Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1897-07-01
YORKTOWN MAN SCRIPTS.


Pwpexs That Relate to tn Siege and sur
render Of the Town.
Curicnaly enough. after lib years.
@necaion Of manuscripts relating to
Ne siege Of Yorktown has recently
TUNED 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 10Th
Of August, to the surrender ct York
town. ON the 10th Of October, 1881. Ac-
oompanying 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 tho history Of America. Many 40
counts BY different eyewitnesses are ex-
tant, manuscript and printed. perhaps
the most valuable Of all being the diary
Of George Washington. the original
manuscripts 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. It 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 1t 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
1t has never been printed, except greatly
abridged, In English. A small part Of II
appeared in the Gazette de France .
few days after the news of the surrender
reached Paris, and this abridgment
was translated and published in English
in the Pennsy lvania Gazette and in Al
mons Remembrance shortly after.
The day after the surrender Rocham-
beau sent copy Of his journal by the
hand Of the Duke de Lauzun to the
French minister of war, Segur, and
week later duplicate dispatches were
sent In another ship, the Count de
Deux-Ponts being the bearer. These two
officers had shown the most courage in
the siege and were thus rewarded. The
existence is not known of either Of these
original dispatches.
A copy of Rochambeau's journal Is in
the French archives in Paris, and an
other, Rochambeau's own, probably, is
in the library of the department of state
in Washington, procured with the Ro-
chambeau papers bought by the United
States government from the heirs Of
Count de Kochambeau. It may be, and,
indeed, it seems quite probable, that
this series of manuscripts which has
been recently discovered and which has
been secured by Messrs. Dodd, Mead g
Co. of New York city are the original
papers which were carried over by
Count de DeUx-Ponts. They are not,
however, III lis autograph. but in that
Of some unknown person, probably a
clerk.
The map which accompanies these
two manuscripts is on large scale and
most beautifully drawn by an expert,
no doubt Gle Of the French engineers,
and it seems probable that 1t was drawn
to accompany official dispatches to the
French government. There is no dupN-
cate Of 1t among the many maps In the
Rochamb. au collection. Louis Re-
public