The Richard Henry Lee Chapter of the Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution held a luncheon meeting on Sept. 13 at the Indian Creek Yacht and Country Club, Kilmarnock. The featured speaker, Capt. Christopher A. Melhuish (U.S. Navy-ret.) gave a talk on the Battle of the Capes.
The Battle of the Capes is considered the most important naval battle in the American Revolution, Melhiush said. The seeds were sown by the French government’s decision to support the American colonists’ quest for independence after the American victory at Saratoga, New York, in 1777. The French sent several thousand men to support the Continentals’ war effort in 1780, commanded by Jean-Batiste Donatien, Compte de Rochambeau.
In May 1781, Gens. George Washington and Rochambeau debated their next move: lay siege to the British forces in New York or take the fight south in Virginia. In either case they would need support by the large French West Indies fleet.
Rochambeau sent a note by way of a frigate to Admiral de Grasse who was in San Domingue (now called Haiti) requesting that he move men and supplies north to support the war effort. The admiral replied that he would bring the men and supplies to Virginia but not New York. So, the debate was resolved …Virginia was the target.
Admiral de Grasse sailed with 28 ships traveling outside of usual shipping channels to avoid notice, Melhuish said. While the British knew that the French fleet had left San Domingue, they didn’t know where it was headed. The British ordered Rear Admiral Hood and his fleet to sail from Antigua to locate de Grasse. Hood arrived at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay several days before de Grasse on Aug. 25. Finding no French ships there he continued to New York where he thought de Grasse might be headed.
Meanwhile, de Grasse contacted his counterpart, Rear Admiral Barris, in Newport, Rhode Island, to inform him of his plan. Barris sailed from Newport on Aug. 27 to the Chesapeake Bay. The British realized the Chesapeake Bay was the object of the American and French forces. British Rear Admiral Graves left New York on Aug. 31 to take command of Hood’s fleet and sailed for the Chesapeake with 19 ships. He arrived at the mouth of the bay on Sept. 5.
De Grasse learned of the approach of the British fleet, he immediately ordered his ships to weigh anchor and race for the open ocean to avoid being bottled up by the British. The ensuing fight lasted two and a half hours. The French Navy suffered over 200 casualties but did not lose a single ship.
Graves disengaged and returned to New York to repair his ships, leaving Cornwallis and his men without Royal Navy support or means of evacuation. His fate was sealed when a combined American and French force of about 16,000 men began the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis surrendered on Oct. 19. This ended the last decisive battle of the Revolution that led to the independence of the United States from Great Britain.
Members recognized
RHLC president Michael Rhodes recognized three members for their service: Leland Thomas James (25 years’ service) Donald G. Smith (10 years) and Peter S. Cardozo Jr. (five years).
The next meeting of RHLC will be a joint meeting with the Cobbs Hall Daughters of the American Revolution on Tuesday at ICYCC. The speaker for that meeting will be local historian Page Henley who will discuss the Leedstown Resolution that was written by RHLC’s namesake Richard Henry Lee.