Rochambeau Papers and Rochambeau Family Cartographic Archive

The Rochambeau Papers and Rochambeau Family Cartographic Archive is divided into two parts, the Rochambeau Papers, and the Cartographic Archive. The Rochambeau Papers consist of the correspondence and other documents of the comte de Rochambeau that document his role as commander of the French expeditionary force in the American Revolution. The papers also include the manuscript draft of his memoir, Mémoires Militaires, Historiques et Politiques. The Cartographic Archive consists of atlases and maps collected by three generations of the Rochambeau family, from the reign of Louis XIV through the wars of the French Revolution and the Empire. It includes maps acquired by the comte de Rochambeau before he departed for America, and which he used in the field during the American campaign. The archive remained with the family at the chateau de Rochambeau until 1952, when it was purchased by the New York bookdealer H.P. Kraus. Paul Mellon, Yale 1929, acquired the collection from Kraus in 1958 and gave it to Yale in 1992.

Little is known about the original arrangement of the papers. All the maps, however, were systematically numbered with an "IK" classification scheme late in the 19th century by the marquis Eugène Achille Lacroix de Rochambeau. (Similar IK numbering appears on maps in the papers of Donatien Marie Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau, pertaining to his service in the French West Indies, which were given to Yale by H.P. Kraus in 1968.) In all likelihood there was an original catalog to the IK series that explained the order of the IK numbers, but it's whereabouts, if it survives, are unknown and the nature of the original classification scheme has yet to be determined. The maps, when received by the library, were organized by provenance, and therein arranged more or less chronologically. This arrangement has been retained.

The first section, Correspondence and Other Documents, consists of three series: Correspondence to Rochambeau, Conference Papers and Other Documents, and Mémoires. These papers richly document Rochambeau's role as commander of the French troops in the American Revolution, from his arrival in Rhode Island to his departure for France after the battle of Yorktown, and the close working relationship which developed between Washington and his French counterpart.

Series I, Correspondence to Rochambeau (1780-1794), is organized into six subseries: George Washington and Other Americans; Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette; French Diplomats in America; French Navy in America; French Army under Rochambeau; and The French Court. Generally, letters from the Americans to Rochambeau are in English with translations into French supplied by Rochambeau. While not all of the correspondence is addressed to Rochambeau, all of it relates to military affairs of concern to him and its presence in the archive suggests that he received it at some point. Each subseries has been arranged chronologically, except for The French Court, where it was decided that the run of letters from the marquis de Ségur be kept together and not be interfiled with other letters in the subseries.

Because Rochambeau exchanged communiqués with so many people on military matters of mutual concern, his correspondence files provide extensive coverage of the sequence of events in the American campaign, and of the roles played by various individuals. It also provides commentary on events from varying perspectives. For example, in the case of the interception by the British of George Washington's letter to Lund Washington criticizing the French, one finds Washington's letter of apology (folder 68), the letter of La Luzerne, the French Minister Plenipotentiary, transcribing Washington's letter for Rochambeau, and dismissing it as harmless (folder 154), and the letter of Ségur, the French Minister of War, expressing his satisfaction that the letter had caused no bad feelings (folder 244).

Of the 77 Washington letters in the collection, eleven of them are autograph letters signed, while the rest were written by secretaries (including Alexander Hamilton) and signed by Washington. The majority of Washington's letters cover the period from Rochambeau's arrival in Rhode Island in July 1780 to August 1781, when their armies converged on the march to Yorktown. Washington writes of troop movements and plans, the treason of Benedict Arnold and capture of Major André, the mutiny of the Pennsylvania line of the Army, apologizes for his letter to Lund Washington, and discusses the logistics of the arrival of de Grasse. In a final letter, written upon his return to Mount Vernon after the war, Washington reflected on his collaboration with Rochambeau: "I shall recollect with pleasure that we have been Contemporaries & fellow labourers in the cause of liberty, and that we have lived together as Brothers do - in harmony & friendship."

Early drafts of all of the Washington letters present in the archive are represented in John C. Fitzpatrick's Writings of Washington. Documentation received with the collection indicates that some of the letters found in this collection differ from those in Fitzpatrick. Notations to this effect, present in the list from which this finding aid was derived, have been retained though not verified. Other American correspondents in this series include Thomas McKean, Nathaniel Greene, Jonathan Trumbull, John Tyler, Benjamin Tallmadge, and Henry Knox.

The correspondence of Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, consists of 14 letters written between May and September, 1780, before Washington's first letter to Rochambeau, while Lafayette was serving as Washington and Rochambeau's liaison. It includes a letter of apology from Lafayette to Rochambeau (folder 111), for overstepping his authority as liaison, which led to direct communication between Washington and Rochambeau.

The third section, French Diplomats in America, includes 62 letters from La Luzerne, the French minister plenipotentiary, and the comte de Menonville, who was in charge of gathering supplies for the French. This correspondence, covering the period from June 1780 to December 1781, encompasses discussions of the much delayed second fleet, and the financing of the French campaign. Four additional letters, from the comte de Menonville, also concern supplies.

The next subseries, French Navy in America, consists chiefly of 23 letters from Admiral de Grasse, written from March to October 1781 and during the Yorktown campaign. There are also letters from key officers who accompanied Rochambeau from France: Admiral Barras (11 letters), Destouches (3 letters), and a letter written by Washington to Admiral Ternay, first commander of the French fleet (folder 184). This section contains the letter from Admiral de Grasse written July 28 which states that he will sail to Virginia with his fleet, estimates when he will arrive, and warns that he cannot stay past October (folder 187), a letter which marks the beginning of the military campaign that resulted in the battle of Yorktown. Many of the letters are partly in code, often with an interlinear decipher.

The section entitled French Army under Rochambeau contains five letters from the marquis de Choisy, who was left in charge of the small force at Newport after Rochambeau and most of the army had departed for Yorktown. Correspondence from members of the French Court includes 39 letters from Ségur, the French Minister of War, written from January-December 1781 with two letters in April and May, 1784. Ségur sends orders, bestows praise for Rochambeau's conduct, and in 1784 commissions him commander-in-chief of Picardy. There are also six letters from the marquis de Castries, Minister of the Navy.

Series II, Conference Papers and Other Documents , contains material that pertains to several war strategy conferences held between Rochambeau and Washington. These include the Wethersfield Conference (May 13-23, 1781), the Newport Conferences (May 31 and June 8, 1781), the Dobbs Ferry Conference (July 1781), and the Philadelphia Conference (July 1782). Except for the Newport Conference, the files contain drafts of propositions and resolutions on double columned pages with one side written by Rochambeau and the other by Washington. The Newport papers are summaries of the Conferences signed by Grandchain de Semonville, Captain of the Newport fleet.

The section of Other Documents contains orders, field notes, and narratives by Rochambeau of French army activity in 1781-1783. There are five manuscripts detailing the ciphers and codes used by the Americans and the French, with various other documents which include intercepted letters from Lord George Germain to Sir Henry Clinton in February-March 1781.

Series III contains the manuscript of Rochambeau's Mémoires Militaires, Historiques et Politiques , published posthumously in Paris in 1809. The Mémoires detail Rochambeau's entire career, and includes some elaboration of events mentioned in the correspondence. The original division of the manuscript into notebooks ("cahiers") has been maintained. The manuscript is written on 307 leaves in Rochambeau's hand and that of several others, with glosses and editorial work, also by Rochambeau. The manuscript contains a large amount of material cancelled by the author and either omitted entirely or abridged in the final published form. Some of the cancelled passages include criticisms of French officers, a description of Rochambeau's life at the time of his arrest and imprisonment in 1794, and a description of a dinner given by him for Washington at Newport.

The Cartographic Archive is organized into four series: Map Collection of the Marquis de Rochambeau, the Map Collection of the Comte de Rochambeau, the Map Collection of the Vicomte de Rochambeau, and Other Rochambeau Maps. The subseries within each series are organized roughly in chronological order. The maps within the subseries themselves, however, are arranged in no particular order, as they were received.

Virtually every map in the collection carries an affixed map tab bearing the IK number and a short title word or phrase indicating the place depicted on the map. Each map entry in the register consists of this short (assigned) title prefaced by the original IK number, with place, mapmaker and/or publisher, and date noted, if known. The full title and other information from the source list received from Paul Mellon also have been included, with title and dimensions verified for this finding aid. The full map titles have been transcribed exactly as found on the maps; no attempt has been made to standardize forms of names and spellings.

Most of the maps in this collection are in sections and backed on linen. Some of these were grouped in cardboard sleeves. These groups of maps have been removed from the sleeves, foldered individually and filed in sequence, and are gathered together in the finding aid under one unifying assigned title. The sleeves themselves have been retained and are housed and listed at the end of the collection. Not all maps are complete, and some are duplicates. These have been noted in the listing. A majority of the maps are hand-colored.

Series IV, the Map Collection of the Marquis de Rochambeau (1669-1743), is organized into two subseries: the War of the Austrian Succession and Miscellaneous Maps. This series, consisting of 19 maps, includes regional maps, city maps, and battle plans, and contains the earliest dated maps in the collection. Information received with the collection attributes acquisition of certain maritime maps in this series to the Chevalier de Rochambeau, chef d'escadre, uncle of the marquis, although it does not identify them.

Series V, the Map Collection of the Comte de Rochambeau (1695-1792), is organized into ten subseries: War of the Austrian Succession (Bohemian and Bavarian Campaigns, and Low Countries Campaign), Cantons of Franche-Comté and Campaign Against Mandrin, Seven Years' War (Minorca Campaign, and German Campaign), Inspector-General of Infantry, Plan to Invade England, American Revolution, Command of Picardy and Artois, Command of Alsace, Journey to Switzerland, and Army of the North: Brabant Campaign.

The 360 maps in this series span the comte de Rochambeau's entire military career. There are maps of varying types: regional maps, city maps, and maps commemorating battles (many were certainly used by Rochambeau in the field). Mapmakers represented prominently include Le Rouge; Johann Baptist Homann, and his heirs, known as Homann Erben; Eugene Henry Friex; Georges Friex; Alexis Hubert Jaillot; Pierre Gosse, Jr. and Daniel Pinet; Matthaeus Seutter; and Carlet de la Rozière. There are several larger maps printed in sections, particularly in the American Revolution subseries. In these cases, the maps share one title, followed by a description of each part.

A number of maps bear annotations in Rochambeau's hand. In particular, there is a map of Lawfeld (folder 678) on which he marked the place where he was seriously wounded. Rochambeau also annotated: Partie du Piemont (folder 828), Plan des Attaques de Maestricht (folder 682), Carte des Environs de Liège, Mastrick (folder 838), and Le Cours du Rhein (folder 689).

The German Campaign section of the Seven Years' War subseries contains four maps with tipped on overlays showing troop movements. These are: Plan de la Bataille de Creveld (folder 715), Plan des Affaires de Sangershausen et de Lutternberg (folder 855), Plan de la Bataille de Tonhausen (folder 856), Plan de la Bataille de Vellinghausen (folder 857), and Plan de l'Affaire de Soest (folder 897). In addition, there are 4 watercolor manuscript maps: Cherbourg (folder 876), Plan de Luxembourg (folder 781), Plan de Strasbourg (folder 901), Neuf Brisack (folder 782), and Huningue (folder 783).

The American Revolution subseries includes 103 maps of the Atlantic coast and major harbors, general maps of North America, maps of various colonies, cities, and Canada. A portfolio of large linen-backed maps (folders 631-644) duplicates many of the maps elsewhere in the series. Scattered other duplicates and even triplicates can also be found.

A highlight of the series is a manuscript atlas of 34 plans in ink and watercolor of the camps of Rochambeau's army as he marched south to Yorktown (folder 455). The plans are very detailed, and are attributed to Louis-Alexandre and Charles-Louis Berthier. There are two additional atlases: one is a second volume of an atlas with no title page, but a table of contents that states it is the second part of the Nouvel Atlas (folder 630). The other atlas is of the Antilles (folder 645). All these atlases, while retained in the archive, have also been cataloged separately. Another unusual item is a proof of a presumably unfinished plate of the Coast of North America by Sartine, probably acquired by Rochambeau before leaving Europe for Rhode Island (folder 392).

Series VI, the Map Collection of the Vicomte de Rochambeau (1702-1823), is organized into eight subseries: American Islands, Italian Campaign and Command of Liguria, Prisoner in England, Central European Campaigns, French and European Campaigns, Spanish and Portuguese Campaigns, Russian Campaign, and German Campaign.

The 184 maps in this series are regional maps mainly of Europe and the West Indies, city maps, road maps, maps of battlefields and military campaigns. It should be noted that there are a small number of duplicates in this series as well. There is a large map of the United States (folders 468-471), and a relatively large number of Italian maps. Mapmakers represented in this series include Le Rouge, Cassini, Santini, and Dezauche. There are three atlases in this series, a little volume entitled Guide to the Post-Roads of Italy (folder 646), also Cary's New Map of England and Wales (folder 647), and an unbound atlas of Livonia in parts (folders 597-605). There is also a map of Spain with stick pins that indicate Napoleon's march on Madrid (folder 595).

Series VII, Other Rochambeau Maps (1755), contains two maps whose precise provenance is unknown. Series VIII, Index (n.d.), contains an inventory of the map collection.