Julien Alexandre Achard de Bonvouloir Julien Alexandre Achard de Bonvouloir ( 10 May 1749 Passais - la - Conception - 1783 ) was a secret French envoy to the American colonies , in 1775 . Family . His ancient family from Poitou and Normandy was divided into three branches : Achard de Bonvouloir , vente and Achard de Leluardière . The eldest Achard had the right to lead the Bishop of Angoulême for saving the city from the infidels . The Achard also fought against the Saracens , a cross commemorates this battle ; on it was recorded " The Achard , the Tison , the neighbor across the country have driven the Saracens . His brother was Luc René Charles Achard de Bonvouloir Bonvouloir was a ' prodigal son ' . He had immigrated to St . Domingue , where he volunteered in the Régiment du Cap . He traveled in America and then went to London . He mainly wanted recognition for his efforts , and hoped to become a commissioned officer . He had no espionage experience , and did not speak English . Vergennes ' Instructions . Adrien - Louis de Bonnières , duc de Guînes , the French ambassador to the Court of St . James ' s , proposed him for the mission : he had recently returned from America , and was willing to undertake a secret mission for 200 louis d ' or . The foreign minister Vergennes gave him detailed instructions . He was not to represent himself as an official agent of France , with the cover as an ' Antwerp merchant ' . He could not make any commitments , but rather assure the Americans of French sympathy . He was to tell the Americans that the French had no designs on Canada , and hint that French ports would be open to trade . He was to contact Benjamin Franklin , who had visited Paris in the 1760s . Mission . He set sail for America on September 8 , 1775 . It was a rough crossing , the journey took twice as long as usual . He had one acquaintance , who might provide access to Franklin : Francis Daymon was a merchant who had been born in Paris and immigrated to Philadelphia , where he married an American . Daymon spoke English well and supplemented his income by tutoring people in French . And he was a part - time librarian , with Franklin ' s Library Company of Philadelphia . Bonvouloir contacted Daymon . When the librarian told Franklin about the encounter , Franklin was wary : this could be a British spy ; however , after some further deliberation , felt the benefits justified the risks . In spite of Bonvouloir ' s fervent disavowals , it was clear he was acting on the orders of the French government . Meetings . It was agreed that members of the Committee of Correspondence would meet with him . Carpenter ' s Hall was chosen for a night - time rendezvous that would involve only four men : Franklin , fellow committee - member John Jay , Francis Daymon and Bonvouloir . A larger group would only attract unwanted attention . Daymon was needed to act as an interpreter . Franklin was far from fluent in French at the time , and it was important that no misunderstandings arise . There were three long meetings , between December 18 and 27 , 1775 . Franklin ' s house on High Street was only about a block from the hall . The second floor of Carpenter ' s Hall was divided into two large rooms . The east room housed the Library Company ' s books , where the library directors met , while the west room was home to its many scientific devices and equipment . John Jay later recalled Achard de Bonvouloir as an " elderly , lame gentleman , having the appearance of an old , wounded French officer . " He rigidly adhered to his instructions : " I made them no offer , absolutely none . " But Franklin and Jay assumed that he was a French agent . They wanted to know if France would aid America , and at what price . He said yes , France might come to the rebels ' aid , but he did not know what the conditions would be ; he promised to forward the request for military engineers . They asked about the possibility of obtaining arms and munitions , in exchange for American commercial goods . He stressed the French government would not take part in such transactions , but business would be outsourced by private French merchants . Franklin and Jay were encouraged that France was interested in helping the American cause . The secret Committee of Correspondence was encouraged by the meetings , and on March 2 , 1776 , they appointed Connecticut lawyer and revolutionary leader Silas Deane as a special envoy to negotiate in Paris with the French government . Reports . As soon as the meetings were over , Achard de Bonvouloir sent messages back to France . On December 28 , he penned an account of both the clandestine encounters at Carpenter ' s Hall , and his impressions of the general situation : As I expected I found this country in an incredible turmoil . The Confederates [ rebels ] are preparing themselves extensively for the coming spring and despite the severity of the season , they continue the fight . They besieged Montreal , which surrendered , and are presently close to Quebec , which I think will do the same soon . . . They are well entrenched near Boston . . . They have an unbelievable eagerness and goodwill : it is true they are led by capable people . Everyone here is a soldier , the troops are well clothed , well paid and well armed . They have more than 50 , 000 regular soldiers and an even larger number of volunteers who do not wish to be paid . Judge how men of this caliber will fight . They are more powerful than we could have thought , beyond imagination powerful ; you will be astonished by it . Nothing shocks or frightens them , you can count on that . Independency is a certainty for 1776 ; there will be no drawing back . . . This was an exaggeration : Washington ' s Continental Army never had more than 18 , 000 to 20 , 000 men at a time , and usually the figures were much lower ; the troops were badly paid , badly clothed , and had to endure periods of sickness and semi - starvation . French aid . Achard de Bonvouloir ' s positive report reached France on February 27 , 1776 ; it gave Vergennes ammunition to persuade King Louis XVI to aid the rebellious colonies . France and Spain were not ready for open hostilities with Britain , but they agreed to secretly aid the rebellion . Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais through a dummy company , Hortalez & Cie , was set up to funnel arms and supplies to America . While still maintaining an official neutrality , France was fully committed to providing substantial secret aid to the Americans . Aftermath . Achard de Bonvouloir went to Canada , where he was captured and imprisoned by the British . He returned to France , June 1777 , and helped by his brother , went back to America in hopes of becoming a merchant . He was captured by the British , landed in France , in July 1778 , and unsuccessfully sought Franklin ’ s help in 1778 . He managed to get a commission in the French navy , sailed to India in 1781 , and died there in 1783 .