Norwich bulletin., 1921-08-19
ODD INCIDENTS IN AMERZeA2
 HISTORY
OUR GOOD FRIEND, BARON D
 

OUR GOOD FRIEND, BARON DE
 KALB
 Too much credit cannot be placed upon the foreign D Q iots who came to the assistance of the American colonies dur ing the Revolutionary War, and but fer them the story might be totally different in it's writing, Chief among these whom we should take delight in honoring was Baron De KaIb who brought with him to America a vast amount of ex- l perience accompanied by very little pre- tention
 Prior to the Revolution de Kalb held the rank although a German by birth, of brigadier general in the French army and in ITS at the instance of Siias Deans, engaged to enter the service of the American colonies. Acquainted with Lafayette, hex joined him in his advent urous voyage from Spanish port and after a sail of seven weeks, reached l Georgetown harbor, s. G., on June 15, 1777 Landing and making their way that night to the summer residence of Major 1 Huger the strangers were soon put at 1 ease by the cordial hospitality of their 1 host Proceeding to Charleston, and anxious to reach the army without de- l lay, they there hired horses an carriages l took the coast route northward, passing i through Williamsburg, Va. and reached l Philadelphia in July.
 1 Lafayette who had come to offer his i services without pay was speedily com 1 missioned by Congress, and in three weeks time found himself the bosom 1 friend of Washington. De Kalb and | other French officers at first met with disappointment. Congress felt it nee
 essary to shut the door against the in- 1 ereasing number of foreign applicants l for commissions and as the army had
 been arranged and offered for the cam paign, De Kalb was rejected, a sum of money being voted to enable him and
 his friends to return to France. Tho engagement entered into by Deane with these officers was held by Congress not to be binding on the ground that he had no authority in the case. But before De kalb returned the need appeared or general and he promptly received the
 appointment. September Is, TIT.
 Apart from the chavalrtc manner in
 which he closed his career De Kalb's
 military record is without any striking
 features. Opportunity failed to favor i him. During the three years down to ' Camden he was not engaged in any
 battle nor is he often mentioned in the
 correspondence of the day, even in con
 nection with routine matters. Lafayette Steuben and our own officers of equal
 and lesser rank fill a much larger space but this was not De Kalbs fault and the I end showed what would have been his worth had he been placed in the gap al any time befort
 He first appears in camp after the
 battle of Germantown, when he was sent with St. Clair and Knox in November : 1Y77 +O reOOrf 1IOOO hA a6viSibi1i+U ~ holding our posts on the Delaware be- low Philadelphia. He Is next found ai Valley Forge in command of a division tof Massachusetts troops-Learned's and lover's brigades-and when the army moved out in June, his command in cluded these brigades with that of Pat l erSong added. These men were veter,
 ans of the Burgoyne campaign and il . 1 would have fallen to him to be at tfeil head at Monmouth, had not long fllnesi deprived him of the honor. He followed
 the army as soon as prudent and joined
 it at White PlSins iI July!
 Old order books show that at White t Plains DN Kalb was frequently on duty : as general officer of the day, and thA he kept with the main army in it's va
 rious movements. In the early part c i the year he was appointed second il
 command under Lafayette. to lead al expedition into Canada, but that projec ? failed and in 1779 we meet him agail [ with the right wing of the army in tn
 Highlands on the west side of the Fud
 son, in command of the division of Mary land troops including the famous fight ing Delaware regiment His division was assigned to him first at White Plain on September 2, 177S.
 Tn the Highlands he appears once i