LORD DUNMORE'S WAR – Manuscript, "Journal of the Expedition down the River Ohio Under the Command of his Excellency John Earl of Dunmore Lieutenant and Governor General of his Majesty's Colony and Dominion of Virginia 1774," [Virginia], 10 September -18 November 1774.

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"My pride makes me tremble at the thought of losing a battle ... I have certainly made mistakes, probably more than I know, what is very clear to me is that becoming the commander in chief has changed my character." Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette to François-Jean de Beauvoir, Chevalier de Chastellux, 14 June 1781 (lot 7). Lafayette wrote this to Chastellux, his first cousin, only days before he would face Lord Charles Cornwallis in the Battle of Green Spring, Virginia. Washington had dispatched the young Frenchman to Virginia in early 1781 to oppose the British at a profoundly low point for American arms. The war in the North had been at a stalemate since 1778. The British turned their attention to the South, taking Savannah in 1778 and Charleston in 1780. Now Lafayette faced a large army commanded by the formidable Cornwallis in Virginia. Greatly outnumbered, he could ill-afford a mistake. Lafayette's admission of trepidation on the eve of battle is but one among a selection of important letters, manuscripts, and maps that comprise our second series of highlights from the papers of François-Jean de Beauvoir, Marquis de Chastellux (1734-1788). The philosophe and soldier had arrived in America in May 1780 in the capacity of Chief-of-Staff for the expeditionary force headed by the Comte de Rochambeau, the long-awaited reinforcements from France that would turn the tide of the war. Whereas the previous selection of his papers focused on the early years of the American republic, the present group documents the decisive Yorktown campaign that made American independence a reality. The planning behind what was to become the victory at Yorktown was extensive, with much debate on whether to attack British-occupied New York or join Lafayette's troops against Cornwallis in Virginia. The long march to Virginia appeared unfeasible. When Washington and Rochambeau met at Wethersfield, Connecticut to coordinate plans, they also agreed that a general attack against James Clinton's army in British-occupied New York held too many risks. Instead, they resolved to march their forces toward the northern reaches of Manhattan in a to bid place pressure on Clinton – and hopefully lighten Lafayette’s burden in Virginia. Meanwhile, a French fleet under the command of Admiral François de Grasse set sail from the West Indies to provide additional support. The foray toward Manhattan in late July 1781 also allowed Washington and Rochambeau to personally reconnoiter the extensive British fortifications guarding the island. The intelligence gathered there resulted in detailed reports and maps, two of which are included in the present selection: a draft report detailing all possible plans for an attack of the city (lot 9), as well as a magnificent ink and watercolor map of New York and the surrounding countryside and waterways – with a detailed inset documenting British fortifications at the northern end of Manhattan (lot 8). If Washington held any lingering hopes that a full-scale assault on Manhattan – the island he lost in 1776 – was feasible, they were extinguished here. When news arrived in August that de Grasse's fleet had arrived at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, Washington and Rochambeau resolved to risk everything and march south to trap Cornwallis at Yorktown. The gamble paid off, and Cornwallis, outnumbered and trapped, surrendered on 19 October 1781. Among Chastellux's papers are original manuscript reports documenting the progress of the siege operations (lots 10 and 11). The news of Cornwallis’s surrender struck like a thunderbolt. When the news arrived in Philadelphia, the city celebrated for three days. In London, the news was devastating. Benjamin Franklin quipped to Chastellux in April 1782 that "the English begin to be weary of the War, and they have reason; having suffered many Losses, having four Nations of Enemies upon their Hands, few Men to spare, little Money left, and very bad Heads. The latter they have lately changed" (lot 15). Although the fall of Lord North's government strongly signaled the British were ready negotiate peace, Washington was less certain and continued planning for another campaign in 1782, as his and Rochambeau's letters confirm (lots 16 & 18). As late as August 1782, Washington admitted to Chastellux that while "The enemy talk loudly, and very confidently of Peace" he wondered "whether they are in earnest, or whether it is to amuse, & while away the time till they can prepare for a more vigorous prosecution of the War" (lot 19). Like his cousin Lafayette, Chastellux was enamored with America, as his travelogues, first published in their entirety in 1786, confirmed. He even enlisted Lafayette to gather material on the War of Independence, who assured his cousin in December 1781 that he would facilitate the collection of papers documenting the history of the struggle for his personal use (lot 13). Some of the material Chastellux had collected during his three-year stay in North America survive, including commentaries of several significant Revolutionary War battles from the campaigns of 1777 and 1778 (lot 2), historical maps of battlefields (lots 3 and 4), diagrams of naval engagements (lot 5), as well as primary sources – one of which is an important manuscript journal from Lord Dunmore's War against the Shawnee in 1774 (lot 1). During his brief time in America, Chastellux endeared himself to many, but none more than Washington. "Never in my life did I part with a man to whom my soul clave more sincerely than it did to you" Washington wrote Chastellux shortly before his departure for France in December 1782, regretting that "circumstances should withdraw you from this Country before the final accomplishment of that Independence and Peace, which the Arms of our good Ally has assisted in placing before us" (lot 20). PROPERTY OF THE LATE COMTE LOUIS DE CHASTELLUX

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LORD DUNMORE'S WAR – Manuscript, "Journal of the Expedition down the River Ohio Under the Command of his Excellency John Earl of Dunmore Lieutenant and Governor General of his Majesty's Colony and Dominion of Virginia 1774," [Virginia], 10 September -18 November 1774.

28 pages, 320 x 220mm, 1 fold-out diagram within, stabbed and sewn at left margin, blindstamped "ARCHIVES DE CHASTELLUX" at upper right (marginal tears and chips, loss to final page affects several words of text).

An unpublished journal of Dunmore's expedition to the Ohio Valley against the Shawnee and Mingo. A previously unknown record of the Dunmore expedition, presumably kept by one of the governor's aids, replete with a fold-out chart illustrating the line of march of Dunmore's force. The journal opens with Dunmore's arrival at Fort Pitt (renamed Fort Dunmore in the governor's honor) on 10 September 1774 and records his proclamation offering a reward of fifty pounds to anyone with information on the murder of several peaceful Delaware tribesmen. Dunmore's force departed Fort Pitt on 26 September, intending to rendezvous at the mouth of the Great Kanawha River with force under the command of Andrew Lewis who was marching from western Virginia toward the Ohio River. On 10 October, Lewis was surprised by a large Shawnee force under Chief Cornstalk at Point Pleasant on the Ohio. Although his forces emerged the victors after a four-hour battle, they suffered 75 killed and 140 wounded out of a force of 1,100. Dunmore, who was marching his forces up the Hocking River toward the Shawnee towns in the interior learned of the battle on the 16th: "About midnight an Express which followed our Track, came up, bringing intelligence from Colonel Lewis of an Engagement he had with the Shawanese and their Confederates, at the Mouth of the great Kanhawa, and that the Enemy had been defeated with a considerable loss." The news redoubled Dunmore's determination to "pursue the necessary Steps to chastise a Stubborn and Perfidious People."

On 20 October, "the important day, in which we were either to march into our Enemy's Towns, or meet with a Repulse, just as the Advance-guard was forming to march, arrived a certain Matthew Elliot, and Indian Trader, whom they had sent as a Messenger ... This messenger desired his Excellency to halt and not enter the Towns, and that they would wait upon him and comply with such demands as he might think proper for restoring the Peace of the country." The army moved to a good campsite, and "his Lordship gave the name of Camp Charlotte to this Place." On the 21st a delegation arrived at Camp Charlotte, "where there were some Bearskins spread, on one of which his Lordship seated himself, and the Conference opened with a speech from the Corn-Stalk their Chief." The journal records the communications between Cornstalk and Dunmore in full. Following an exchange of prisoners including "one Sally Kelly, who had been taken from the great Kanhawa," the conference resumed with Dunmore's lengthy address to the Shawnee consuming nearly two pages. At the time the conference was in session, Colonel Lewis' force had finally approached Dunmore's, and the appearance of another army frightened the Shawnee and nearly scuttled the negotiations. Dunmore finally made contact with Lewis and the colonel ceased his advance. On the 29th a peace treaty was finally concluded with lengthy addresses by "Nimoi a Shawanese Chief, with two Hostages, several white and some negroe Prisoners..." The lengthy address was concluded with "A Large String of Wampum" and answered by "Captain White-eyes the Delaware-Chief, addressing both Parties." The following day, Dunmore's forces departed for home. The final two pages of the journal have been crossed out, and it appears this may have been prepared from an earlier version kept in the field. Ironically, many of the participants in this campaign (including Daniel Morgan, who is mentioned by name in the journal) would find themselves rebelling against Dunmore's authority the following year with the outbreak of the War of Independence. Provenance: François-Jean de Beauvoir, Marquis de Chastellux (1734-1788) – by descent to the consignor.

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