The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-06-10
YORKTOWN MANUSCRIPTS.
Papers That Relate TO the Siege and Sur
render of the Town.

VI
Curiously enough, after 1l5 years, a
collection of manuscripts relating to
the siege of Yorktown has recently
turned up in Paris. These comprise
contemporary copy Of Count de Ro-
chambeau's own diary from the time the
French armies left the Hudson, the 18th
Of August, to the surrender of York
town, on the 10th of October, 1881. Ac-
companying this, written by different
hand, but inclosed in the same cover,
is diary of the siege by one of the en-
gineer officers and most beautifully
executed manuscript map in colors of
Yorktown and vicinity.
The siege and surrender of Yorktown
were one of the most important events
in the history of America Many &C
counts by different eyewitnesses are ex-
tant, manuscript and printed, perhaps
the most valuable of all being the diary
of George Washington, the original
manuscript Of which is at the state de-
partment at Washington. After Wash
ington, perhaps the most trustworthy
account would be that of Count de
Rochambeau. 1t is known that he was
very careful TO keep copies of his cor
respondence both for himself and for the
department of war in France, but his
diary of the Yorktown campaign was
never published until it was included
in Doniol's great compilation of docu-
ments relating to the gaining of Amer
lean independence, published about ten
years ago, under the auspices of the
French government, and even to this day
it has never been printed, except greatly
abridged, in English. A small part of il
appeared in the Gazette de France 6
few days after the news of the surrender
reached Paris, and this abridgmen
was translated and published in English
in the Pennsylvania Gazette and in AL
mons Remembrance shortly after.
The day after the surrender Rocham
beau sent copy of his journal by th'
hand of the Duke de Lauzun to thu
French minister of war, Segur, and ;
week later duplicate dispatches wer'
sent in another ship, the Count d.
Deux- Points being the bearer. These tw'
officers had shown the most courage IL
the siege and were thus rewarded. TIL
existence is not known of either of thes
original dispatches
, A copy of Rochambeau's journal is il
the French archives in Paris, and an
other, Rochambeau's own, probably,
in the library of the department of stat
in Washington, procured with the Re
chambeau papers bought by the Unite
States government from the heirs
Count de Rochambeau. 1t may be, and
indeed, it seems quite probable, tia
this series of manuscripts which hs
r been recently discovered and which ha
been secured by Messrs. Dodd, Mead I
Co. of New York city are the origins
b. papers which were carried over b
= Count de Deux-Ponts. They are no
i. however, in his autograph, but in thi
= Of some unknown person, probably
clerk.
q The map which accompanies the
r two manuscripts is on large scale al
If most beautifully drawn by an exper
>. no doubt one of the French engineer
!. and it seems probable that it was draw
to accompany official dispatches to &
French government There is no dup
u cate of it among the many maps i'll 4
Rochambeau collection. st. Louis X
public