Another
companion was the Swedish Count Fersen, later the devoted friend
of the unfortunate Queen Marie Antoinette, the driver of the
carriage in which the royal family made the famous flight to
Varennes in 1791, and himself destined to be trampled to death by
a Swedish mob in 1810. Other old and famous names there were:
Laval-Montmorency, Mirabeau, Talleyrand, Saint-Simon. It has been
said that the names of the French officers in America read like a
list of medieval heroes in the Chronicles of Froissart.
Only half of the expected ships were ready at Brest and only five
thousand five hundred men could embark. The vessels were, of
course, very crowded. Rochambeau cut down the space allowed for
personal effects. He took no horse for himself and would allow
none to go, but he permitted a few dogs. Forty-five ships set
sail, "a truly imposing sight," said one of those on board. We
have reports of their ennui on the long voyage of seventy days,
of their amusements and their devotions, for twice daily were
prayers read on deck. They sailed into Newport on the 11th of
July and the inhabitants of that still primitive spot illuminated
their houses as best they could. Then the army settled down at
Newport and there it remained for many weary months.
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