was not unworthy. In the aristocratic world, people vied with each other to show him consideration and to receive “the intrepid Frenchman” at their tables. Artists begged to be allowed to paint his portrait (several of these exist today). His title of “Prince of Antibes,” his lordly manners, his fine figure, the distinction of his features, conquered the ladies. He was called to the balcony of his rooms several times by the clamoring populace. There is evidence that he considered these things lacking in good taste for a prisoner, but he was overwhelmed—his high-strung nature rebelled, but he felt that by accepting a certain amount of attention he would be in a position to render service to his king and country.
Sir Gilbert Blane, fleet surgeon with Rodney, wrote of De Grasse:
He bears his misfortune with equanimity; conscious, as he says, that he has done his duty. . . . . He attributes his misfortune, not to inferiority of force, but to the base desertion of his officers in the other ships to whom he made the signal to rally, and even hailed them to abide by him, but was abandoned.
It was natural that when rumors of these adulations reached France it would cause jealousy—De Grasse's motives being popularly misunderstood. Drawing-room tacticians criticized his maneuvers and he was generally disparaged. In society then it was the fashion to wear a small gold cross with a heart hanging to it and those bitter against the admiral took off the heart, saying "Des grâces san coeur," by this play of words insinuating that De Grasse had no heart for his country.
While the admiral was being so cruelly ridiculed at home, he was commissioned to arrange for the exchange of prisoners and to assist in the drawing up of the peace terms which were to be favorable to France and give independence to America. It is an anomaly of fortune that the defeat of De Grasse, while a stunning blow to French pride, reacted in favor of the colonies by the psychological effect of putting England in a good humor and making her more receptive at the peace negotiations. It was some time before Great Britain awoke to the fact that hers was a hollow victory and that De Grasse was great even in defeat.
At this time Washington wrote to the admiral:
The cordiality and frankness that animated us, my dear Admiral, at the time of our operations in Virginia will never be effaced from my memory.
It will be remembered with pleasure by me throughout my life. I should much like to renew to Your Excellency the expression of my affection, and to go to Europe to greet you. I do not yet know when that will happen; but I shall consider the moment when I have the pleasure of meeting you again, be it in Europe or in America, as one of the happiest of my life.
Allow me to present you my truest and sincerest congratulations on the happy issue of the war. It is as favourable to America as it does honour to the disinterested generosity of your country.
Your timely intervention has given to America independence and liberty.
I would I were able to express to you and to the officers of the French Army and Navy the gratitude of the United States.
The unhappy incident undergone by Your Excellency on April 12, has detracted nothing from your glory in this country, where your great character is appreciated, and where the circumstances of the contest are known.
Be assured that your reverse has not lessened the esteem I have for your bravery and your ability to lead the great army which the King had entrusted you. It only proves that the greatest heroes are ever exposed to the blows of fortune who is a capricious mistress.
With the signing of the peace treaty, the prisoner left London for Versailles where he was cordially welcomed by the king and queen.
The government then conducted an exhaustive inquiry into the events in connection with the Battle of the Saints, and all papers, logs, witnesses, etc., were gathered at Lorient in January, 1784, when the admiral and several of his captains were court-martialed. Of this De Grasse wrote:
The justice of the King did not permit my conduct in the battle of April 12, 1782, to remain subject to public condemnation without being judiciously examined. This is the most I can expect from His Majesty in my misfortune after forty-eight years of service, thirty campaigns, twelve battles in this war, after having captured several islands with the entire enemy garrisons and having assured the Independence of the United States of America.
The findings of the courts awarded slight punishments to some of the captains who failed in their duty and acquitted the admiral, while criticizing him rather captiously for certain failures during the preliminary maneuvers which De Grasse had laid at the doors of the captains who had not obeyed his signals. He said:
One should not be astonished that the most important maneuvers were not executed, nine of my signals were absolutely disregarded…They cannot prove that the signals were impossible of execution, without showing that at least they began to obey them, and actually encountered an invincible obstacle, or at least to have made known their inability by signal. An excuse of this sort is always easy, and the consequences of it would set a dangerous precedent…the glance of the commander-in-chief suffices to prove the possibility of the movement which he orders. There should be no deliberation, otherwise the crucial moment passes and the commander-in-chief must answer to his King and Nation.
De Grasse’s contention is certainly well founded.
There is evidence that De Grasse, by the sweeping denunciations of so many of his subordinates, brought down upon his own head much testimony unfavorable to his case. In his early attempts at exculpation, in placing the blame upon others, particularly in pamphlets issued in London while yet a prisoner, he naturally created a bad impression and brought upon himself a particularly active and uncompromising opposition.
De Grasse was dissatisfied with the findings of the court and asked for a new trial which was refused. The minister replied that the king, while he believed everything was done to prevent the misfortunes of the day, was dissatisfied with the admiral’s conduct in so far as the bringing of charges against his officers were concerned, and forbade him an audience. Under the circumstances there was nothing more for De Grasse to do but to retire to his home to meditate upon the fickleness of fate.
Dante once said: “There is no greater sorrow than to remember happy times in the hour of misfortune.” Doubtless more than once in the depths of solitude at his home at Tilly did this old sailor call to mind the glorious day when he, the commander-in-chief upon the quarter-deck of his stately flagship, sailed from Brest harbor with his great armada to give America freedom, and doubtless he cogitated sadly on the ingratitude of man.
On the other hand a great joy awaited Admiral de Grasse at his small castle at Tilly; he was to be reunited with his family after nearly half a century at sea, and to enjoy the pleasures of home life. When forty-two years old he had married, at Versailles, Demoiselle Antoinette-Rosalie Accaron, who died when only twenty-nine, after having given birth to seven children, one son and six daughters. Between voyages, the admiral had married Dame Catherine de Pien, widow of Count de Villeneuve, but she also was to die soon. At the time of his retirement his only son was eighteen years old and his youngest daughter ten. Two years later he took his third wife, the unworthy Christine-Lazare de Cibon, who is said to have brought him only unhappiness.
The admiral also owned a hotel in the Saint-Roch quarter of Paris which he kept as a pied-a-terre where he could occasionally mingle with the society he liked, for his titles and his fame, coupled with a natural charm of manner, assured for him a high place in Parisian life.
But his favorite place of residence was the Castle of Tilly. Tilly is a little village of 300 people, situated on high land, twelve miles beyond Mantes towards Dreux. The castle, feudal in appearance, dates from Henry IV. On the side of the court of honor the square structure is flanked by two turrets; it is surrounded by a moat now partly filled up and it had three drawbridges leading from the front of the facade, the garden and the park. As at Versailles, the park is surrounded by trees and shrubs and enclosed by a wall a mile and a half long. In the park he had walks made, trees planted, and lawns laid out. The shady avenue of trimmed lime trees called “Admiral’s Alley” is admired by visitors today.
He was not only the owner of the castle but the lord of Tilly, of Saint Laurent, of Flins, of Mondreville and other places, and he gave encouragement to the tilling of the fields and helping the farmers.
An object of the admiral’s special solicitude was the village church. This church had no steeple and he had one added at his personal expense and equipped it with a bell. Here he often went to prayer with his children.
Honors came from America in the shape of a gold medal of the order of the Society of Cincinnati. The Congress of the United States voted four cannon sent him and great was the excitement in the little village the day they arrived, upon each engraved the following inscription:
Taken from the English Army by the combined forces of France and America, at Yorktown, in Virginia, on the 19th of October, 1781, and presented by Congress to His Excellency the Count de Grasse, as a testimony of the priceless services rendered by him on that memorable day.
These guns were set up on carriages and placed in the courtyard. One can still see the iron grating pierced with loopholes for the muzzles. Unfortunately the guns themselves are gone—sacrificed to the vandalism of the French Revolution.
In the midst of this peaceful existence, at the age of sixty-six, the soul of this great man was destined to pass. It may have been providential, for a few years later France was lashed by the fierce violence of the Revolution and it is not unlikely that he would have fallen victim to the guillotine for having served the monarchy so well. It will be well remembered that Rochambeau was thrown into prison and only escaped death by the fall of Robespierre.
De Grasse died in his Paris hotel on January 14, 1788, and by his express wish the body was buried in the church of Saint-Roch and the heart removed therefrom and taken to rest in his little church of Our Lady at Tilly. In a simple shallow grave near the altar the embalmed heart was deposited inclosed in a lead shell. This last wish bespeaks eloquently the tender and sentimental nature of the man.
Washington, in a letter to the Count de Rochambeau, who announced the death of their fellow commander at Yorktown, says:
I am sorry to learn that the Count de Grasse, our gallant coadjutor in the capture of Cornwallis, is no more. Yet his death is not perhaps so much to be deplored as his latter days were to be pitied. It seemed as if an unfortunate and unrelenting destiny pursued him to destroy the enjoyment of all earthly comfort. The disastrous battle of the 12th of April, the loss of the favor of his king, and the subsequent connection in marriage with an unworthy woman, were sufficient to have made him weary of the burden of life. Your goodness in endeavoring to sweeten its passage was truly commendable, however it might have been marred by his own impetuosity. But his frailties should now be buried in the grave with him, while his name will be long deservedly dear to this country, on account of his successful cooperation in the former campaign of 1781.
Surviving the admiral were his third wife and his five children. Two had already died. Those living were: Alexandre-Frangois-Au- guste, Marquis de Grasse, and Mesdemoiselles Amelie-Maxime-Rosalie, Justine-Adelaide-Maxime, Melanie-Veronique-Maxime and Silvie-Alexandrine-Maxime.
The political horizon of France darkened. The wind of the Revolution was raised by the impiety of Voltaire and the theories of Rousseau and for a short two years more the castle sheltered the orphans. Then the deluge! The castle was plundered, confiscated, and sold. America’s gift of guns was stolen and melted into coin. The church was looted. The heart only escaped desecration by the failure of the revolutionists to find its resting place.
Offered asylum in America, the descendants escaped prison and the guillotine by fleeing across the ocean where they were tendered every care under the guidance of George Washington, who of all men was best able to appreciate the sterling qualities of their father. The daughters remained in the United States, married and founded prosperous and respected families, whose descendants survive in the names of Fox, Livingston, Coster, Pau, Fowler, Redmond, Drayton, Kirkpatrick, Barklie, Schuyler, and others. The son later returned to France and had five daughters who died childless; there are, however, many collateral descendants of the illustrious name De Grasse in France today.
It is not difficult to see how De Grasse’s memory was effaced in the turmoil of the Revolution and thereafter, until at the end of the last century his name and fame were all but forgotten. America was too busy to remember or to appreciate.
After many vicissitudes the castle of Tilly, in 1870, passed into the hands of M. Bertrand Lecrivan, who donated it to the Association des Ancien Eleves du Petit Seminaire de Versailles as a center and orphans’ home. A few years later the dilapidated condition of the church necessitated its restoration and in the course of the digging a search was made for the admiral’s heart. It was found in the spot where it had lain undisturbed for more than a century beneath a small marble slab fixed to the wall, upon which was outlined:
Here lies:
At the foot of the high altar, by the side of Christine-Marie-Delphine de Cibon, his widow, the heart of Franqois-Joseph-Paul Comte de Grasse de Rouville, Count and sovereign Prince of Antibes, Marquis of Tilly, Lieutenant-General of the naval forces, Commander of the Royal and Military Order of Saint-Louis, Knight of the Order of Cincinnatus and of Saint-John of Jerusalem, non professéd.
Born on the 13th of September, 1722.
Died on the 14th of January, 1788.
A leaden heart-shaped reliquary engraved with fleur-de-lis served as its receptacle. When opened it gave forth an agreeable fragrance of spices with which it had been embalmed. The relic was reinterred with due ceremony in an oak coffin and placed in a vault covered by a large tombstone upon which was engraved the arms of the house of De Grasse, and a suitable motto.
It would not be correct to say that America has completely forgotten De Grasse, for Congress erected at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1881, a noble granite shaft upon which, conjointly with Washington and Rochambeau, his name is placed.
Throughout our land, LaFayette, who peculiarly typifies the moral sympathy of France, has been perpetuated by no less than seven monuments, his name has been given to a college, highways, streets, buildings, theaters, and what not, while De Grasse, whose name more than any other’s represents the material succor which France gave to the struggling life of the young republic, has been singularly neglected.
The writer ventures the suggestion that this country give some official national recognition of a personal nature to Admiral de Grasse in the form of a statue situated in a prominent place in Washington, District of Columbia, and that it would be particularly fitting if the U. S. Navy would commemorate his naval achievement in the Yorktown campaign by naming, in hishonor, one of its new large ships the De Grasse.
America, search your conscience! Admiral de Grasse did much for you—what have you done for him?
References
- The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, Mahan. 1890.
- Admiral de Grasse, Caron. 1920.
- Types of Naval Officers, Mahan. 1901.
- Memoire du Comte de Grasse.
- British Navy in Adversity, W. M. James. 1926.
- Letters of Sir Samuel Hood, Vol. III. Naval Records Society. 1895.
- Mass. Historical Society, Vol. 60. 1926.
- Rockambeau, Keim. 1907.
- De Grasse, Bradford Club. 1864.
- Major Operations of Navies in War for Independence, Mahan. 1913.
- Naval Researches, White. 1830.