Mémoire Sur la ville de Newport en Rhode-Island
Call No. GR 1 VM 209 (English)
There exists at least one more copy of this mémoire in GR 1 VN 7, which is identified as Archives du Génie 15 in Howard C. Rice Jr. and Anne S. K. Brown, The American Campaigns of Rochambeau’s Army 1780, 1781, 1782, 1782. 2 vols. (Princeton and Providence, 1972), vol. 2, p. 299.
GR 1 VN 7 is identified as “No 27“ on top of page 1. Above the stamp (in red) Depot Gel des Fortifications is written “histe Militaire Campagnes Con n 7” and below: “sans date. Les travaux curant bien en aout et 7br, “ i.e. : “Without date. The work progressed well in August and September [1780].”
The “n 7” is possibly a reference to “Archives de Génie No. 15 – 1 – 7” which is the old call number, No 27o refers to the number it had in “Archives de Génie No. 15 – 1 – 7”.
Under the introductory paragraph beginning with “Mémoire …” is written
“par M. Desandroüins”
The text in both copies is written by the same scribe. It is identical in both versions.
The following transcription is that of GR 1 VM 209 since GR 1 VN 7 does not have the left-hand columns with explanatory notes.
Since the two-column format of the original cannot be recreated in this transcription the text of the explanatory notes in the left-hand column of the original is given in cursive in this transcription.
The text is in two columns with comments in the left-column. In this transcription the text in the right-hand column is transcribed first and the comment from the left-hand column is added at the end of the paragraph to which it belongs.
Page 1
(in a different handwriting) Places étrangères
Armée de Rochambeau 1780.
Mémoire sur la ville de Newport en Rhode-Island avec la description de ses Environs, des ouvrages de Campagne construits pour sa défense et celle de sa Rade, et enfin de ceux qu’on pourroit y ajouter.
(in a different handwriting) par M. Desandroüins
(left-hand column in a different handwriting)
No. 1
La carte est jointe à un autre exempl. voy[ez]. Hist[oire] milit[aire].
The map is attached to another copy. See. Hist milit.
Note: The map referenced here and throughout this Mémoire is attached to the copy of the Mémoire in GR 1 VN 7.
(next a stamp in red ink)
Depot Gl des
Fortifications
The Bay of Narranganset, on the coast of North America, between Cape Sakonnet and Point Judith, comprises/includes several islands, the principal of which are Rhode Island and Conanicut, which divide the entrance [into the bay] into three lanes/channels.
By the eastern one the frigates enter but they cannot complete the turn/tour of the harbor; and that of the west may give passage to ships of the line. ,a,
(comment in left-hand column)
,a, The Comte d’Estaing had brought up by this last channel three of his ships, the Protecteur, the Provence and the Sagittaire; the first touched bottom through the fault of the pilot, the other two made the turn around Conanicut. The officers of our squadron have verified by sounding that the largest vessels would find enough space/water there before they touched bottom. This General [d’Estaing] had brought up some of his frigates through the East channel, which obliged those of the English who were there to be burned.
(back to right-hand column)
Through the middle one one enters Newport Harbor, where ships of all sizes are safe against the winds, from there the merchant ships go to seek in the harbor an even safer and more convenient shelter.
The city is located at 41.o 41.’ latitude and 73 degrees 45 minutes longitude west of the meridian of Paris,[1] it was built along the shore for the ease of trade. It is nearly 1100 toises in length, by 5 to 600 toises[2] in its greatest width, the streets are wide and well aligned, the longest are directed from north to south and are crossed by the others at right angles, some extend obliquely outwards, which makes the outer perimeter very irregular. The houses are almost all of wood, there remain 737 of them which the English have spared; those bordering the sea enjoy the advantage of having Wharfs or Timber Piers, all belonging to private individuals and none to the public. ,b, on
,b, The founders set aside neither docks nor streets
(Begin page 2, continuation left-hand column)
for the service of the public, or at most to organize it so that the owners could rent them [only], but they did not think that the State could need them, and we were obliged to accept this.
The English in their indigence/need did not respect these wharfs any more than the houses, they took the frame from those that belonged to known Whigs, to warm themselves with them. [i.e. they burned the wood]
(Begin page 2, continuation right-hand column)
there are about 8000 souls at present.
The island called Rhode Island, of which this city is the capital, is about 12000 toises in length from the point of Common-Sense in the north, to Prices Neck in the south, and about 4000 toises in its greatest breadth from east to west. Besides the bac or ferry established at Newport to pass to the Isle of Conanicut and thence to the coast of the province of Connecticut, it connects to the Continent by those of Bristol and Howlands to the north, and by that of Fogland to the east. It is crossed in all directions by wide and convenient roads, formerly bordered by tall trees alongside, which made it very agreeable, but the English have cut them down for their use, as well as some woods and coppices that had been preserved for their utility/usefulness.
The country is interspersed with hills which, without being very high, provide more or less advantageous military positions ,c,
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,c, In August 1778, the American General Sullivan was able to take advantage of this to move from place to place as he retired by the two great roads leading to Bristol and Howlands Ferry, so much so that he saved his artillery, his baggage, and his troops after having done more harm to the enemy than he had received himself, although he was pursued with warmth.
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The land in general is rather dry and stony, it produces [Indian] corn in abundance, a little barley and oats, fodder of poor quality, some fruits, potatoes, lemons and other vegetables, but it refuses to/does not grow wheat. The sea abounds in fish, the air is recognized as salubrious, in spite of the frequent fogs and sudden variations of temperature.
The city, by its location on an inclined ground, faces the roadstead, a squadron anchored in front truly protects it on that side, and it can put itself in the most respectable state by being supported by
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batteries for which there are on land such positions as one could [only] desire, but without a squadron it would only be by multiplying the artillery that we could prevent the road-stead to the vessels of the enemy which would soon turn Newport a heap of ruins. ,d,
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,d When Mr le comte D’Estaing entered, the English, having no ships of the line, sank merchant ships in the two passages/channels from the roadstead to the port, garrisoned the batteries of Brenton, 16 and 17, those of Goat Island, 25, of Dyers, 22, and of the Park, 31, with the cannon of the frigates they had burned.[3] This vice-admiral not having a perfect knowledge of the roadstead, nor complete confidence in his pilots, did not dare to approach with [only] sounding line in his hand and sailed along the coast of the Island of Conanicut to anchor beyond Taylors Point; his project/plan was to put ashore as many men as he could, to join Sullivan, who was landing and combining their attack by sea and land. Lord Howe, who then appeared at the entrance of the narrows, decided at once to return under the fire of the same batteries to pursue and fight him. There is no doubt here that if he [d’Estaing] had had experienced pilots on whom he could have relied, he would not have hesitated to put himself immediately upon his arrival in a position to wipe out the town, and that the garrison would not have been able to retire/retreat toward the back. It is assured that the English were most afraid of it.
Since then, most of the burned-down buildings have been removed; some still remain in the north of Goat Island.
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If nature provides this city with advantages on the ocean which can be accessed without question/are there for the asking, she has been very ungrateful to it on the land side. One could not form an enclosure/build a surrounding wall without a prodigious labor, and the more one sought to tighten/strengthen it, the more it would be subjected to slopes [downward angles], enfilades and reverses. Besides, its defense would require such a large number of means/resources and defenders, that it must then seem preferable to oppose the landing on the island [rather than at the city], especially if there can be no question of erecting only field works, without neglecting, however, to set aside, in case of failure or surprise, the means of covering the place [with artillery fire] and of making a resistance long enough to give time for the relief to arrive from the continent.
It is according to these principles that Mr le comte de Rochambeau formed his plan of defense. The camp of his army has been placed across the isthmus of the peninsula of Brenton, which is furthest towards the sea, in order to be in a better position to oppose surprises on this side, not only because it presents itself to the enemy without his [the defender] being obliged to enter the passes, but because it is full of rocks and steep ravines it would be very difficult to dislodge the enemy once he had taken possession of them.
The first task of this general was then to open convenient paths for
(Page 4, continuation right-hand column)
the Field Artillery and the columns of the army from the camp to the various contour points (points of equal elevation above sea level) on the Isle suitable for landings ,e,
(Page 4, comment in left-hand column)
,e, To supplement the attached map, the map of Rhode Island translated from the English by le Rouge, rue des grands augustins, may suffice to distinguish/get to know the steep shores or those preceded by rocks, from those on which one could land.[4]
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without, however, relying entirely on this precaution, it is probable that he would have followed the movements of the fleet as it sailed into the channels, always keeping within reach of the most threatened places.
But if, by one of those hazards which render the best combined operations uncertain in war, if the landing had been a surprise, or his troops had been repulsed, he had reserved to himself the resource of defending himself around Newport, and these are his dispositions.
The squadron, 49,50,51,52,53,54, and 55 positioned in the roadstead is protected by batteries, 16,17,18,19 and 25, the first three of which are on Brenton Point, and the other two on Rose Island and Goat Island, which puts the port and the town beyond attacks from the sea.
The redoubts, advanced outer works or lunettes (an outwork of half-moon shape; a redan with short flanks), 1,2,3,24,26,5,28,6 and 7, are in the 1st line, ,f,
(Page 4, comment in left-hand column)
,f, The English had entrenched the same position and supported themselves there against Sullivan. The explanatory list on the map points out those of their works which were still in existence when we arrived, and those of them which we took advantage of by repairing them, but they had built abbatis of which we have not found the slightest trace, and which doubtless made up for the defects of the other works. It was not possible for us to have recourse to the same expedient, since by necessity they left only a few fruit trees and a few bushes on the island. Their generals did not have to choose a better post, but their engineers in the execution of the details could not investigate in front and behind the rounded convexity of the heights on the summit of which were placed the works which serve us as a Second Line, which gave them the means of approaching very closely in several places without being seen; it is to remedy this that the first line has been formed, which is everywhere within farthest range of cannon. In tracing the range of each defensive work the system of a défense razante from one to the other has not been followed;[5] it has been preferred to give each face/position the ability of parallel firing at all the points through which one [i.e., the enemy] can emerge and to the flanks of those works defending the approaches the ability to fire a little into the front of the opposite defensive work; all the more so as M. le Cte de Rochambeau has absolutely decided not to multiply the works enough to be mutually within range of defense with musket fire. It will be noted that the batteries placed on works 1, 2, 4, and 24, can cross their shots with those of guns, 6, 5, 28, and 26, at the fork of the Bristol and Howlands Ferry roads.
Sullivan’s design, as he told us, was to make a false attack on the fort of Thomini-hill, 23, and at the same time to penetrate to the town by the edge
(comment continued on page 5, left-hand column)
of the Pond, whose banks he would have followed, which were not seen from any of the works of the English. He expected to find us by default there when he came to see us in the month of August [1780], and was not a little surprised to find that our first care had been to provide for it by the work, 7 which he admired, especially when he saw himself cover by it though he was on horseback, though he was in a low section.
(Back to Page 4, continuation right-hand column)
They occupy a part of the length of the island from the point of Coddington to the tail end of a deep pond which is separated from the sea only by a narrow causeway, which is also defended by the redoubts, 8 and 30, and by Battery 41 ,g, .
(Letter ,g, begins on page 5, left-hand column, after the end of letter ,f, )
,g, This causeway is formed by deposits brought back by the sea. The cut that could be made there would first cause the waters of the pond to fall and would then be filled up at each tide. The English had defended it by a very thick abbatis and by the redoubt ,30, we have supplemented the abbatis by the battery ,41, and the redoubt ,8, which stretch from end to end perfectly. A shoulder can be added from one side to the other in a short time.
(Back to Page 4, continuation right-hand column)
all these works have been placed on the slope of the hillsides which have been occupied in order to see perfectly and to descend sufficiently closely into the bottom of the valleys, to reconnoitre all the outlets from which the enemy could emerge and to reduce/weaken him from the summit of the opposite hills, they have needed no less than 12 to 14 feet[6] of relief at their salient to be perfectly defiled, they must be palisaded and even
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the fraises. Most of them have their gorges closed only by a simple ditch, to which it is natural to add two rows of palisades, one at the end and the other on the incline, with a drummer (?) at the entrance, with the intention of subjecting their embankment to the fire of the works from the Second Line, 23, 25, 27 and 29, placed on the summits which dominate the whole countryside, these have to be made with even more care, they have more capacity and they must contain a larger number of artillery pieces.
The dikes, 40, support three small flooded areas in front of the right wing.
We have not neglected to occupy Coasters Island, which the enemy could seize to fire upon our left wing from the rear, the redoubt, 20, sweeps the interior of the island, and the closed battery, 21, commands the plain between the sea and the works, 1, 2, 3 and 23.
Thus fortifying ourselves against an assailant who could have penetrated for/marched for the passes and who would come for the interior of the island, no less precaution has been taken in the places susceptible of approach exposed to the open sea, by the works 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, and even for greater safety, the lunettes have been built at the head of the camp, 9 and 10, which, together with the old battery, 31, which lacks only a few repairs, can serve as a retreat for troops who have abandoned the Brenton peninsula.
It will be seen from this detail that although the ground occupied is very vast, the extent of the accessible parts of the perimeter does not exceed the space that the army can defend. In addition to the advantage of being very comfortable inside, out of range of bombs and ricochet, it provides abundant pasture for a large number of oxen and
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horses ,h,
(Page 6 comment in left-hand column)
,h, It must be admitted, however, that our works, such as they are, cannot be regarded as capable of resisting regular approaches; it is a good battlefield garrisoned with redoubts and entrenched batteries, but they are very likely to be put [in the future] in a condition to withstand a real siege; the engineer officers, who never think they can do too much by employing all the resources of their art, did not cease to solicit him, but the General [Rochambeau] knew that he was satisfied with everything having imposed Clinton,[made an impression upon] who was indeed known to be disappointed, no doubt, on the report of his spies, by saying that the French had dressed themselves [protected themselves] on all sides, in the manner of the porcupines.
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If large-scale preparations on the part of the enemy should give rise to fears that the works too far from each other would not provide a sufficiently long resistance, it will be determined without a doubt to cover and link to each other those defensive works of the first line by a covered road [a protected path along the top of the outer slope (counterscarp) of a ditch], and those of the second line to be joined by a good entrenchment, the right of which from the fort, 25, up to the redoubt, 29, would be very advanced and serve as a shoulder, 36, erected by the English, the rest of the same work between the fort, 23, and the redoubt, 24, is good for nothing, it would require a new trace.
The old English lines,37 which would appear on paper to be so well flanked and to serve as a last resource, are so badly adapted to the terrain that it is absolutely impossible to make any use of them; they are bare, plunged and enfiladed almost everywhere, even in many places up to the foot of the banquette [A raised platform or step inside a trench], i, .
(Page 6 comment in left-hand column)
,i, This is a striking example which shows to what degree one can go astray by having projects carried out apparently in conformity with the general precepts, without having previously studied the effect they will produce after execution in the field; especially for works when on a campaign, to which we do not have the time to give a very great elevation and even less to give another form to the country [site]. In the work we are talking about, the only part that envelops/covers the three windmills is on a summit, the rest on the right and left crosses straight through the valleys that meet and also extends straight or nearly on the middle of the slope of the heights, it was easy before starting such a route to perceive that in the valleys one would be plunged everywhere, and that on the slopes the rapid inclination of the interior would expose it entirely to the outside, that the sides would be enfiladed and seen from/open to the back.
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The old battery, 22, had been made as well as two others, 31 and 25, for the defense of the entrance to the port, the first two have no longer this object to fulfil when a squadron is positioned as ours.
To do one’s best to contest the ground was not enough, it was also necessary to provide the means of being rescued by ensuring communication with the continent. In this view, a fort called Boots-hill has been built on the height which dominates the interval between the two passages or ferry of Bristol and Howlands. The relief forces can assemble under its protection. This good work is of a high relief, well flanked, preceded by a ditch
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wide and deep enough, partly dug into the rock; it is sufficiently garrisoned with artillery and can contain 500 men ,j, .
(Page 7 comment in left-hand column)
,j, For its construction they took advantage of two very imperfect old redoubts, the faces of which were mutually supportive and joined to each other by two branches with breaks and redans, to make a single piece of good defense and suitable capacity.
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We come still closer to the two ferries by occupying on one side an old redoubt which is below Bristol Ferry, and on the other a battery and a small star fort of very good layout, on the shore near Howlands Ferry. To get from Boots Hill to this last place, one encounters on the slope of the height a small entrenched post which can serve to protect the communication from one to the other, by the easy repairs that these different small works would require we will control even more perfectly the two ferries so essential to our safety.
Desandrouins
The back cover [page 8] has the text : Mémoire Sur la ville de Newport en Rhode-Island
Notes:
[1] The Paris Meridian is located at longitude 2°20′14.02500″ East of Greenwich. Only with the outbreak of World War I in 1914 did France switch to the Greenwich meridian for navigation on sea.
[2] 1100 toises are approx. 1.33 miles; 500 toises = 0.60 miles.
[3] The numbers refer to locations on Map 66, « Plan de la disposition des Français dans Rhode-Island juillet et mois suivante 1780 » Manuscrit du Génie, Atlas 224, SHD.
[4] Georges-Louis Le Rouge (between 107 and 1712- early 1780s) was a German-born French military engineer, surveyor, cartographer, and publisher during the eighteenth century. In 1741, Le Rouge moved permanently to Paris and became a commercial cartographer. . https://www.argomaps.org/people/georges-louis-le-rouge/ In 1778, he published « Port de Rhode Island et Narraganset Baye : publié à la requête du Vicomte Howe par le Chevalier des Barres ; traduit de l’anglais et augmenté d’après celui de Blaskowitz publiée à Londres en 1777 » https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:z603vs481
François Ignace Ervoil d’Oyré refers to this map as well in his letter from Newport from 4 September 1780 to the comte de Chastellux. The letters is in Call No. M//1021 Folder IV, Archives Nationales de France, Paris.
[5] défense razante denotes a straight line of fortification starting from the side of a bastion to align with the face of the adjacent bastion.
[6] 1 Pied de Paris = 12.789 English inches.
