The Forgotten French

One French Admiral, named d’Estaing “considered the Americans too rash in strategy and too hasty in tactics, believing he was always pressed to risk his men unnecessarily in impulsive actions. Alexander says, “They were separated by language, temperament, religion, and politics. ” Although when the French made Washington “Marshall”, and announced that he was the highest ranking French officer in America, the French were cooperative. ” Despite this fact, the French grudgingly supported the American cause. In fact, the text just mentions how much monetary debt we had with them and it also mentions the agreement we had made with the French not to accept peace nor treaty with Britain unless both France and America consented. The French were certainly gambling on the U. The most important information that this the author conveys in this article is this: The French came through for the Americans at a terribly uncertain time. I would recommend this article to anyone, because it is very interesting and easy to read. In addition to that, the author plainly states that without French intervention, we (Americans) would all be eating crumpets and sipping tea. The Americans thought that d’Estaing “balked at critical moments, withheld naval support, and took too long to deploy his troops. Indeed, in those respects the Americans had more in common with the British. ” They did not sound very grateful for the risk the French were taking by helping us, financially and politically. ” There was plenty of bickering between France and American military commanders. Louis XVI authorized the aid the Americans asked for. The author seemed extremely credible, and knowledgeable, although, I do not really feel like this author was trying to persuade anyone, he was just simply stating the facts, historically undisputed facts.