Details
LA PÉROUSE, JEAN FRANÇOIS DE GALAUP, Comte de, French navigator and explorer. Document signed six times ("Laperouse"), September 1779 - February 1780. One and 1/2 pages, folio, written in ink in a clear regular hand, each page with the large bold calligraphic heading "Suitte de Larmurier," unobtrusive repair to one corner, two short fold breaks, a later note in red ink on verso, in French, a monthly list of armourer's supplies for the frigate l'Amazone, each month's list signed by La Pérouse, the armourer, and another officer (the other signatures are "Restif" and "Jugon").
In 1778 La Pérouse had joined the French forces under the hapless Comte d'Estaing as commander of the frigate l'Amazone. After a humiliating series of defeats at New York and Newport the French sailed for the West Indies in November, where, after failing to retake St. Lucia, they finally managed to rout the British from St. Vincent and Grenada. In September 1779, d'Estaing arrived with a fleet of about 3500 men off the Georgia coast, having disregarded Washington's plan for a combined Northern operation and determined to launch his own assault on the British from the South. Although the unexpectedness of the attack enabled the French to take four British vessels--La Pérouse himself captured the frigate Ariel--this victory was short-lived. The final attack on Savannah on October 9th resulted in one of the worst fiascos of the Revolutionary War, with a loss to the allies of over 800 men, of whom about 650 were French, the British losses probably totalling not more than 155.
This unusual document is a monthly record of supplies used by the Amazone's armourer, who also functioned as general repairman. The list for September, the month of the first attack, is the longest, containing 10 items; the shortest is December's, with three items. The material listed includes "a quart of whiting for mastic [cement]," "seven panes of glass for the poop of the frigate," "37 lantern-covers for different lanterns," "four ounces of tin for soldering," "two ounces of wire for cleaning the rifles and lanterns," "14 sheets of tinplate for the stove and the engines," and (listed every month) "a half a pot of olive oil for cleaning the rifles". La Pérouse autographs are rare.
In 1778 La Pérouse had joined the French forces under the hapless Comte d'Estaing as commander of the frigate l'Amazone. After a humiliating series of defeats at New York and Newport the French sailed for the West Indies in November, where, after failing to retake St. Lucia, they finally managed to rout the British from St. Vincent and Grenada. In September 1779, d'Estaing arrived with a fleet of about 3500 men off the Georgia coast, having disregarded Washington's plan for a combined Northern operation and determined to launch his own assault on the British from the South. Although the unexpectedness of the attack enabled the French to take four British vessels--La Pérouse himself captured the frigate Ariel--this victory was short-lived. The final attack on Savannah on October 9th resulted in one of the worst fiascos of the Revolutionary War, with a loss to the allies of over 800 men, of whom about 650 were French, the British losses probably totalling not more than 155.
This unusual document is a monthly record of supplies used by the Amazone's armourer, who also functioned as general repairman. The list for September, the month of the first attack, is the longest, containing 10 items; the shortest is December's, with three items. The material listed includes "a quart of whiting for mastic [cement]," "seven panes of glass for the poop of the frigate," "37 lantern-covers for different lanterns," "four ounces of tin for soldering," "two ounces of wire for cleaning the rifles and lanterns," "14 sheets of tinplate for the stove and the engines," and (listed every month) "a half a pot of olive oil for cleaning the rifles". La Pérouse autographs are rare.