244 After a particularly nasty: Letter, Deane to Lee, December 13, 1777, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 272-73.
244 Beaumarchais resented Deane’s insistence: Letter, Beaumarchais to Deane, February 19, 1777, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 200.
245 Du Coudray accused Beaumarchais: Morton and Spinelli, Beaumarchais, 99-103; letter, Beaumarchais to Vergennes, January 13, 1777, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 188-89; letter, Deane to Beaumarchais, February 8, 1777, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 195.
245 Beaumarchais wrote to Vergennes: Letter, Beaumarchais to Vergennes, January 30, 1777, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 191; letter, Beaumarchais to Vergennes, January 27, 1777, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 190.
246 Soon after, the embargo was: Morton and Spinelli, Beaumarchais, 110-12.
246 Deane and Beaumarchais had labored: Letter, Deane to Beaumarchais, February 24, 1777, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 201.
247 The Secret Committee, now: Letter, Foreign Affairs Committee to Commissioners, May 30, 1777, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 327.
248 “Congress have left it”: Letter, Major J. Burnett to Jeremiah Wadsworth, March 18, 1780, as quoted in Carp, To Starve the Army at Pleasure, 69.
248 All Congress could do: Ibid., 83.
248 The value of the currency: Alden, A History of the American Revolution, 255, 446.
248 When merchants refused to accept: Ibid., 68-69.
248 War imposed severe economic hardships: Letter, Greer to Davis, March 29, 1779, quoted in Carp, To Starve the Army at Pleasure, 72.
248 “Great frugality and great industry”: Letter, Franklin to Joseph Priestley, July 7, 1775, Franklin, The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 22, 93.
249 In July, Burgoyne chased the Americans: Ketchum, Saratoga, 172-77, 217-18, 246, 248.
250 “Our people knew not the hardships”: Letter, Robert Morris to Commissioners, December 21, 1776, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 236.
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252 Franklin regularly attended: Letter, Commissioners to Stormont, April 2, 1777, Franklin, The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 23, 548-549; Schiff, Great Improvisation , 86-87.
252 Yet, the British Foreign Ministry: Letter, Franklin to Benjamin Vaughan, September 18, 1777, Franklin, Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 24, 539.
253 Beaumarchais told Vergennes that unless France: Letter, Beaumarchais to Vergennes, March 8, 1777, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 206-8.
253 One bright piece of news: Letter, Samuel Cooper to Franklin, March 30, 1777, Franklin, Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 23, 534; Morton and Spinelli, Beaumarchais , 106, citing Langdon’s cargo list for the Mercure.
253 The Amphitrite reached Portsmouth: “Invoices of L’Amphitrite, Accounts of Silas Deane, 1776-1781,” Library of Congress Manuscript Collection; Morton and Spinelli, Beaumarchais, 84, citing Langdon’s cargo list for the Amphitrite. This list is illustrative of the kinds of supplies that were shipped, but it is not precise. The bill of lading and the cargo list for the Amphitrite were inconsistent. It appears that in the rush to deliver the arms, some of the cargo lists were confused, and cargo loaded on one ship may have appeared on another ship’s bill of lading.
253 Almost as soon as word reached the commissioners: Einstein, Divided Loyalties, 45-46; Potts, Arthur Lee, 180-81, 189; letter, Deane to Bancroft, January 8, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 310; letter, Deane to Jonathan Williams, January 13, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 327.
254 Bancroft walked purposefully: “Engagement of Dr. Edwards,” December 1776, Stevens, Facsimiles, vol. 3, no. 235; Bemis, “The British Secret Service and the French-American Alliance,” 477. This location had been arranged by Paul Wentworth. The arrangement was made in December 1776, months before Bancroft’s sudden departure for Paris, proving that Bancroft simply used the John the Painter affair as an excuse to obtain a job with the commissioners.
255 Neither the British Foreign Ministry: Einstein, Divided Loyalties, 23-24.
255 One of the other British spies was Joseph Hynson: Letter, Carmichael to Secret Committee, November 2, 1776, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence , vol. 2, 184-85; Lever, Beaumarchais (trans. Emanuel), 147; Bemis, “British Secret Service and the French-American Alliance,” 478-81.
255 Hynson and Carmichael were soon inseparable: Bemis, “British Secret Service and the French-American Alliance,” 481; letter, Deane to Hynson, October 26, 1777, Stevens, Facsimiles, vol. 2, no. 208.
256 Lee blamed Deane: Einstein, Divided Loyalties, 45-46; Schiff, A Great Improvisation , 147-48; Dull, Diplomatic History, 77.
256 Lee himself regularly wrote: Potts, Arthur Lee, 198.
256 Franklin acknowledged it was impossible: Letter, Franklin to Juliana Ritchie, January 19, 1777, Franklin, Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 23, 211.
257 In July, Ambassador Stormont confronted: Letter, Vergennes to Commissioners, July 16, 1777, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 364-65; Dull, Diplomatic History, 80-81.
257 Franklin and Deane wrote to Vergennes: Letter, Franklin and Deane to Vergennes, July 17, 1777, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 365-66.
258 As the London stock exchange roared: Schiff, A Great Improvisation, 98.
258 Privately, Vergennes wrote to Louis XVI: Bemis, The Diplomacy of the American Revolution, 55-57; Dull, Diplomatic History, 90.
258 Meanwhile, the commissioners, unaware: “Commissioners’ Memorandum for Vergennes and Aranda,” September 25, 1777, Franklin, Papers of Benjamin Franklin , vol. 24, 556-63.
258 “There is nothing better”: Letter, Lauraguais to Vergennes, September 20, 1777, quoted in Schiff, A Great Improvisation, 101.
259 “[T]he situation of my Country”: Letter, Deane to Charles Dumas, October 1, 1777, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 164.
259 He wrote to his brother: Letter, Deane to Barnabas Deane, October 3, 1777, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 166.
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261 The blackmailer Morande testified: The case, Hayes v. Jacques (King’s Bench, 1777), is unreported, but an abstract appears in “The Supplement,” The Universal Magazine 60 (1777): 368-69.
261 According to her account: Cox, The Enigma of the Age, 114-15.
262 D’Eon objected that she: In Gaillardet, Memoirs of Chevalier D’Eon, 283.
262 D’Eon later wrote: Beaumont, The Maiden of Tonnerre, 36.
262 For this reason, Vergennes wanted: Homberg and Jousselin, D’Eon de Beaumont, 191-92.
262 In her memoir: Beaumont, The Maiden of Tonnerre, 24, from “The Great Historical Epistle by the Chevalière d’Eon, Written in 1785.”
263 As d’Eon later recounted: Beaumont, The Maiden of Tonnerre, 57-59, 64-65; Kates, Monsieur d’Eon Is a Woman, 26.
263 In order to prepare her to be presented”: Beaumont, The Maiden of Tonnerre, 68-69.
264 After a month of lessons: Schiff, A Great Improvisation, 109; Cox, The Enigma of the Age, 116-17; Gaillardet, Memoirs, 284-85; Homberg and Jousselin, D’Eon de Beaumont, 199-200.
264 D’Eon’s miraculous conversion: Kates, Monsieur d’Eon Is a Woman, 260-61; Gaillardet, Memoirs, 284-90; Homberg and Jousselin, D’Eon de Beaumont, 214-16; quoted in Edna Nixon, Royal Spy, 207.
265 Madame d’Eon used her new prominence: Quoted in Gaillardet, Memoirs, 286- 87.
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268 Beaumarchais arrived: Morton and Spinelli, Beaumarchais, 155-56.
268 Shortly before noon: The American Commissioners: A Public Announcement, December 4, 1777, Franklin, The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 25, 234; Austin, “Memoir of Jonathan Loring Austin,” Boston Monthly Magazine (July, 1826), 59.
269 “Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne’s army: Hibbert, Redcoats and Rebels, 46-48, 94; Bobrick, Angel in the Whirlwind, 273.
269 The American rebels ahead: Quoted in Ketchum, Saratoga, 348.
270 Rather than abandon excess baggage: Ibid., 309-12, 331-32; Hibbert, Redcoats and Rebels, 17
5-78.
270 As the two armies began: Ketchum, Saratoga, 346, 355, 359-60, 380, 383.
271 Nearly all the general officers: Ibid., 346, 355, 359-60, 380, 383-404, 437; Middlekauff, The Glorious Cause, 383-85; Alden, The American Revolution, 322-27; Bobrick, Angel in the Whirlwind, 280.
271 When he returned to London: Quoted in Hibbert, Redcoats and Rebels, 340.
271 The stunned commissioners: Morton and Spinelli, Beaumarchais, 155-56; letter, Beaumarchais to Vergennes, December 5, 1777, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind , 253-54.
272 He sent his secretary: Van Doren, Benjamin Franklin, 588.
273 The British agent Paul Wentworth reentered: Letter, Wentworth to Deane, December 12, 1777, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 271; letter, Deane to Wentworth, December 12, 1777, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 271.
273 Wentworth and Deane met at least twice: Einstein, Divided Loyalties, 30-32.
274 Franklin also agreed to talk: Van Doren, Benjamin Franklin, 589-92.
274 They knew that wherever they went: Brands, The First American, 543-44; Van Doren, Benjamin Franklin, 589-93.
274 Then, on the eve of the meeting: Trevelyan, The American Revolution, 358; Bemis, The Diplomacy of American Revolution, 70-74.
276 Franklin put aside his customary brown jacket: Letter, Commissioners to the Foreign Affairs Committee, December 18, 1777, Franklin, The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 25, 305-9; Schiff, A Great Improvisation, 130-32.
276 Though the three commissioners signed: Potts, Arthur Lee, 192-94; Hendrick, The 276 of Virginia, 162-63, 321-22. Though Lee’s biographer makes an argument that the letter may have been sent by Lee’s secretary Thornton, who was a British spy, this makes no sense in light of the fact that Thornton reported to the foreign ministry and would not have risked exposing himself by writing to Lee’s dearest friend in England, who was more sympathetic to the Americans. Shelburne never came forward to clear Lee’s name, and Lee himself never disavowed the letter. The letter was consistent with Lee’s systematic efforts to put Beaumarchais’s smuggling operation out of business while claiming credit for the arms that France had provided. Hendrick, The Lees of Virginia, 321-25.
277 Deane realized that Lee: Schiff, A Great Improvisation, 139; Dull, Diplomatic History , 98.
277 Stormont left so quickly: Letter, Franklin to Lovell, July 22, 1788, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 559.
278 On the first day of spring, 1778: Van Doren, Benjamin Franklin, 595-96; Hendrick, The Lees of Virginia, 294-95.
278 For Silas Deane: Letter, Deane to Jonathan Williams, March 21, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 420.
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279 A fortnight before: Letter, James Lovell to Deane, December 8, 1777, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 267.
279 Ten days before: Letter, Deane to Gerard, March 9, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 389.
280 When Deane informed Beaumarchais: Letter, Beaumarchais to Vergennes, March 13, 1778, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 290-96.
280 Beaumarchais also wrote to Congress: Letter, Beaumarchais to Congress, March 23, 1778, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 298-300.
281 Once Deane received Congress’s order: Letter, Beaumarchais to Vergennes, March 9, 1778, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 289; letter, Beaumarchais to Vergennes, March 13, 1778, Shewmake, For the Good of Mankind, 290-97; Journals of Congress, November 21, 1777, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 424; Journals of Congress, November 28, 1777, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 431.
281 Lee blamed Franklin: Letter, Arthur Lee to Franklin, April 2, 1778, Franklin, The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 26, 222.
281 Franklin replied: Letter, Franklin to Arthur Lee, April 3, 1778, Franklin, Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 26, 223.
282 He wrote to the president: Letter, Franklin to Congress, March 31, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 445.
282 As the day of Deane’s departure: Letter, Vergennes to Congress, March 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 435; letter, Vergennes to Deane, March 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 436.
282 Adams was accompanied: Letter, William Temple Franklin to Deane, April 24, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 461.
283 Deane traveled by coach: Letter, D’Estaing to Deane, April 1, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 447; Hibbert, Redcoats and Rebels, 227; Bobrick, Angel in the Whirlwind , 356-57; Tuchman, The First Salute, 160; letter, Deane to the President of Congress, July 10, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 468.
283 Still, he found comfort: Letter, Deane to Beaumarchais, March 29, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 439.
283 He was “happy”: Quoted in Clark, Silas Deane, 114-15.
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285 The redcoats left the city: Bobrick, Angel in the Whirlwind, 347.
285 A week later a fleet: Letters, Deane to the President of Congress, July 10 and July 11, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 468-71; Bobrick, Angel in the Whirlwind, 348.
286 Gérard was received: From The Pennsylvania Packet, July 14, 1778, reprinted in Deane Papers, vol. 2, 471-72.
286 Over dinner that night Deane sat: Randall, Benedict Arnold, 421, 435.
287 Meanwhile, delegates in Congress: Ibid., 435-437, 440-52.
288 Samuel Adams objected that Deane: Letter, Samuel Adams to James Warren, October 11, 1778, Smith, Letters of Delegates, vol. 11, 47-48.
288 In truth, Deane’s recall: Wood, The Creation of the American Republic, 420.
289 The Lee-Adams Junto saw: Letter, Richard Henry Lee to Arthur Lee, October 27, 1778, Smith, Letters of Delegates, vol. 11, 132.
289 Richard Henry Lee thought Franklin: Letter, Richard Henry Lee to Arthur Lee, September 16, 1778, Smith, Letters of Delegates, vol. 10, 651-53.
289 Similarly, Ralph Izard wrote Congress: Letter, Izard to Henry Laurens, June 28, 1778, Wharton, Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, vol. 2, 629.
289 Eventually, the assault on Franklin’s: Observations on Lee’s Letter of June 1, 1778, October 12, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 3, 37.
290 After being ordered: Letter, Deane to the President of Congress, July 28, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 474-75; Proceedings for August 15-21, 1778, Journals of the Continental Congress, vol. 11, 799-802, 813, 826; letter, Deane to the President of Congress, September 8, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 480; letter, Deane to the President of Congress, September 11, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 480-81; letter, Laurens to Lowndes, August 18, 1778, Smith, Letters of Delegates, vol. 10, 473-75.
290 In September 1778, Arthur Lee: Proceedings of September 22, 26, 28, 30 and October 5, 1778, Journals of the Continental Congress, vol. 12, 942-43, 955, 984; Deane Papers, vol. 2, 483-86, 489-91; letter, Richard Henry Lee to Arthur Lee, September 16, 1778, Smith, Letters of Delegates, vol. 10, 653-54; Patton, Patriot Pirates, 76.
291 Congress called Carmichael: “Examination of William Carmichael, September 28 and 30, 1778,” reprinted in Deane Papers, vol. 2, 491-99.
291 James Lovell, a delegate: Letter, James Lovell to John Adams, October 24, 1778, Smith, Letters of Delegates, vol. 11, 114.
291 Richard Henry Lee suspected: Letter, Richard Henry Lee to Arthur Lee, September 16, 1778, Smith, Letters of Delegates, vol. 10, 653-54.
291 For Deane, defending himself: Letter, Deane to the President of Congress, September 22, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 2, 486-88.
292 What made the allegations: Letter, Deane to the President of Congress, October 12, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 3, 13-33.
292 He lived modestly: “Silas Deane’s Narrative,” December 21, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 3, 197-98.
293 Some of Deane’s contemporaries: Patton, Patriot Pirates, 76-77.
293 Deane thought that the public: Letter, Deane to Barnabas Deane, November 30, 1778, Deane Papers, vol. 3, 61-62.
293 In December, Deane published: “Address of Silas Deane,” The Pennsylvania Packet, December 5, 1778, reprinted in Deane Papers, vol. 3, 66-67.
294 Deane described his relationship: Ibid., 69-70.
294 Deane explained how Lee’s misreprese
ntations: Ibid., 71-73. Samuel Adams also defended Dr. Berkenhout (letter, Samuel Adams to John Winthrop, December 21, 1778, Smith, Letters of Delegates, vol. 11, 363-64).
294 In closing, Deane warned: “Address of Silas Deane,” The Pennsylvania Packet, December 5, 1778, reprinted in Deane Papers, vol. 3, 75.
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295 Still in Paris, John Adams: “John Adams’ Diary,” February 8, 1779, Deane Papers, vol. 3, 349.
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