The Glorious Cause - Jeff Shaara [329]
Lafayette shook his head. “Oh . . . no, thank you.”
He looked at de Grasse, the man’s words settling into his mind.
“Sir? Cargo?”
“General, I have transported something over three thousand infantry, who, I am quite certain, would prefer making camp on land than spending one more day in the comfort of my ships. Might you have some good use for them?”
“Three thousand troops? You would offer them to . . . my command?”
“I am told that General Washington places his highest confidence in you. Is there any reason why I should not do the same?”
“Thank you, sir. I am honored by your respect, by all you have offered me. Yes, Admiral, your troops can be put to considerable effect.”
SEPTEMBER 5, 1781
The French troops came ashore on the island of Jamestown, led by the Marquis de Saint-Simon. Saint-Simon was another of the capable French commanders who, like Lafayette, had received some attention in the military on the strength of his aristocratic family. Surprisingly, he showed Lafayette the same courtesies as de Grasse, conceded immediately that this was, after all, Lafayette’s command.
Lafayette understood that he had the troops now to do what he had feared before, place a barrier close to Yorktown that had enough strength actually to discourage the British from sweeping him aside. As Saint-Simon completed his landing, Lafayette united his ragged army with the fresh French troops. They pushed forward, Lafayette anticipating that Cornwallis would strike at any time. But the British remained behind their fortifications. Within two days, the combined French-American force had established a new line of defense at Williamsburg, a day’s march from Yorktown.
With the lines secure, de Grasse continued to consult Lafayette. Though no significant move could be made without orders from Washington, Lafayette received a message that the commanding general was on the march, somewhere in the area of Philadelphia. But there would be no peaceful wait. De Grasse sent word: He was raising his anchors and moving out to sea. The British had finally responded to de Grasse’s presence, and a fleet had sailed out of New York under Graves and Hood. The sails had been sighted, and de Grasse would have to move out far from shore to allow his ships maneuvering room for what could certainly be a critical battle.
Lafayette waited with his entire command, focused on the vague thunder that rolled in a steady rumble from the open sea. He knew Cornwallis was waiting as well, listening as he was, both men aware that the great naval battle would not only decide who would control the Virginia peninsula, but who would control the Chesapeake as well. Lafayette was surprised that the fight seemed only to last a few short hours, and as the sun dropped behind him, he caught a glimpse of a sail, then more, ships moving close to the mouth of the York River, one fast packet moving up the James. The ship reached Williamsburg the next morning with a message from de Grasse. The fight had been indecisive, no great advantage for either side. But the British had absorbed the brunt of the damage, and Graves had withdrawn his fleet, seemed to be withdrawing to his base in New York. The French fleet would resume their former position inside the Chesapeake Bay. Cornwallis was bottled up again.
SEPTEMBER 14, 1781
Lafayette stared through field glasses at a dozen horsemen, the familiar coats of the British cavalry. They had come every morning, close enough to scout his lines, not so close as to draw fire from the pickets. In just a few days it had become a routine, Lafayette and Wayne riding out, waiting for the British horsemen to appear. Wayne was beside him, glassed the men who glassed him back.
“They keep this up, we should lay an ambush. If this is a game, it has become