1. GW, who had not seen his home since his departure in May 1775, was accompanied to Mount Vernon by Lt. Col. David Humphreys, one of his staff, while the “rest of the family jogg on easily” (TRUMBULL [1] description begins “Minutes of Occurrences respecting the Siege and Capture of York in Virginia, extracted from the Journal of Colonel Jonathan Trumbull, Secretary to the General, 1781.” Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society 14 (1875-76): 331–38. description ends , 333). GW’s aides arrived at midday on 10 Sept. and Rochambeau and his staff in the evening. Chastellux and his aides came the next day (see GW to Chastellux, 10 Sept. 1781, NjP). Trumbull noted: “A numerous family now present. All accommodated. An elegant seat and situation, great appearance of oppulence and real exhibitions of hospitality & princely entertainment.” On 13 Sept. the party left Mount Vernon for Williamsburg and “between Colchester and Dumphries meet letters giving an account of an action between the two Fleets, & that the French were gone out from the Bay in pursuit of the English. The event not known. Much agitated” (TRUMBULL [1] description begins “Minutes of Occurrences respecting the Siege and Capture of York in Virginia, extracted from the Journal of Colonel Jonathan Trumbull, Secretary to the General, 1781.” Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society 14 (1875-76): 331–38. description ends , 333). In light of the news from the Capes, troops moving south were temporarily halted (see CLOSEN description begins Evelyn M. Acomb, ed. The Revolutionary Journal of Baron Ludwig von Closen, 1780–1783. Chapel Hill, N.C., 1958. description ends , 129).

After Rodney’s departure from the West Indies for England (see entry for 7 Aug. 1781), Sir Samuel Hood had sailed for New York, joining Graves there on 28 Aug. The combined fleets of Graves and Hood, consisting of 19 ships of the line, did not sail from New York until 31 Aug. Both admirals underestimated de Grasse’s strength. Still unaware of the arrival of de Grasse, the British fleet reached the Chesapeake on 5 Sept. and virtually stumbled into the French fleet anchored just inside the bay (see Verger journal, RICE description begins Howard C. Rice, Jr., and Anne S. K. Brown, eds. The American Campaigns of Rochambeau’s Army, 1780, 1781, 1782, 1783. 2 vols. Princeton, N.J., 1972. description ends , 1:137–38). The two fleets met on 5 Sept. off the Chesapeake in a 2½-hour action. The results were inconclusive, but the two fleets remained in contact, 6–7 Sept., drifting south to the vicinity of Cape Hatteras, which allowed Barras’s fleet from Newport to sail into Chesapeake Bay unmolested. By 11 Sept. the French fleet was back in the Chesapeake, and on 14 Sept. the British fleet sailed for New York. For a description of the engagement off the Capes, see Graves to Philip Stevens, 14 Sept. 1781 (GRAVES PAPERS description begins French Ensor Chadwick, ed. The Graves Papers and Other Documents Relating to the Naval Operations of the Yorktown Campaign, July to October, 1781. New York, 1916. description ends , 61–69; RICE description begins Howard C. Rice, Jr., and Anne S. K. Brown, eds. The American Campaigns of Rochambeau’s Army, 1780, 1781, 1782, 1783. 2 vols. Princeton, N.J., 1972. description ends , 1:137–38; GOUSSENCOURT description begins Chevalier de Goussencourt. “A Journal of the Cruise of the Fleet of His Most Christian Majesty, under the Command of the Count de Grasse-Tilly, in 1781 and 1782.” In The Operations of the French Fleet under the Count de Grasse in 1781–2 as Described in Two Contemporaneous Journals. Edited by J. G. Shea. New York, 1864. description ends , 69–75; JOURNAL OF AN OFFICER description begins “Journal of an Officer in the Naval Army in America, in 1781 and 1782.” In The Operations of the French Fleet under the Count de Grasse in 1781–2 as Described in Two Contemporaneous Journals. Edited by J. G. Shea. New York, 1864. description ends , 155–58; HOOD description begins David Hannay, ed. Letters Written by Sir Samuel Hood (Viscount Hood) in 1781, 1782, 1783. London, 1895. In Publications of the Navy Records Society, vol. 3. description ends , 28–36).

On the way to Williamsburg, Trumbull noted that the party heard “rumours of the return of the French Fleet, with some advantage, which relieved our fears” (TRUMBULL [1] description begins “Minutes of Occurrences respecting the Siege and Capture of York in Virginia, extracted from the Journal of Colonel Jonathan Trumbull, Secretary to the General, 1781.” Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society 14 (1875-76): 331–38. description ends , 333). Both GW and Trumbull mistakenly date the party’s arrival in Williamsburg as 15 Sept. rather than 14 Sept. St. George Tucker states that GW reached the city about four o’clock in the afternoon. “He had passed our camp which is now in the rear of the whole army, before we had time to parade the militia. The French line had just time to form. The Continentals had more leisure. He approached without any pomp or parade attended only by a few horsemen and his own servants. The Count de Rochambeau and Gen. Hand with one or two more officers were with him. . . . The Marquis [de Lafayette] rode up with precipitation, clasped the General in his arms and embraced him with an ardor not easily described. The whole army and all the town were presently in motion. The General—at the request of the Marquis de St. Simon—rode through the French lines. The troops were paraded for the purpose and cut a most splendid figure. He then visited the Continental line” (St. George Tucker to Frances Tucker, 15 Sept. 1781, COLEMAN description begins Mary Haldane Coleman. St. George Tucker: Citizen of No Mean City. Richmond, Va., 1938. description ends , 70–71). In Williamsburg, GW lodged at George Wythe’s house. In the evening “an elegant supper was served up” and “an elegant band of music played an introductive part of a French Opera” (BUTLER description begins “General Richard Butler’s Journal of the Siege of Yorktown.” Historical Magazine, and Notes and Queries concerning the Antiquities, History, and Biography of America 8 (1864): 102–12. description ends , 106).

On 15 Sept., GW wrote to de Grasse, expressing his desire for a conference aboard the admiral’s flagship, the Ville de Paris, and requesting de Grasse to send some form of conveyance for GW and his officers (DLC:GW). In the evening he dined with Lafayette and on 16 Sept. with Baron von Steuben (BUTLER description begins “General Richard Butler’s Journal of the Siege of Yorktown.” Historical Magazine, and Notes and Queries concerning the Antiquities, History, and Biography of America 8 (1864): 102–12. description ends , 106).