184 Dr. Dubourg suggested that Deane: Dubourg note, July 1776, Archives des Affaires étrangères, Angleterre, vol. 516, fol. 446, in Stevens, Facsimiles, vol. 13, no. 1343.
184 Vergennes vigorously denied: Letter, Stormont to Weymouth, August 21, 1776, Stevens, Facsimiles, vol. 13, no. 350; letter, Stormont to Weymouth, September 25, 1776, Stevens, Facsimiles, vol. 13, no. 1366.
185 Beaumarchais went to great lengths: Morton and Spinelli, Beaumarchais, 75.
186 At one point the hapless comte: Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro (trans. John Wood), act 2, 146-57.
186 Indeed, Ambassador Stormont: Letter, Stormont to Weymouth, August 21, 1776, Stevens, Facsimiles, vol. 13, no. 1350.
186 “[H]e is the most silent”: Letter, Beaumarchais to Vergennes, August 13, 1776, Stevens, Facsimiles, vol. 9, no. 889.
186 Beaumarchais unburdened himself: Letter, Beaumarchais to Deane, September 18, 1776, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 164-65.
187 Beaumarchais accused Dubourg: Letter, Beaumarchais to Vergennes, August 2, 1776, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 152-53.
187 When Dubourg wrote to Vergennes: Quoted in Grendel, Beaumarchais, 178.
188 Vergennes’s secretary, Gérard: Letter, Deane to Secret Committee, August 18, 1776, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 116-18, 201.
188 Arthur Lee was furious: Letter, Lee to Deane, July 28, 1776, Stevens, Facsimiles vol. 5, no. 467.
189 “The scale is coming”: Ibid.
189 Deane informed Lee plainly: Letter, Deane to Lee, August 19, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 226-27.
190 Deane had little patience: Letters, Deane to Delap, July 29 and 30, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 166-70.
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191 Deane tried to focus: Deane, “Memoir on the Commerce of America,” August 15, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 184-95.
191 On Saturday, August 17: Morton and Spinelli, Beaumarchais, 65; letter, Deane to Charles W. F. Dumas, August 18, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 219.
192 Almost immediately after signing: Letter, Secret Committee to Deane, July 8, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 502-3.
192 He quickly scribbled: Letter, Deane to Vergennes, August 22, 1776, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 132-33.
193 Deane was already predisposed: Letter, Deane to Secret Committee, August 18, 1776, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 122.
193 Neither Vergennes nor Beaumarchais: Potts, Arthur Lee, 159-60.
193 Lee returned to London: Hendrick, “America’s First Ambassador,” 137, 147; Franklin, Morris, et al., Memorandum, October 1, 1776, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 151.
193 He knew that Beaumarchais expected: In a letter to Robert Morris, Richard Henry Lee mentioned the plan to send the finest tobacco to France in exchange for arms. Richard Henry Lee to Robert Morris, December 24, 1776, Correspondence of Robert Morris, 59-60.
193 Months earlier, Beaumarchais had written: Letter, Beaumarchais to Lee, June 6, 1776, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 97.
193 In his reply Lee: Letter, Mary Johnson to Beaumarchais, June 14, 1776, ibid.
193 After all, that was precisely what Lee: Letter, R. Hortalez to Secret Committee, August 18, 1776, ibid., 129-31.
194 Now Bancroft warned: Letter, Edward Bancroft to Deane, September 13, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 237-40.
195 Deane wrote Congress, warning: Letter, Deane to Secret Committee, October 1, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 287-88.
195 Vergennes warned Deane and Beaumarchais: Letter, Beaumarchais to Vergennes, September 21, 1776, Stevens, Facsimiles, vol. 13, no. 1364.
196 In response to this crisis: “Memoire of Silas Deane to French Foreign Office,” September 24, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 275.
196 The revolution, he argued: Ibid., 266.
196 Deane’s argument reviewed: Ibid., 267.
196 But Deane offered Louis XVI: Ibid., 273.
196 It was “impossible that”: Ibid., 281.
197 In a postscript probably added: Ibid., 283-84.
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199 “For Heaven’s sake”: Letter, Deane to Secret Committee, October 1, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 287-89.
199 News of the Declaration: Letter, Deane to Secret Committee, October 8, 1776, Deane Papers, 309.
200 He knew that success: Letter, Deane to Secret Committee, October 25, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 338.
200 When Lee sent him: Letter, Arthur Lee to Deane, October 4, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 304.
201 Captain Lee had seized: Letter, John Emerson to Deane, October 2, 1776, Stevens, Facsimiles, vol. 6, no. 587.
201 Deane fretted: Letter, Deane to Secret Committee, October 17, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 325-28.
201 He moved to a spacious: Letter, Deane to Edward Bancroft, undated, probably March 1777, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 8.
202 Both Vergennes and Beaumarchais persuaded: Letter, Beaumarchais to Deane, July 26, 1776, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 151.
203 It is unlikely that Deane: “Le Stathoudérat du Comte de Broglie,” in Doniol, Histoire, vol. 2, 50-97; “Agreement with Baron de Kalb”; Deane Papers, vol. 1, 344; letter, Deane to Secret Committee, December 6, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 404; Unger, Lafayette, 19-20.
204 As visitors in uniform: Letter, Stormont to Weymouth, November 19, 1776, Stevens, Facsimiles, vol. 14, no. 1373.
204 Among the men who found: Unger, Lafayette, 8-15.
204 When the three young men: Letter, Deane to Secret Committee, December 6, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 404.
205 The families of Lafayette: Unger, Lafayette, 21-26.
205 Vergennes feared that: Letter, Vergennes to Superintendent of Police Lenoir, December 10, 1776, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 179; Unger, Lafayette, 20-27.
205 To complicate matters: Unger, Lafayette, 23-26.
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207 One day in early November: Letter, Deane to Edward Bancroft, undated, probably March 1777, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 8-9; Warner, John the Painter, 109-10.
208 Deane could see the man: Letter, Deane to Edward Bancroft, undated, probably March 1777, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 9-10.
208 Aitken said he had lived: Ibid., 11.
209 Aitken was actually an itinerant: Aitken, The Life of James Aitken, 27-36; Warner, John the Painter, 78-90; Clark, “John the Painter,” 1, 6-7.
209 “[T]hough I may appear”: Letter, Deane to Edward Bancroft, undated, probably March 1777, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 9-11.
210 Aitken’s plan was to destroy: Clark, “John the Painter,” 4-5; Warner, John the Painter, 96.
210 Deane was too shocked: Letter, Deane to Edward Bancroft, probably March 1777, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 6-7.
211 Deane made no effort to stop: Aitken, The Life of James Aitken, 85; York, Burning the Dockyard, 2-5; Warner, John the Painter, 115.
211 Aitken returned to England: Clark, “John the Painter,” 9.
212 The next day Bancroft: Aitken, The Life of James Aitken, 45-46; Warner, John the Painter, 135. Julian Boyd’s study of Bancroft suggested that Bancroft had some prior knowledge of Aitken. Bancroft had carried back from London a cipher key that included Aitken’s code number, zero (Boyd, “Silas Deane,” 342).
212 Bancroft was terrified: Boyd, “Silas Deane,” 338-42; Clark, “John the Painter,” 14-16; Warner, John the Painter, 136.
213 One month later, Aitken: “Trial of James Hill alias John the Painter,” in Howell, Complete Collection of State Trials, vol. 20 (1771-1777), 1335.
214 When news of the trial spread: March 14, 1777, Diary of Hutchinson, vol. 2, 143-44.
214 Bancroft had visited: Letter, Bancroft to the Marquis of Carmarthen, September 17, 1784, quoted in Bemis, “The British Secret Service and the French-American Alliance,” 493.
214 Deane looked to Bancroft: Letter, Deane to John Jay, December 3, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 398.
215 On the afternoon of March 10, 1777:
Warner, John the Painter, 220-225.
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216 He dipped his pen: Letter, Deane to Secret Committee, November 9, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 351.
217 A copy of the Declaration: Letter, Deane to Vergennes, November 20, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 358.
217 Deane also conveyed: Letter, Deane to Conde de Aranda, December 2, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 391.
217 Painfully aware of Congress’s: “Memoire by Silas Deane,” November 23, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 361.
217 To Congress Deane expressed: Letter, Deane to Secret Committee, November 28, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 372.
218 Despite news that the British: Letter, Deane to Charles W. F. Dumas, November, 1776, Deane Papers, vol. 1, 370.
218 As Deane stepped: Morton and Spinelli, Beaumarchais and the American Revolution , 80-81.
219 In November the Amphitrite: Letter, Beaumarchais to Vergennes, December 2, 1776, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 177.
219 When they were done: “Invoices of L’Amphitrite, Accounts of Silas Deane, 1776- 1781, Library of Congress Manuscript Collection.
219 At that point the military officers: Beaumarchais, Correspondance, 82; letter, Beaumarchais to Vergennes, December 16, 1776, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 179-80; letter, Beaumarchais to Deane, December 17, 1776, Shewmake, 181.
220 Stormont raced back: Morton and Spinelli, Beaumarchais, 86; letter, Stormont to Weymouth, November 20, 1776, Stevens, Facsimiles, vol. 14, no. 1375.
221 His messenger, however, was delayed: Beaumarchais, Correspondance, 85-88.
221 Congress had sent with Franklin: Letter, Franklin to Deane, December 4, 1776, Franklin, The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 23, 26-27.
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223 Franklin arrived at the dock: Letter, Franklin to Benjamin Vaughan, September 18, 1777, Franklin, The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 24, 539; Blanc, “The ‘Ital ian Taste’ in the Time of Louis XVI,” 79; Schiff, A Great Improvisation, 89-90.
224 It was evident that Deane’s hotel: “Two Notes,” December 30, 1776, Franklin, Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 23, 100.
224 On December 28: Letter, Franklin to Secret Committee, January 4, 1777, Franklin, Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 23, 113, n. 3.
225 To make matters worse: Morton and Spinelli, Beaumarchais, 55-56, 95-98.
225 On the morning of Sunday, January 5: Letter, American Commissioners to Vergennes, January 5, 1777, Franklin, Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 23, 121.
226 Thus the commissioners met: Ibid., 122-23; Bemis, The Diplomacy of the American Revolution, 53.
226 One of Franklin’s friends in France: Wood, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin, 175-76; Schoenbrun, Triumph in Paris, 97-99; Van Doren, Benjamin Franklin, 576; Schiff, A Great Improvisation, 50-53; Bendiner, The Virgin Diplomats , 78; Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin, 329-30.
227 He carried a walking stick: Letter, Franklin to Emma Thompson, February 8, 1777, Franklin, Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 23, 298.
228 Franklin could certainly afford: Van Doren, Benjamin Franklin, 569-72; Wood, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin, 173-74, 180-81.
228 Even the British spies: Patton, Patriot Pirates, 159.
228 Franklin spent his days: Schiff, A Great Improvisation, 54.
229 Franklin confessed to her: Letter, Franklin to Madame Brillon, March 10, 1778, Franklin, Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 26, 85-86.
229 “Do you know, my dear Papa”: Letter, Madame Brillon to Franklin, December 20, 1778, Franklin, Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 28, 253.
229 Franklin thought nothing: Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin, 356-62.
229 At thirty-six, Lee: Potts, Arthur Lee, 11; Hendrick, The Lees of Virginia, 367-68.
229 Lee left for Spain: Letter, Arthur Lee to Secret Committee, February 11, 1777, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 268.
230 During their meeting Morris: Potts, Arthur Lee, 169; letter, Arthur Lee to Richard Henry Lee, March 6, 1777, The Lee Family Papers, vol. 3, 120.
230 Deane and Franklin reported: Bendiner, The Virgin Diplomats, 70; letter, Deane to Robert Morris, September 23, 1777, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 146-50.
230 Morris wrote to Deane accusing: Quoted in Wagner, Robert Morris, 44-45.
231 Nonetheless, Lee met with Grimaldi: Letter, Lee to Grimaldi, March 5, 1777, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 279-80.
231 Lee told the foreign minister: Letter, Lee to the Court of Spain, March 8, 1777, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 282.
231 Grimaldi growled back: Letter, Grimaldi to Lee, March 8, 1777, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 282.
231 Grimaldi warned Lee: Letter, Lee to Floridablanca, March 17, 1777, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 290. Bemis calculated that Spain eventually loaned the Americans less than $400,000 between 1776 and 1779 (The Diplomacy of the American Revolution, 53, 91-92). Potts, however, reported that the Spanish lent the Americans as much as 400,000 livres (roughly $3 million today). The king of Spain was prepared to lend money to the Americans months before Lee’s arrival (letter, Secret Committee to Commissioners, February 19, 1777, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 274).
231 Though Lee considered: Letter, Bancroft to Wentworth, May 1777, Stevens, Facsimiles, vol. 2, no. 151.
232 Franklin, who had more diplomatic experience: Letter, Franklin to Lee, March 21, 1777, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 298; Bemis, The Diplomacy of the American Revolution, 114.
232 Though he chastised Franklin: Potts, Arthur Lee, 166, 175-76; Schiff, A Great Improvisation, 73; Bemis, The Diplomacy of the American Revolution, 115.
233 Lee returned to Passy: Schiff, A Great Improvisation, 57.
233 In Lee’s absence Deane negotiated: Commissioners and the Farmers General: Contract for Tobacco, March 24, 1777, Franklin, Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 23, 514-17.
234 At the end of December, 1776: Letter, Lee to Secret Committee, December 31, 1776, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 242.
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235 Lee wrote to a friend that the appointment: Quoted in Hendrick, The Lees of Virginia, 266-67.
235 By the early 1700s: Maier, The Old Revolutionaries, 172.
235 Tobacco prices were unstable: Holton, Forced Founders, 52-53, 60-65; Maier, The Old Revolutionaries, 171-73; Breen, The Marketplace of Revolution, 121-22.
236 Like many Tidewater growers: Hendrick, The Lees of Virginia, 78.
236 In 1747, Thomas Lee: Royster, The Fabulous History of the Dismal Swamp Company , 40-42.
236 John Robinson, the powerful Speaker: Hendrick, The Lees of Virginia, 67-69; Royster, Fabulous History, 42.
237 In 1753, Virginia governor: Ellis, His Excellency: George Washington, 12-17; Flexner, Washington, 10-17; Royster, Fabulous History, 57.
238 By then, Virginian planter John Mercer: Potts, Arthur Lee, 40; McGaughy, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, 34; James, George Mercer of the Ohio Company, 43.
239 This was an opportunity for the Lees: Letter, R. H. Lee, July 4, 1765, Lee, The Letters of Richard Henry Lee, 1:9, quoted in McGaughy, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, 78.
239 Richard Henry, untroubled: Potts, Arthur Lee, 40-42; Hendrick, The Lees of Virginia , 132-33; McGaughy, Richard Henry Lee, 78-80; James, George Mercer of the Ohio Company, 51-53, 56; Maier, The Old Revolutionaries, 195-97.
240 By now the Lee family: McGaughy, Richard Henry Lee, 76-77.
240 The Lee brothers appointed: Hendrick, The Lees of Virginia, 118-20, 271-73; McGaughy, Richard Henry Lee, 73; Potts, Arthur Lee, 56-57.
241 The most significant rival: Royster, Fabulous History, 156-57.
241 Though Franklin’s reputation: Ibid., 42-45, 156-57.
242 The two competing bids: Marshall, “Lord Hillsborough, Samuel Wharton and the Ohio Grant, 1769-1775,” 717-39; Alvord, “Virginia and the West,” 19-38; Le
wis, The Indiana Company, 94-100.
242 The Mississippi Company’s loss: Royster, Fabulous History, 234; Holton, Forced Founders, 95-98.
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243 Lee went behind his colleagues: Alsop, Yankees at the Court, 88-89; Potts, Arthur Lee, 179-83; Schiff, A Great Improvisation, 135-36, 146-47, 152-53.
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