Marine royale de France manuscript charts of naval combat 1780 April 17 and May 19

Marine royale de France manuscript charts of naval combat 1780 April 17 and May 19

Two manuscript charts depicting stages of Anglo-French naval engagements around Martinique, 1780 April 17 and May 19

Martinique 1780, May 17 and 19

French

2 items (3 pages); 45 cm x 29 cm (bifolium)

MSS L2024S1 [oversize]

A pair of illustrated charts detailing ship positions during Anglo-French battles at Martinique in 1780, originally the property of François-Jean de Beauvoir, marquis de Chastellux (1734-1788). On April 17, 1780 a Royal British Navy fleet under Sir George Rodney challenged the French fleet under the command of the Comte de Guichen. Both fleets maneuvered in search of advantage and engaged directly again on May 19. The battle ended in a stalemate, the French fleet sailed away, and Rodney chose not to pursue. The first chart depicts the Battle of Martinique in a series of ten illustrations, with details of opposing lines of ships and their movement in battle. Ten phases of battle are shown while a chart at the top offers the names of the ships in the French fleet together with the number of guns on each. The second chart, composed in a similar manner, depicts the final encounter of May 19, 1780 in seven illustrations. These charts were composed for French General François-Jean de Chastellux, a liaison between Rochambeau and Washington during the American Revolution, and were formerly part of his historical archives with Archives de Chastellux blind-stamped on both sets of illustrations.

L2024S001

Library Catalog > Manuscripts
All Cataloged Material
All records