The Road to Yorktown: The French Campaigns in the American Revolution, 1780-1783, by Louis-Fran?ois-Bertrand du Pont dAubevoye, comte de Lauberdi?re [Hardcover]

The fate of the American Revolution had yet to be decided when a remarkable 21-year-old Frenchman arrived in America. Louis-Fran?ois-Bertrand, the Count of Lauberdi?re, belonged to an old noble family that traced its heritage back to the Crusades. His father, Fran?ois-Charles-Mathieu, was musketeer of the guard of King Louis XV. More important, his uncle was General Rochambeau, the commander of all French forces in America. The Count of Lauberdi?re kept one of the most remarkable diaries of the entire war, and it is published here for the first time as The Road to Yorktown: The French Campaigns in the American Revolution, 1780-1783, by Louis-Fran?ois-Bertrand du Pont dAubevoye, comte de Lauberdi?re, translated and edited by Norman Desmarais.Serving as aide-de-camp on General Rochambeaus staff, the young and well-educated Lauberdi?re enjoyed a unique perspective of the war. He rubbed shoulders with some of the Revolutions most important personalities (including George Washington and Lafayette), and was in the epicenter of many of the wars momentous events. His journal covers a host of topics in remarkable detail, including descriptions of the French armys camp in Newport, Rhode Island, the long march to Yorktown, the siege, and capture, and a fascinating examination of the people and their distinctive colonial culture.His keen eye and sharp descriptions of the Armys daily activities and movements provide a wealth of information for inquisitive readers and historiansdetails found only in this diary. For example, nearly all French diaries mention the armys arrival and landing at Newport, but only Lauberdi?res identifies exactly where it occurred. Anti-French prejudices were common, and the nephew recorded how Rochambeau dispelled them and won over the locals. Culture fascinated the young Count, who keenly observed how the colonials attempted to imitate European manners and styles, marveling at how Philadelphia adopted Parisian fashions in the brief time betweelsÏ