The Glorious Cause - Jeff Shaara [321]
Washington saw a puzzled look on Chastellux’s face, Rochambeau’s words obviously unexpected.
“Certainly, General. Valuable indeed.”
“If I was to tell you that a powerful fleet, commanded by Admiral de Grasse, might arrive, perhaps, at the Chesapeake Bay, would you consider that to be of value?”
Washington said nothing, looked again at Chastellux, who seemed visibly uncomfortable. Washington was beginning to understand now, thought, there is nothing perhaps about this. Washington knew of de Grasse, a reputation as one of the French navy’s finest commanders. De Grasse had been sent from France to the West Indies with a sizable armada, was one of the primary reasons the French were faring so well against the British navy in their confrontations there.
“General Rochambeau, is Admiral de Grasse en route to the Chesapeake Bay?”
Rochambeau shrugged.
“Perhaps. If he was, how would you respond to that news, General?”
Washington’s mind raced, all the talk, all the planning and the meetings, Rochambeau’s stubbornness against assaulting New York. For all the man’s claims of subservience, he thought, they have their own plans, their own strategy for fighting this war. They will allow me to know those plans when I solve their riddle. He was angry now, the toothache putting him close to an explosion. Chastellux said, in English, “I am sorry, General. I knew nothing of this.”
Rochambeau waited patiently for Chastellux to finish his words, seemed to know what his subordinate had said.
“General Washington, we all fight for the same cause here. You must understand that my king must keep his eyes on all the world, not just America. You are not experienced in the consequences of war. I respect you because you have endured against a much more powerful enemy. But I must support my government’s caution. A direct assault against a powerful foe in New York could have disastrous consequence. Indeed, your war could end at the very moment our forces were defeated. It would prove an embarrassment to my king.”
Washington felt the heat in his brain slipping away from his careful grasp.
“General Rochambeau, if our forces are defeated, I have lost my home, my country, and my life. I have never championed any strategy that proved to be unwise. I am not certain that New York should be our priority, only that General Clinton’s defeat there would hasten the end of this war.”
“Thank you for your honesty, General. I will be honest with you as well. Admiral de Grasse has agreed to sail from the West Indies to the mouth of the Chesapeake because he believes there is an opportunity to destroy a British fleet that is forming there. From all we can gather, General Clinton is establishing a formidable naval base at Portsmouth, on the Virginia coast. If the British fortify that position, it could put our naval operations in America in some jeopardy. The British would have a base more central to operations either north or south.”
Washington’s anger was easing, and he said, “It is a sound plan. Might I suggest that if Admiral de Grasse is successful, he could then weigh the consequences of an assault on New York?”
“That is possible, General. I must mention, however, that Admiral de Grasse believes our forces should unite. His fleet and . . . your troops.”
Washington absorbed the words, realized that Rochambeau was offering him the decision, a symbolic show of Washington’s seniority.
He had received Lafayette’s estimates, that Cornwallis had nearly eight thousand regular British troops on the Virginia peninsula. Even if de Grasse confronted the British fleet for dominance of the Chesapeake, Cornwallis would hold tightly to the state itself. If the British supply lines over water were cut, Cornwallis would simply extend them inland, another campaign of plunder and destruction that Lafayette was not powerful enough