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How the French Saved America: Soldiers, Sailors, Diplomats, Louis XVI, and the Success of a Revolution
Americans today have a love/hate relationship with France, but in How the French Saved America Tom Shachtman shows that without France, there might not be a United States of America.To the rebelling colonies, French assistance made the difference between looming defeat and eventual triumph. Even before the Declaration of Independence was issued, King Louis XVI and French foreign minister Vergennes were aiding the rebels. After the Declaration, that assistance broadened to include wages for our troops; guns, cannon, and ammunition; engineering expertise that enabled victories and prevented defeats; diplomatic recognition; safe havens for privateers; battlefield leadership by veteran officers; and the army and fleet that made possible the Franco-American victory at Yorktown. Nearly ten percent of those who fought and died for the American cause were French. Those who fought and survived, in addition to the well-known Lafayette and Rochambeau, include François de Fleury, who won a Congressional Medal for valor, Louis Duportail, who founded the Army Corps of Engineers, and Admiral de Grasse, whose sea victory sealed the fate of Yorktown. This illuminating narrative history vividly captures the outsize characters of our European brothers, their battlefield and diplomatic bonds and clashes with Americans, and the monumental role they played in America’s fight for independence and democracy.
346 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 24, 2017
37 people are currently reading
209 people want to read
About the author
Tom Shachtman
72 books28 followersSince I always wanted to be a writer, I consider myself fortunate to have had my work published and produced in many forms—40 histories, novels, and books for children, plus filmed documentaries and TV dramas, poetry, plays, songs, newspaper columns, magazine articles, even a comic book.
My newest book (January 2020) is THE FOUNDING FORTUNES: HOW THE WEALTHY PAID FOR AND PROFITED FROM AMERICA’S REVOLUTION. This completes a trilogy of books on the Revolutionary Era; the earlier ones are GENTLEMEN SCIENTISTS AND REVOLUTIONARIES, and HOW THE FRENCH SAVED AMERICA.
My book ABSOLUTE ZERO AND THE CONQUEST OF COLD, about 400 years of research into low temperatures, became the basis for a two-hour documentary special for BBC and PBS. The program and my script for it won the American Institute of Physics’ science writing award for 2009. The book itself was praised by The New York Times Book Review as written “with passion and clarity,” by the Library Journal as “truly wonderful,” and by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as “an absolute delight.”
Many of my other books have also received welcome critical praise. Library Journal wrote of RUMSPRINGA: TO BE OR NOT TO BE AMISH that is provided “a near-unprecedented glimpse into the inner lives of Amish society.” The Economist called AROUND THE BLOCK “a near-classic,” The New Yorker “A grand idea, splendidly executed,” and The Washington Post Book World “thoughtful, interesting … a good and useful book.” THE INARTICULATE SOCIETY was judged as “perceptive and disturbing” by The Washington Post, and by The Wall Street Journal as “a provocative examination of the American way with words.” Business Week labeled SKYSCRAPER DREAMS “fascinating history … the stuff of grand comedy,” and The New York Times cited it for “superb reporting on the industry’s wheeling and dealing.” “Fascinating … illuminating … stunning detail,” the Chicago Tribune wrote of THE GILDED LEAF (written with Patrick Reynolds).
I’ve also written books for children, including three novels, BEACHMASTER, WAVEBENDER and DRIFTWHISTLER, now published in several languages. My non-fiction children’s books include THE PRESIDENT BUILDS A HOUSE, about the work of Habitat for Humanity and, with my wife Harriet Shelare, VIDEO POWER.
My collaborations with criminologist Robert K. Ressler, the man who coined the term serial killers and knew more about them than anyone else, include WHOEVER FIGHTS MONSTERS and I HAVE LIVED IN THE MONSTER, both multi-million-copy best-sellers overseas.
My articles have appeared in The New York Times, Newsday, Smithsonian, and the Hoover Digest, as well as on the websites of The Daily Beast, Huffington Post, History News Network, and the Journal of the American Revolution. My occasional column for THE LAKEVILLE JOURNAL (CT), “The Long View,’ provides historical context to current events.
I am a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America, a longtime member of The Authors Guild, and a former president of the board and current trustee of The Writers Room in New York City, an urban writers’ colony. I’ve also served as a trustee of the Connecticut Humanities Council, and of The Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area.
My newest book (January 2020) is THE FOUNDING FORTUNES: HOW THE WEALTHY PAID FOR AND PROFITED FROM AMERICA’S REVOLUTION. This completes a trilogy of books on the Revolutionary Era; the earlier ones are GENTLEMEN SCIENTISTS AND REVOLUTIONARIES, and HOW THE FRENCH SAVED AMERICA.
My book ABSOLUTE ZERO AND THE CONQUEST OF COLD, about 400 years of research into low temperatures, became the basis for a two-hour documentary special for BBC and PBS. The program and my script for it won the American Institute of Physics’ science writing award for 2009. The book itself was praised by The New York Times Book Review as written “with passion and clarity,” by the Library Journal as “truly wonderful,” and by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as “an absolute delight.”
Many of my other books have also received welcome critical praise. Library Journal wrote of RUMSPRINGA: TO BE OR NOT TO BE AMISH that is provided “a near-unprecedented glimpse into the inner lives of Amish society.” The Economist called AROUND THE BLOCK “a near-classic,” The New Yorker “A grand idea, splendidly executed,” and The Washington Post Book World “thoughtful, interesting … a good and useful book.” THE INARTICULATE SOCIETY was judged as “perceptive and disturbing” by The Washington Post, and by The Wall Street Journal as “a provocative examination of the American way with words.” Business Week labeled SKYSCRAPER DREAMS “fascinating history … the stuff of grand comedy,” and The New York Times cited it for “superb reporting on the industry’s wheeling and dealing.” “Fascinating … illuminating … stunning detail,” the Chicago Tribune wrote of THE GILDED LEAF (written with Patrick Reynolds).
I’ve also written books for children, including three novels, BEACHMASTER, WAVEBENDER and DRIFTWHISTLER, now published in several languages. My non-fiction children’s books include THE PRESIDENT BUILDS A HOUSE, about the work of Habitat for Humanity and, with my wife Harriet Shelare, VIDEO POWER.
My collaborations with criminologist Robert K. Ressler, the man who coined the term serial killers and knew more about them than anyone else, include WHOEVER FIGHTS MONSTERS and I HAVE LIVED IN THE MONSTER, both multi-million-copy best-sellers overseas.
My articles have appeared in The New York Times, Newsday, Smithsonian, and the Hoover Digest, as well as on the websites of The Daily Beast, Huffington Post, History News Network, and the Journal of the American Revolution. My occasional column for THE LAKEVILLE JOURNAL (CT), “The Long View,’ provides historical context to current events.
I am a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America, a longtime member of The Authors Guild, and a former president of the board and current trustee of The Writers Room in New York City, an urban writers’ colony. I’ve also served as a trustee of the Connecticut Humanities Council, and of The Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 6, 2017
Through description of resources such as the loans, cash, soldiers, experienced French officers and battle-trained engineers, and of maneuverings from the Declaration to Yorktown, Tom Shactman shows how the French were pivotal to the success of the American Revolution.
Louis XVI is shown to be ahead of his time and not a dabbling lightweight monarch (and overshadowed husband) as he is often portrayed. He inherited a country deeply in debt and mired in old ways. He had limited success, but he tried to make a more merit oriented military, relieve the peasants of slave-like obligations and set a more equitable tax system.
Along with Foreign Minister Compte de Vengennes, the King set foreign policy goals that sought to restore France’s role in Europe by diminishing that of Great Britain. Assistance to the American rebellion began as a small step towards this aim. Enlightenment thinking also encouraged the French-American link.
Americans took advantage of a small opening. Slias Deane, the American Commissioner to France, was at times like a selective service officer. With France at peace, militarily oriented nobles lined up to offer (as was European custom) troops and resources in exchange for a high rank in the Continental Army.
Upon arriving on (what is now) US soil, culture clashes (and language problems) with the overdressed French and the rough hewn colonists were frequent, but French troops and expertise in warfare were badly needed. French troops, supplies, weapons and even food arrived at critical times. French engineering was crucial at Saratoga, in providing defense around the Valley Forge retreat, in outfitting John Paul Jones and for many other needs of the war. Most stunning to me was that Yorktown was conceived, planned and executed by the French.
George Washington shows himself to be wise (he knows he needs the French) and to handle all this with grace. He accepts French aid and advice. He socializes with French officers and accedes to their plans. The best example of this is Yorktown, where he shows up as designated.
As the war goes on, due to French support and British overreach, the Spanish join in. Their raids and battles in the Caribbean distract the British and there are some lesser known incursions on to the southern part of the mainland. Other countries remain neutral, leaving Great Britain to stand alone.
France does not seek territories. It does not fight to regain Canada or rule parts of the colonies. What began as a strategy to mitigate Britain's regional power, led to much more than anticipated. France and most of her participants pay a price. France goes more deeply into debt and the outcome is not good for Louis XVI. In the Epilogue you learn that Vengennes who played a large role in American aid, did not live to see the later turmoil.
There are colorful characters such as the Irish royalist Thomas Conway and Baron von Steuben who had served with Frederick the Great. You see clashes such as those of Horatio Gates and George Washington, Silas Deane and Arthur Lee, and John Adams and most everyone else.
The index is good. In the color plates you are reminded of the strange partnering of the extravagant French monarch and the cloth-coated colonists.
This is a well documented and developed thesis. I know little about the American Revolution, so I am easy to convince. I’ll be interested in informed opinion on this excellent presentation.
Louis XVI is shown to be ahead of his time and not a dabbling lightweight monarch (and overshadowed husband) as he is often portrayed. He inherited a country deeply in debt and mired in old ways. He had limited success, but he tried to make a more merit oriented military, relieve the peasants of slave-like obligations and set a more equitable tax system.
Along with Foreign Minister Compte de Vengennes, the King set foreign policy goals that sought to restore France’s role in Europe by diminishing that of Great Britain. Assistance to the American rebellion began as a small step towards this aim. Enlightenment thinking also encouraged the French-American link.
Americans took advantage of a small opening. Slias Deane, the American Commissioner to France, was at times like a selective service officer. With France at peace, militarily oriented nobles lined up to offer (as was European custom) troops and resources in exchange for a high rank in the Continental Army.
Upon arriving on (what is now) US soil, culture clashes (and language problems) with the overdressed French and the rough hewn colonists were frequent, but French troops and expertise in warfare were badly needed. French troops, supplies, weapons and even food arrived at critical times. French engineering was crucial at Saratoga, in providing defense around the Valley Forge retreat, in outfitting John Paul Jones and for many other needs of the war. Most stunning to me was that Yorktown was conceived, planned and executed by the French.
George Washington shows himself to be wise (he knows he needs the French) and to handle all this with grace. He accepts French aid and advice. He socializes with French officers and accedes to their plans. The best example of this is Yorktown, where he shows up as designated.
As the war goes on, due to French support and British overreach, the Spanish join in. Their raids and battles in the Caribbean distract the British and there are some lesser known incursions on to the southern part of the mainland. Other countries remain neutral, leaving Great Britain to stand alone.
France does not seek territories. It does not fight to regain Canada or rule parts of the colonies. What began as a strategy to mitigate Britain's regional power, led to much more than anticipated. France and most of her participants pay a price. France goes more deeply into debt and the outcome is not good for Louis XVI. In the Epilogue you learn that Vengennes who played a large role in American aid, did not live to see the later turmoil.
There are colorful characters such as the Irish royalist Thomas Conway and Baron von Steuben who had served with Frederick the Great. You see clashes such as those of Horatio Gates and George Washington, Silas Deane and Arthur Lee, and John Adams and most everyone else.
The index is good. In the color plates you are reminded of the strange partnering of the extravagant French monarch and the cloth-coated colonists.
This is a well documented and developed thesis. I know little about the American Revolution, so I am easy to convince. I’ll be interested in informed opinion on this excellent presentation.
September 7, 2017
Shachtman's work is well researched and logically presented. I would recommend this to someone that wants introductory information about the topic. I did not learn very much in the way of new information, but that could entirely be because I have studied the topic a lot in the past. Overall, I did enjoy the presentation of the information, though, and I am thankful to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this work.
December 31, 2020
After all the French bashing of the 2000s, reading this book on the French critical role during the American Revolution and written by an American scholar came as a surprise and was refreshing. Indeed, even in France we are not told much in the school system about France's role aside from a few names thrown here and there such as Lafayette, Rochambeau, and broad statements. Here, we are told of the actual support provided by the French and for once, it is not just a mention lacking details. This time, we have a full account, starting with how the French provided war supplies at first, asserted that should they help they would not do so in exchange of conquest, and sending officers to train American soldiers (although many of the officers who came at first were not fit to fulfill their task). Washington desperately needed military engineers and the French provided them. At the first major encounter between Washington and the British after the Declaration of Independence, at Brandywine Creek in 1777 the American rebels were defeated but the bulk of the army was saved thanks to the role of French officers who organized the retreat. As the author indicates, it is French supplies, ammunition, and expertise that helped Americans win at Saratoga. The modernisation of the American army was also based on rules and philosophy coming from the French army. The decision to attack Yorktown was a joint French-Spanish initiative. Indeed, despite its title, the book does not forget the Spanish contribution to the war. Something that has often been eclipsed, probably because of the Spanish and American War of 1898.
As we read the book, we discover how the French were critical in helping Americans win their independence and that they were the very first powerful nation to offer support and mean it. Spain, for example, was much more cautious and did so with the aim of strengthening its American possessions.
Yet, despite all the romantic aspect of the enteprise, the author does not ignore the presence of realpolitik and how as soon as victory was achieved at Yorktown, French and American interests began to diverge drastically. The author is careful to emphasize that this is not done out of malice but simply the result of reality: while many French were sincerely incensed with a desire to help Americans become an independent nation in the name of liberty, the alliance that had been forged between the governments of the two nations was one out of convenience. Many Americans were very much francophobes and as many French just wanted to decrease British influence in the world.
In the end, victory was achieved thanks to the Franco-American alliance where the French more than carried their weight. Yet, the author indicates that in the end, the French suffered more casualties than the Americans, sunk more into debt and, while not the sole factor, one cannot deny that the American Revolution had its consequences for France for better or for worse. Not mentioning the human cost of the French Revolutionary wars as well as the Napoleonic wars, France paid a high price when we consider that, as written by the author, the Americans refused to repay their debts to France after the French monarchy fell and, when we know that the British did not come out of the enterprise so badly since the US became their largest trading partner.
Of course, one could argue that the US have more than repaid their debt thanks to their role during WWI and WWII but if we limit ourselves to the immediate aftermath of the American Revolution, France paid the high price.
As we read the book, we discover how the French were critical in helping Americans win their independence and that they were the very first powerful nation to offer support and mean it. Spain, for example, was much more cautious and did so with the aim of strengthening its American possessions.
Yet, despite all the romantic aspect of the enteprise, the author does not ignore the presence of realpolitik and how as soon as victory was achieved at Yorktown, French and American interests began to diverge drastically. The author is careful to emphasize that this is not done out of malice but simply the result of reality: while many French were sincerely incensed with a desire to help Americans become an independent nation in the name of liberty, the alliance that had been forged between the governments of the two nations was one out of convenience. Many Americans were very much francophobes and as many French just wanted to decrease British influence in the world.
In the end, victory was achieved thanks to the Franco-American alliance where the French more than carried their weight. Yet, the author indicates that in the end, the French suffered more casualties than the Americans, sunk more into debt and, while not the sole factor, one cannot deny that the American Revolution had its consequences for France for better or for worse. Not mentioning the human cost of the French Revolutionary wars as well as the Napoleonic wars, France paid a high price when we consider that, as written by the author, the Americans refused to repay their debts to France after the French monarchy fell and, when we know that the British did not come out of the enterprise so badly since the US became their largest trading partner.
Of course, one could argue that the US have more than repaid their debt thanks to their role during WWI and WWII but if we limit ourselves to the immediate aftermath of the American Revolution, France paid the high price.
May 15, 2018
Yup, the French really did save America ... and the story's more complicated than simply Lafayette and Washington. In fact, Lafayette plays a relatively minor role in this book. Helping the revolutionary war along, the Spanish (reluctantly) joined the French in militarily supporting the Americans, particularly in the south, around Florida. They were motivated, of course, by keeping that area of the continent in Spanish control ... which didn't quite work out for them.
Some tidbits of facts in the book: "The First Rhode Island Regiment, composed mostly of blacks, who acquitted themselves well at Newport and ever since." (P270)
One of the reasons, probably, that the colonies won the war was as some of the French recognized, that ragtag army of American soldiers fought on under and in conditions that any continental solider would refuse to carry on. (269)
The part of the book that I enjoyed the most (or read with most interest anyway) was the epilogue. Shachtman gives a brief run-down of the lives of the French officers who participated in the American Revolution. It's full of ironies upon ironies. It's easy to forget that the French Revolution occurred just 5 years after the Paris Treaty, and perhaps, perhaps, the American Revolution was its inspiration but the French Revolution certainly directly impacted the officers who fought in the Americas. These officers were in most cases, like Lafayette, aristocrats, and we know what happened to them, the guillotine. Many of the French officers if they had returned to France after the Treaty, found themselves in danger and returned. Others just never left the Americas finding lives here more lucrative or easier than in France.
he French left their mark on us, which we see to this very day like L'Enfant's design of the new capital, Washington, D.C. Others provided designs for awards that are still given today, and another, the engineer Duportail (without his expertise in engineering Washington couldn't have organized a winning military) drew up an engineering curriculum for West Point.
So besides helping the colonies win the war, the French participation provides examples of the law of unintended consequences, some unhappily for them in Revolutionary France but some very happily for the US of A.
Some tidbits of facts in the book: "The First Rhode Island Regiment, composed mostly of blacks, who acquitted themselves well at Newport and ever since." (P270)
One of the reasons, probably, that the colonies won the war was as some of the French recognized, that ragtag army of American soldiers fought on under and in conditions that any continental solider would refuse to carry on. (269)
The part of the book that I enjoyed the most (or read with most interest anyway) was the epilogue. Shachtman gives a brief run-down of the lives of the French officers who participated in the American Revolution. It's full of ironies upon ironies. It's easy to forget that the French Revolution occurred just 5 years after the Paris Treaty, and perhaps, perhaps, the American Revolution was its inspiration but the French Revolution certainly directly impacted the officers who fought in the Americas. These officers were in most cases, like Lafayette, aristocrats, and we know what happened to them, the guillotine. Many of the French officers if they had returned to France after the Treaty, found themselves in danger and returned. Others just never left the Americas finding lives here more lucrative or easier than in France.
he French left their mark on us, which we see to this very day like L'Enfant's design of the new capital, Washington, D.C. Others provided designs for awards that are still given today, and another, the engineer Duportail (without his expertise in engineering Washington couldn't have organized a winning military) drew up an engineering curriculum for West Point.
So besides helping the colonies win the war, the French participation provides examples of the law of unintended consequences, some unhappily for them in Revolutionary France but some very happily for the US of A.
January 24, 2018
An enjoyable, readable history of the Revolution from the French perspective.
Shachtman ably describes how the situation was affected by diplomacy, strategy, and events in Europe. He also discusses how military service in America was viewed as a prestige assignment by French officers. He covers the relations between French and American officers; the French respected Washington but often wondered about his competence, and it took Lafayette’s intervention to place French troops under American commanders. Many books on the topic suggest that the service of French troops had an impact on the French Revolution. Shachtman doesn’t give this argument much attention, but that’s fine since I’ve never found it all that convincing. The book also covers the Spanish side in more detail than the title suggests.
Still, Shachtman's rendition of the diplomacy is mostly descriptive; he doesn't often give you much guidance in interpreting it. The book also seems a bit short for the subject matter, and the writing is a little breezy at times. The cast of characters might be a bit daunting for some readers and might make the narrative just a bit difficult to follow. Also, Shachtman is great at describing certain events, but less at describing broader context. At the same time, some specific events that might interest the reader are only briefly described (such as Lafayette’s first arrival in America)
An interesting, engaging work.
Shachtman ably describes how the situation was affected by diplomacy, strategy, and events in Europe. He also discusses how military service in America was viewed as a prestige assignment by French officers. He covers the relations between French and American officers; the French respected Washington but often wondered about his competence, and it took Lafayette’s intervention to place French troops under American commanders. Many books on the topic suggest that the service of French troops had an impact on the French Revolution. Shachtman doesn’t give this argument much attention, but that’s fine since I’ve never found it all that convincing. The book also covers the Spanish side in more detail than the title suggests.
Still, Shachtman's rendition of the diplomacy is mostly descriptive; he doesn't often give you much guidance in interpreting it. The book also seems a bit short for the subject matter, and the writing is a little breezy at times. The cast of characters might be a bit daunting for some readers and might make the narrative just a bit difficult to follow. Also, Shachtman is great at describing certain events, but less at describing broader context. At the same time, some specific events that might interest the reader are only briefly described (such as Lafayette’s first arrival in America)
An interesting, engaging work.
July 21, 2024
Excellent read on how intrigual the French were for American Independence. Most people celebrate July 4, 1776 as our Indpendence, but that was only the Declaration written by our beloved Founding Fathers. This book explains many of the events that took place in the years after. It wasn't until the Treaty of Paris (Sept 3, 1783) that the US won and was recognized as Independent.
As a patriotic American, I tend to believe that our rag tag Army were solely responsible for our Independence, but w/o French influence, we couldn't have won full independence. The French's rivalry w/o Great Britain fueled their desire to help the Colonies to win independence.
The French provided:
money
naval power
ground troops
excellent commanders
engineers (which became US Corps of Engineers)
Layfayette had a huge influence and was probably the most well known, but countless French fought alongside and trained our troops.
Diplomatic relations were also critical. Without Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay spending time in Europe helping the Independence effort, it wouldn't have been possible.
Vergennes, minister of Louis XVI, was probably the most underrated influence in the entire America Revolution. W/o his constant effort in France, Independence would never have stood a chance.
Shachtman did a great job of telling the entire story of the Independence effort. Diplomacy, key battles, naval efforts and geopolitics of the time. His very helpful reference section with all the key players in his book should be read first and referred back to often.
An excellent read.
As a patriotic American, I tend to believe that our rag tag Army were solely responsible for our Independence, but w/o French influence, we couldn't have won full independence. The French's rivalry w/o Great Britain fueled their desire to help the Colonies to win independence.
The French provided:
money
naval power
ground troops
excellent commanders
engineers (which became US Corps of Engineers)
Layfayette had a huge influence and was probably the most well known, but countless French fought alongside and trained our troops.
Diplomatic relations were also critical. Without Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay spending time in Europe helping the Independence effort, it wouldn't have been possible.
Vergennes, minister of Louis XVI, was probably the most underrated influence in the entire America Revolution. W/o his constant effort in France, Independence would never have stood a chance.
Shachtman did a great job of telling the entire story of the Independence effort. Diplomacy, key battles, naval efforts and geopolitics of the time. His very helpful reference section with all the key players in his book should be read first and referred back to often.
An excellent read.
December 31, 2017
Interesting.
November 19, 2024
Without French money, armaments, munitions, soldiers and and above all the French Navy the United States would have never won the Revolutionary War. An excellent account of a fascinating story.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews