geneeal dupobtail at valley foege

General Duportail at Valley Forge 341

GENEEAL DUPOBTAIL AT VALLEY FOEGEBy ELIZABETH S. KITE

The Valley Forge Park Commission must be giventhe credit for having rescued from oblivion GeneralWashington's Chief of Engineers during the AmericanRevolution; Louis Lebeque de Presle Duportail. Nomore effective monument could be erected to hismemory than the restored fortifications at ValleyForge; and yet, even to members of the Commission,this important French Officer remains little more thana name. American historians have been silent regard-ing him. This silence is unjust. Documents today avail-able1 show that among the foreign volunteers whocame to the aid of the struggling Colonies, none wasanimated with a more ardent zeal for the cause of lib-erty nor was possessed of an equally thorough knowl-edge of the science of war.

The cause of the neglect is to be found in the at-titude of Americans toward the French officers whocame to this country during the spring and early sum-mer of 1777, before the Treaty of Alliance was signedbetween this country and France. In all about fiftyvolunteers, some of them men of experience and dis-tinction in the French army, the greater part youngand belonging to the nobility, appeared in Philadel-phia, all of them expecting to be given positions ofprominence by Congress. The situation was embar-rassing. Certain of the more spirited American officersthrew down their arms, refusing to serve if foreigners

1 George Washington and the French Engineers, Duportail and Com-panions. From documents hitherto unpublished in the Manuscripts Divi-sion of the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C, and the Library ofthe American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pub-lished in the Records of the American Catholic Historical Society, Phila-delphia, Pennsylvania. Eight installments, beginning March, 1932. ByElizabeth S. Kite.

342 General Duportail at Valley Forge

were to be placed over them. In the end the greaterpart of these volunteers were granted funds from Con-gress and given liberty to regain their native countryif they chose. Many however remained, joining theranks as volunteers. By their own merits they weresoon raised to positions of importance and served thiscountry faithfully and well. Their names today are forthe most part forgotten. Historians have singled outLafayette and bestowed upon him a nation's gratitude,while ignoring his compatriots. The services of theseFrenchmen, in many cases, deserve very special anddetailed study.2 This is particularly true of DuportaiL

Congress, in 1776, through Benjamin Franklin, senta special request to the French Government for " a few

Engineers, not exceeding four." Duportail, member ofthe Royal Corps of Engineers, was chosen by theMinister of War and was allowed to pick his associates.He selected Messrs. de la Radiere, de Laumoy andde Gouvion. The whole transaction was carried onsecretly, but received the express sanction of the King.These officers reached Philadelphia by way of the WestIndies early in July, 1777. In view of the fact that theyhad come in response to a direct appeal from Congress,this body was inclined to be friendly but was obligedby the disorganized state of the army to request themto patiently bide their time until their cases could begiven special consideration. It was not until November17th, that a definite place in the army was given them.On that day Duportail was made Brigadier-Generaland joined Washington soon after at Whitemarsh. Thefirst Council of War at which General Duportail waspresent was held on the 24th. Along with the othergenerals he was asked to send in writing his opinionof what should be done in the present emergency.

To understand the situation it is necessary to recallthat in November, 1777, the decisive victory of the

2 Thomas Balch, The French in America (Philadelphia, 1891-95), II.


army of the North at Saratoga was of recent occur-rence. In the light of that victory Washington's partialsuccesses at Brandywine and Germantown looked likedefeats. It was natural that his Generals should burnwith desire to retrieve their losses and that they shouldbe ready to demand that they be led to an immediateattack upon Howe before he had time to entrench him-self in Philadelphia.

From its first line the reply of Duportail struck hometo the mind of Washington. Here was indeed an officerupon whose judgment and knowledge he could rely.The words came like hammer-blows:

Take care that the successes of the North do not lead to dis-asters here where circumstances are entirely different. . . .Look at Germantown. . . . Your Excellency was completely vic-torious over General Howe but his army conquered yours! . . .Learn then this lesson—Take care of your men . . . see that youhave an army of "regulars" before you attack where success isnot certain. . . . Bemember, retreat is not defeat. . . . The Britishcan never conquer America so long as her army is intact. . . ,3

Duportail was never popular with his brotherofficers. He seemed to them too distant and reserved.Besides he was too wise, too deep in the confidence ofthe Commander-in-Chief. It was Duportail's advicethat carried weight. Instead of an attack upon GeneralHowe, it was decided to go into winter quarters. Soonafter the site at Valley Forge was the one selected.

Looking at the restoration effected by the ValleyForge Park Commission one cannot but be struck withthe master mind who planned and directed those forti-fications. The position, naturally strong, is dominatedby the height called Mount Joy, so named by "WilliamPenn and included in the manor which he gave to hisdaughter Letitia, nearly a hundred years before. Fromthis height, which commands a view of the whole regionsloping off toward Philadelphia, every avenue by whichthe enemy could approach was in full view and pro-

8 See Note 1. supra.


tected by an outer line of entrenchments with redoubtsplaced at strategic points. Behind, the hill drops inabrupt cliffs forming the chasm worn ages ago byValley Creek. On the eastern slope of Mount Joy thesecond line of entrenchments was strengthened by thethree bastions: Fort Washington to the south, FortHuntington in the center and the Star Eedoubt at thenorthern extremity, commanding the approach toWashington's headquarters and Sullivan's pontoonbridge over the Schuylkill.

On December 20, 1777, the army left its temporaryencampment at Gulph Mills and marched to ValleyForge. While the men busied themselves in buildinghuts and arranging the camp, Duportail, aided by oneof his associates, carefully surveyed the ground, pre-pared a map and studied the most effectual means ofproviding for its defense. Actual work on the forti-fications was begun about the fifteenth of January andby the beginning of April the situation had beenrendered practically impregnable. When one considersthe frozen ground, the scarcity of tools, the inexperi-ence of the workers and their forlorn condition both asto food and clothing, the promptitude with which thewhole works were executed is calculated to fill themind with wonder. On April 7,1778, President Laurenswrote from York, Pennsylvania, where Congress wassitting :

The present newly adopted encampment Genl. duportail as-sures me is tenable against the enemy's utmost endeavors bytheir present powers.4

The movement to preserve the Valley Forge campcan be traced to Centennial year, 1876. At that date

4 Colonel John Laurens, son of Henry Laurens, President of Congress,was an aide-de-camp of Washington and detailed to attend GeneralDuportail as interpreter, wherever the latter went. All the memorialsof Duportail written at Valley Forge were translated by ColonelLaurens. At this time the French General was studying English so thetwo were much together. These documents, the French originals and thetranslations, are all in the Washington Papers, in the Library ofCongress.

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the camp site had to a large extent been reclaimed asfarming land so that many of the fortifications hadbeen ploughed over until all trace was lost. Mapshowever were available which gave the general outlineof the camp and its fortifications. A great impetus tothe completion of the work came when it was dis-covered that a contemporaneous copy of Duportail'soriginal plan, made by an assistant engineer, was in thepossession of Cornell University Library. Through theexertions of the late Governor of Pennsylvania, SamuelW. Pennypacker, this plan was obtained and is now inthe possession of The Historical Society of Pennsyl-vania. Of still greater interest however, is the originalplan or "brouillon du plan du camp de vallee forge/9

as he calls it, which Duportail drew and on which helocated the proposed defenses as he rode over theground on horseback, his outline map posed before himon the pommel of his saddle. Undoubtedly the Com-mander-in-Chief rode with him and together the ad-vantages of every position were freely and fully dis-cussed. Later, at his own headquarters, Duportailinked in his pencil markings. When the army evacuatedcamp the following Spring the "p lan" was left behindand was only found, more than a century and a quarterlater, when the late Lawrence McCormick of theBellevue Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia, bought theplace, then known as "the old John Harvard House"and began its renovation. Tucked away in a cubby-hole in the attic the "p lan" was found among otherRevolutionary relics. Mr. McCormick deposited theprecious document with The Historical Society ofPennsylvania where it is now preserved.5

5 This information has been obtained from the very able actingSuperintendent of the Valley Forge Park, Jerome J. Sheas, who formore than thirty years has been connected with the work of restoringthe camp. Mr. Sheas says that the objects located on the "plan" are soaccurately indicated that one has to only dig at the spot and the founda-tions of the fortification will surely appear.


The fate of the Duportail's headquarters has beenno less interesting. Through the generosity of a public-minded citizen, an Alumnus of the University of Penn-sylvania, Henry N. Woolman, it has become the prop-erty of that institution of learning. Mr. Woolmanwrites under date of August 12,1932:

In 1926 I purchased from Mr. Thomas M. Eoyal, CressbrookFarm which had previously belonged to Mr. McCormick of theBellevue Stratford Hotel. I t consisted of 178 acres and on itwas the beautiful old colonial house which was occupied by Gen-eral Duportail, the French engineer for General Washingtonat Valley Forge.

That spring I offered to donate the farm to the Universityof Pennsylvania as a nucleus of a campus for the UndergraduateDepartments of the University of Pennsylvania.

After five years of study by various committees the Trusteesof the University accepted the gift and the property was deededto the Trustees last year.6

Duportail, as yet, has no marker at Valley Forge.To remedy this defect it is proposed to inaugurate acelebration for the nineteenth of April, 1933, the OneHundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the announce-ment by General Washington to the allied armies ofthe cessation of hostilities. Four days earlier (April15, 1783), Congress, then sitting in Philadelphia, rati-fied the preliminaries of peace signed in Paris thethirtieth of the preceding November. Approached inthis connection Mr. Woolman writes:

•In offering the gift, Mr. Woolman in his address said in part asfollows: "The tract of 178 acres at Valley Forge . . . [is] a nucleus of acampus that ultimately should be of sufficient area to contain withinitself all those important factors of student life involved in work, studyand play . . . Valley Forge . . . standing alone above the Nation'sShrines, symbolizing self-sacrifice and faith and devotion to the causeof democracy, . . . instantly grips the imagination as a place preeminentin situation for growth in spiritual as well as intellectual matters onthe part of young American manhood . . . Pennsylvania has an honoredbirthright at Valley Forge . . . Cressbrook Farm, the Valley Forge site,in the shadow of the great encampment, brings our University face toface with one of the most momentous decisions in our history."


I will be very glad to allow the farm to be used on the 19th ofApril, 1933, for the celebration of General Duportail at ValleyForge.At Cressbrook Farm therefore the marker will beplaced. The Engineering Department of the UnitedStates Army, recognizing as it does Duportail as itsfounder, will have the leading role at this celebration.General Pershing and other notables will take partalong with numerous patriotic, historical, educationaland Franco-American associations. There will also berecognition of the fact that news of the open allianceof France with the United States, hope for which eventbuoyed Washington during the dreadful winter of1778, was received and first celebrated by the army atValley Forge.7

DUPORTAIL, AMERICAN CITIZEN AND FARMER

In 1778, while serving in the Continental Army atValley Forge, Duportail, along with the other gen-erals, swore allegiance to the United States, Washing-ton in his case acting as witness. The citizenship thusacquired served the French general in good stead whenfifteen years later he fled from the Terror in France toseek refuge in America, intending to buy land and toestablish himself there.

Better than most Americans, Duportail knew thecountry of his adoption. During five years he hadcovered the whole range of it, riding on horseback frompost to post; north, south, east, west, over and overagain. He knew the climate, character of the soil, withthe range of productiveness of each part. Where thenshould he choose to establish himself? There wasnever any question in the mind of Duportail as to

7 So far as is known, Rev. W. Herbert Burk, D.D., in his WashingtonMemorial at Valley Forge, has the honor of having been the first Ameri-can to give public recognition to the French Alliance. One of the panelsof the stained glass windows of the commemorative chapel portrays thearrival of the treaties at Valley Forge.


where the choice of his heart lay. With sure, invincibleattraction he found himself led to the scene of the mostimportant of all his services to America; those thatcentered around Valley Forge. Even amidst themiseries of that dreadful winter of 1777-1778, the na-tural advantages of that section of the country, itsclimate and the general beauty of its wooded hills,greatly impressed him. Particularly was he enchantedwith the tumbling streams that came down from thosehills, with the crystal-clear " great springs of water"that abounded among them, and with the majestic,winding Schuylkill. During the summer of 1780, whileenduring the miseries of a prison-camp near Charles-ton, South Carolina, he had written the FrenchMinister, visioning the latter as "enjoying the coolshade of some pleasant country-seat near Philadel-phia." This vision he now wished to make real forhimself. It remained only to select the spot, and, mostimportant of all for his purpose, find someone who waswilling to sell.

The region around Valley Forge, originally in-cluded in Letitia Penn Manor, had been broken upinto farms so that, by 1778, it was practically all in astate of effective cultivation, and to a considerable ex-tent owned by members of the Society of Friends towhich William Penn belonged. Early in the eighteenthcentury a strip of land on the right bank of the Schuyl-kill, known as "Swede's Ford Tract," extending a milealong the river and with a depth inland of two miles,had been purchased and settled by Swedes from theregion of the Delaware.8 All this land, including theValley Forge section which lay ten miles to the south-west, was, in 1778, loosely included in the County ofPhiladelphia. In 1784, when definite boundaries weredrawn and new counties made, Swede's Ford Tractfound itself in Montgomery County and in the town-

8 Archives of the Montgomery County Historical Society.


ship of Upper Merion. At that date the waters of theSchuylkill were still crystal clear and alive with fish sothat the shad fishing industry was a thriving one andespecially carried on by the Swedes settled there. Allthis had a great appeal to Duportail who wished toleave as far as possible behind him the bitter memoriesof the last few years. Some part of Swede's FordTract, therefore, he wished to possess as his own. Hewas attracted in particular to that part of it whichfollowed the Swede's Ford Road for it was along thathighway that fifteen years earlier he had come withthe American Army on its way from Whitemarsh en-campment to that of the Gulph, last resting place be-fore taking up winter quarters at Valley Forge.

How well Duportail knew that road! It was atSwede's Ford that the improvised bridge of wagons,floored with rails from near-by fences, was preparedso that the army could pass over. It was there that thesacredness of the cause in which he found himselfengaged first burned itself into his soul. It was therehe stood watching the long line of ill-fed, scantily clad,often bare-foot soldiers file by and saw everywherehorses as well as men ready to drop from hunger andexhaustion. But it was precisely in the midst of allthis agony that hope was born in him and confidence inthe future of that army, for, at the head of the troops,sharing their hardships and suffering, rode Washing-ton. No wonder that Duportail found himself nowdrawn as by magnetic power to this very spot.

Duportail however, was not the only emigre whosought shelter from the French Revolution in thefarm lands of the United States. Louis Marie and Guyde Noailles both bought farms in Montgomery County,Many other French names occur in the records. Amongthese is that of James Philip Delacour who, in 1792,bought a large segment of Swede's Ford Tract. It wasto him therefore that Duportail made known his desireto settle in that locality. The result was that on June


8, 1795, this gentleman turned over his whole planta-tion of 189i acres, " to Louis Lebeque Duportail'7 andreceived the sum of "2,368 pounds and 15 shillings law-ful money of Pennsylvania." The recorded deed9

gives a lengthy description of the land, settling ac-curately its boundaries. It is there definitely statedthat the land runs for a considerable distance alongthe Swede's Ford road, but there is no mention of itstouching the river. To remedy this defect, on thetwenty-fifth of September of the same year, Duportailbought of "John and Margaret Eastburn for the sum offifty-five pounds lawful money of Pennsylvania," apiece of land,

situate on the south east side of the road leading to Norristownford on Schuylkill included between and bounded by said roadthe said river and the plantation of the said Louis LebequeDuportail, containing by computation three acres more or less . . .

The length of river frontage thus acquired measureda little over a quarter of a mile and the farm is hence-forth listed as composed of 194 acres. Eeturning tothe first deed it is important to note that though hethere acquired no land directly on the river he wascareful to secure the right " to half part of the shadfisheries opposite Swede's Ford Tract" as well as"free egress, ingress, and regress . . . for carrying outseins and putting fish on shore."

Behold then our erstwhile Major General (Mare-chal de Camp), French Minister of War, settling downto the life of an American farmer, without regrets orloss of time pouring over past sufferings. He musthave brought a servant with him and probably aFrench cook, though such accessories are taken toomuch as a matter of course for any special mention tobe made of them; yet through his American career whenserving in the army we learn, incidentally, that suchwas the habit of the day. Although now an American

•In the Montgomery County Court House, Norristown, Pennsylvania.


farmer Duportail was still a gentleman of the oldschool and considered such accessories as of primenecessity. Otherwise, he was living the life of thecountry, adapting himself to such a dwelling as hefound ready built upon his property. Immediately hebent every effort of mind and will to make his farmpay. As proof of this we have but to glance over thelist of books taken from the inventory of DuportaiPsestate. The list is as follows:

Smith's Wealth of Nations FRENCH BOOKSOur Own Gardiner Dictionnaire du jardinageEoads and Dictionary Theorie du jardinageEural Economy Boyle's Dictionary in FrenchHints to Gentlemen of Prop- and English

e r ty Les elements de la langueLeslie's Husbandry anglaiseInquiries on Plaster of Paris Nouvelle grammaire allemandeThe Famous Kalandar Dictionnaire de Bromare—15Practical Farmer vols.Vindication of Eandolph Guide du Voyageur en SwisseSpeech of Ames in ye House of Constitution of the French Ee-

^ s- public.Sketch on Eotation of Crops Testament politiqueProgress and State of the

Canal Navigation in Penna. Map of ConnecticutDescription of certain lands in A French Map

Massachusetts Map of Pennsylvania10

Disquisition concerning An-cient India

On Fattening of CattleDouglas (a tragedy)

These books were all so worn from constant usagethat the appraiser found it difficult to set a value onthem. They were finally sold for ten dollars the lot.Undoubtedly, Duportail spent much of his free timepouring over these books, especially whatever per-tained to the cultivation of his farm. At the time ofhis death his barns were full of hay, rye (thrashed andunthrashed), of oats, of old rye straw, etc. Always he

10 In the office of the Register of Wills, Montgomery County CourtHouse, Norristown, Pennsylvania, the papers connected with the settle-ment of the estate of General Duportail are kept on file.


kept horses; most of the time six, though the numberand value varies somewhat during the five years thetax lists contain his name. Usually he has at least fourcows, though the number falls at times to two; thenrises to six. All which shows that he was not averse toa "trade" when the right opportunity offered. In1796, his farm and dwelling was assessed at $1746; but,in 1799, the value noted had risen to $1996, undoubtedlyowing to the improvements made during that time.

In 1801, Duportail disposed of parts of his farm totwo different purchasers. Knowing as we now do thathe left America for France the following year it mightbe supposed that already he had begun to rid himselfof his property in view of returning permanently toFrance. Nothing apparently was farther from histhought. On June 24, 1801, he sold his dwelling, barnand all improvements along with 9 acres, 8 perchesof land, to Alexander Crawford, for which he receivedthe sum of $730.60. Next day, June 25, for the sum of"273 pounds 15 shillings, lawful gold or silver moneyof America" he sold to Samuel Holstein, a neighborwhose land joined his, 18 acres and 76 perches,with buildings, improvements, ways, woods, watercourses . . .together with the benefit of the great spring of water . . . andother privileges particularly mentioned in the indenture fromthe said James Philip Delacour to Louis Lebeque Duportail . . .reserving . . .

And here we come to the clause which proves that theformer French Minister of War intended to keep righton with his farming interests in America although hehad already been notified that his disabilities as emigrehad been removed and freedom secured for his returnto France. The deed above mentioned goes on to saythat special reservation is made of his right to the shadfisheries opposite Swede's Ford Tract and alsothe right of roadway through the property [connecting his re-maining property with] the Swede's Ford Eoad, together withthe fruit and ornamental trees planted and growing on the


verge of each side thereof, with liberty of planting, cultivatingand pruning as many more as he or they [his heirs and assigns]may from time to time deem necessary . . .

The 1801 deeds here spoken of, not only make thesereservations, looking to continued activities on thefarm (which still contained about 166 acres), but laterdocuments reveal the fact that he had already selecteda site for a dwelling which pleased him better than didthose of the original buildings bought with the farm,and that he had begun the erection of a dwelling moreto his own taste. In the meantime came the order fromNapoleon for emigre officers to return home. When orhow the message was conveyed to him does not appear.The decision to comply must have come suddenly.Judging from the fact that the tax lists were sent outtoward the end of March each year and that none wasrecorded for "General Duportail, Farmer," for 1802,the call must have come early that year. What is cer-tain is that he left one Isaac Huddleston11 as his agentto look after the interests of his plantation. Later,after news of Duportail's death reached America, thecourt, February 3,1803, appointed this same agent ad-ministrator of the estate. Isaac Huddleston's reportis dated January, 1804, and among "Disbursements"is mentioned the sum of "117 pounds 17 shillings and6 pence'' given toseveral persons in the lifetime of Louis L. Duportail, agreeableto his instructions when he left America, in finishing a newHouse and Barn and digging a well, which were left unfinishedby him—and other improvements on his farm, & harvesting andthreshing his grain etc.

For his trouble in managing the estate, Huddlestoncharged 37 pounds, 10 shillings which, with commis-sions, fees, etc., brought disbursements up to £227.17.9.This sum is shown as met by the sale of the accumu-

11 Isaac Huddleston was a young Quaker doctor who settled in Nor-ristown in 1793. As a cultivated young man, the two had undoubtedlybeen early drawn together. See Auge, Men of Montgomery County.

VOL. LVI.—23


lated hay, oats and rye, and by the collecting of nu-merous lesser and greater debts scattered amongsurrounding farmers. There appear to have been nooutstanding obligations against the estate.

The remaining real estate of Duportail was sold atauction by the sheriff of Montgomery County in 1805,12

which with a few articles, sold also at auction, netted$6322.47. The report is signed and

approved in behalf of the heirs of the late General Duportail,whose atty. in fact I am;

Peter S. Duponceau13

Philadelphia 2, Oct. 1810.

In addition to the above there is the account ofEobert Porter, "administrator de bonis non", show-ing the receipt of "sundry sums received at varioustimes," amounting to $3191.91, and dated September28, 1811. After deducting fees, commissions and otherstate charges, and including "postage on two lettersto A. G. Le Beque de Presle (Brother and ap-parently only heir of General Duportail), Peter S. Du-ponceau appropriated what remained of the abovesum ($2949.15|), as his own lawyer's fee.

12 The Duportail estate was bought at Sheriff's sale by Elisha Evans,who kept the Rising Sun Inn at the Norristown end of Schuylkill Ford.Mr. Evans laid out the tract in town lots and called the place Evans-ville. This was later changed to Bridgeport. Information given byMr. Charles Major of Norristown.

18 Peter S. Duponceau came as a lad of seventeen to America andremained here as an American citizen. The famous Beaumarchais,purveyor of French secret aid, introduced him to Baron von Steubenas interpreter, for the lad already was a fluent linguist. Both cameover in Beaumarchais' ship, the Flamand and arrived at Valley Forgein February, 1778. Von Steuben and Duponceau were both consignedto Cressbrook farm. In later years, Duponceau, having married andsettled in Philadelphia, became a successful lawyer acquiring even afortune thereby. His later years were devoted to philological studies.He was especially interested in Indian languages and wrote manytreatises on their structure and relationships. He died President ofthe American Philosophical Society. At the time of his death, he was amember of forty learned societies, fourteen of them outside of the UnitedStates.