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Tag: Silas Deane

  • Credit From France–July 27, 1776

    Cover art for July 27, 1776: Portrait of Silas Deane by William Johnston, 1766. via silasdeaneonline.com

    Getting arms and credit wasn’t an overly tough task for Silas Deane. But it wasn’t because the French liked us so much; it was because they were still a little salty about the French and Indian War. So they were willing to do almost anything to embarrass the British.

    As a delegate to France (essentially a secret envoy until the word of Independence got out), Deane got a lot of stuff done, especially since he needed to do it in secrecy. The reason for this was that the French (and the Spanish, for that matter) needed some plausible deniability should arms get intercepted. So items were sold through a gray market, and if something didn’t make it to America, that wasn’t on King Louis; that was some smuggler working on his own and without formal authorization from those guys pointedly looking the other way.

    Once Independence became a more public topic, Ben Franklin and Arthur Lee crossed over to France to join Deane. The three of them managed to recruit foreign officers to assist the American troops, including Marquis de Lafayette, Baron Johann de Kalb, Thomas Conway, Casimir Pulaski, and Baron von Steuben. The officers were rather unpopular among the men, at least at first, and Deane got the blame somehow. In late 1777 he was recalled back to America.

    While in America he was accused by Arthur Lee of financial impropriety. Unfortunately for him, his financial records were still in France because he thought he’d be coming back soon. Ultimately this charge was dropped, and he was permitted to return to France to settle his affairs; when he arrived, however, he discovered that he was nearly broke because many of his investments had plummeted, and some of the merchandise he’d sent to America had been captured by the British.

    Further damaging his reputation was a letter he’d written in 1781 that had been intercepted, suggesting that the American cause was doomed, and perhaps some kind of rapproachement with Britain was indicated. So on this side of the ocean, people thought his actions to be treasonous. It wasn’t until 1789 that Silas Deane even attempted to return to America; unfortunately he fell ill during the trip and died at sea.

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  • Vive La France–February 6, 1776

    Vive La France–February 6, 1776

    Much like the Hessians of our last episode, the story involving our getting French recognition and friendship is longer and more complex than most people realize.

    The events of today were important, but they laid the groundwork for so much more in the future. France was already annoyed with Britain over the Seven Years’ War, so supporting the Colonies was the shrewd thing to do: France would annoy Britain with the treaty, America would get arms and soldiers (and naval support), and we wound up with a good friend later on for trade and merchant support.

    The French were reluctant to cooperate at first, in part because they were hedging their bets about the war’s outcome. But with a little luck and a few battle victories, a lot of formerly-clandestine activites became more overt. What’s more, without French assistance throughout the war, we might all be speaking British now.

    Oh, wait.

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  • July 15, 1775: Breakin’ the Law With Impunity

    Cover art for July 15, 1775: Portrait of Silas Deane by William Johnston, 1766.

    If you’re going to be in rebellion, you may as well do something rebellious.

    Thus was (presumably) the reasoning behind Ben Franklin putting forth a resolution that the Colonies would effectively ignore a ban on the importation of weapons and gunpowder to the Colonies.

    And while we’ve mentioned numerous times that the Congress doesn’t seem to do a lot more than form various Committees, again we need to stress that these were serious men, who gave serious thought to whatever they presented to the larger group, because they knew that any votes had to be unanimous. They took the job with great gravity, and in fact worked long hours. And in Philadelphia in the summer time…that is no joke, my friend. I mentioned it in a Baltimore context during the show, but remember that these cities aren’t very far apart, and thus have similar climates.

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  • June 3, 1775: Committees Everywhere

    Cover art for June 3, 1775: Portrait of Silas Deane by William Johnston, 1766

    Silas Deane was a delegate to the Continental Congress from Connecticut, and by most accounts he did a decent job of it, although he did lose his position after a dispute with Roger Sherman. He stuck around Congress anyway, helping however he could.

    The following year he went to France as a secret delegate to drum up support for the Colonies. Unfortunately when he returned he was accused of financial impropriety; it took some time to clear his name and when the dust settled, he was nearly broke.

    The following year he returned to France and, while there, letters he’d written suggesting that the Colonies would not win the war were released to the press by British spies, and he again faced accusations, this time of treason.

    Eventually Deane moved to Ghent and in 1789 he made plans to return to the newly-minted United States of America so he could clear his name. But he fell ill and died shortly after boarding a ship to take him back home. He was 51 years old.

    P.S. you only think this has nothing to do with today’s episode.

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