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About The Correspondence of Baron de Vioménil Project

Between 1780 and 1782, during the closing years of the American Revolution, Antoine-Charles, Baron du Houx de Vioménil (1728-1792) served as second-in-command of the French expeditionary forces. His leadership supported the 5,500 troops under General Comte de Rochambeau, forming a vital auxiliary to George Washington’s Continental Army. Together, the Franco-American efforts culminated in the decisive victory at Yorktown, marking a significant turning point for American independence.

Vioménil’s private papers, once thought lost during the French Revolution, were recently rediscovered by Dr. Iris de Rode at the Académie François Bourdon, an institution focused on the industrial history of Le Creusot. Thanks to a generous grant from the Richard Lounsbery Foundation and the cooperation of Académie François Bourdon, these invaluable documents have now been digitized by The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. Over 200 papers detailing Vioménil’s American campaign are now available as full-resolution scans on this website, with many of the most important documents transcribed and translated for researchers worldwide.

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Custodial History of the Papers

Vioménil’s papers, now housed at the Académie François Bourdon, provide a rich source of information on the logistical organization of the French army in North America, its communications with Versailles, and details on the March to Yorktown, as well as the Siege and Battle of Yorktown.

The collection of Vioménil’s papers was moved to the Académie François Bourdon at the end of the 19th century, from the Château de La Boulaye, where they were stored alongside the Loppin de Montmort family papers. Although the Château de La Boulaye was never Vioménil’s residence, his daughter, Marie Adelaïde, lived there after marrying Claude Bernard Jean, Marquis de Loppin de Montmort. Claude-Bernard de Loppin de Montmort had served as an aide-de-camp to Vioménil during the American Revolutionary War, and during the French Revolution, Claude-Bernard fought alongside Vioménil to defend the Tuileries. It is likely that, anticipating the turmoil ahead, Vioménil entrusted his papers to his daughter and son-in-law during this precarious period.

Approximately thirty years later, in 1824, the Loppin de Montmort couple experienced a devastating fire that destroyed their castle. Although they succeeded in rescuing their family papers and some furnishings, the castle itself was lost. They subsequently built a new, smaller castle on the ruins and stored their family papers in one of its towers.

In 1893, Henri-Adolphe Eugène Schneider, a wealthy steel tycoon and founder of Schneider-Creusot (now Schneider Electric), acquired this “new” castle and the lands of La Boulaye. Schneider, who made the castle his residence, preserved the belongings and records of its previous occupants, including Baron de Vioménil’s papers. The Schneider family occupied the Château until the 1950s, after which furniture and possessions were moved to another family residence. Schneider’s personal papers and the historical documents from Château de La Boulaye were then transferred to Schneider’s industrial archives in Le Creusot, now called the Académie François Bourdon, where Vioménil’s papers have largely been forgotten ever since.

The Rediscovery of the Vioménil Papers

In 2020, while researching her dissertation on Major General François-Jean de Chastellux (1734-1788), historian Iris de Rode came across a brief French news article referencing a letter from Vioménil to Lafayette. Intrigued by its possible connection to the Yorktown campaign, she visited the mentioned archive and was astonished to find not only the letter but the entire collection of Vioménil’s correspondence and military papers. She subsequently initiated the digitization of these documents to make them accessible to the research community.

The Vioménil papers, comprising approximately 1,100 documents and totaling around 4,000 pages, offer a comprehensive view of his military career and other aspects of his life. The collection includes records from the Seven Years’ War,¹ his campaign in Corsica (1768-1769), and the Polish campaign (1771-1772), along with military reports and correspondence spanning from 1751 to 1791.² However, it focuses solely on his professional life, as his private correspondence with family or his wife is not included and is likely not preserved elsewhere.

Together with Iris de Rode and the Académie François-Bourdon, George Washington’s Mount Vernon has undertaken the digitization of the portion of Vioménil’s papers related to his American campaign. The remaining documents in the collection are available for on-site consultation at Le Creusot.

Highlights of Vioménil’s American Revolution Papers

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Baron de Vioménil’s military contributions during the American Revolution are detailed in approximately 1,000 pages, covering the period from March 1780 to January 26, 1783, as presented in this scanned database. This collection is a crucial resource for research on the French campaign in North America, providing extensive insights into the logistical organization of the French forces. It includes a wealth of memoirs and instructions that detail troop movements and supply management.

The collection begins with the French army and fleet’s departure from Brest, France, and extensively covers their time encamped in Newport, Rhode Island, where they spent around 11 months. It then tracks the French forces’ journey through the Yorktown campaign, their march back to New England, and their eventual return to France. The collection features numerous letters from Rochambeau to Vioménil, mainly containing instructions for the March to Yorktown, as well as copies and translations of several letters from George Washington.

View a Timeline of the Papers

The first documents in the collection focus on the departure from France, prominently featuring Vioménil’s travel journal that details the French army’s transatlantic voyage from May to July 1780.

From July 1780 to June 1781, while stationed in Newport, Rhode Island, Major General Vioménil managed the French encampment in close collaboration with Rochambeau and other Major Generals, including his brother. His papers from this period encompass his correspondences with French ministers and Versailles court members, highlighting his crucial role in advocating for additional support. Vioménil’s communications reveal his efforts to secure further aid from figures like De Grasse and obtain significant financial resources, reflecting his challenges in persuading Versailles to address the French forces’ needs. These documents also capture his personal doubts and frustrations about the expedition’s success, stemming from inadequate resources and similar issues faced by their American allies. Vioménil’s papers shed light on his essential role in maintaining the French forces’ morale and the rigorous inspections he conducted, which detailed the state of the regiments, including personnel numbers, conditions, weaponry, uniforms, and tents. Additionally, they provide valuable insights into the logistical and financial organization of the French army during their extensive mission abroad.

In the spring of 1781, Vioménil led an expedition against Benedict Arnold in Virginia, departing from Newport with troops and the French fleet. His papers offer extensive details on this mission, documenting its objectives and providing insights into the reasons for its eventual failure, shedding light on this significant yet frequently overlooked French-American endeavor.

In June 1781, Vioménil’s papers document the French forces’ departure from Newport and their march to join George Washington’s troops in New York. The collection details the Grande Reconnaissance conducted in New York, which revealed the city to be an “impenetrable fortress.” Based on this assessment, the French-American allies decided to shift their focus southward, planning an attack on the British at Yorktown. Vioménil’s letters provide valuable insights into the strategic considerations and planning that led to this pivotal decision.

The segment of Vioménil’s papers that covers the march to Yorktown proves invaluable for reconstructing the intricate details of this pivotal movement, as overseen by Vioménil himself. His meticulous notes and letters provide a comprehensive account of the march. During the march to Yorktown, Vioménil received news on the arrival of the French Admiral de Grasse at the Chesapeake Bay, on which he wrote a Memoir.

Additionally, Vioménil’s papers shed light on his often-underestimated yet crucial role in the siege and battle at Yorktown, particularly during the storming of the redoubts number 9 and 10 — an essential episode in the Yorktown campaign. As the battle raged on, General Rochambeau fell ill, prompting Vioménil to assume command. Notably, one of the highlights in this portion of Vioménil’s papers is a document titled “Reflections on the Military Strategies to be Implemented at Yorktown,” sent to Rochambeau on October 10, 1781. The document explores his ideas regarding the combined French and American attacks on Cornwallis. In this detailed analysis, Vioménil outlines strategic considerations and proposals for the coordinated actions that would subsequently be adopted by Generals Rochambeau and Washington. This document serves as a significant testament to Vioménil’s strategic acumen and contributions to the planning and execution of the pivotal Yorktown campaign during the American Revolution. Vioménil also issued direct orders to the Marquis de Lafayette and the Baron Von Steuben, outlining how to perform the “attack with precision”. To Lafayette he wrote on the signal that would mark the beginning of the attack: “After a silence of fifteen minutes from all our batteries, tonight at precisely half-past six, two large bombs and two shells from our first parallel, and two small bombs from the second, will be fired. This will be the signal that I proposed and that has been approved by General Washington, to prompt the American and French troops to advance with full force to attack the enemy’s left redoubts.”

Furthermore, in the aftermath of the victory at Yorktown, Vioménil’s papers contain comprehensive lists detailing the promotions of many French officers. These documents provide insights into the recognition and advancements within the French military hierarchy following the success at Yorktown.

Following Rochambeau’s departure for France, Vioménil took command of the remaining French troops stationed in North America before their eventual departure for the West Indies and then France. The final segment of his papers meticulously details the embarkation process, including specifics about the regiments and ships involved. Notably, during this departure, the French flagship, the Duc de Bourgogne, tragically sank. Vioménil’s reports offer a comprehensive account of the events leading to this shipwreck, which resulted in the loss of numerous military reports and papers intended for France. These reports provide a detailed narrative of the unfortunate circumstances surrounding this significant loss .

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