Book Description

On July 11, 1780, after a sixty-nine-day voyage, 6,000 French troops under the command of General Rochambeau disembarked in Newport, R.I. Cognizant of the anti-Catholic feelings against France that ran rampant among the general population, the French military officers who arrived in Newport on that July day anxiously descended from their ship, not knowing how they would be received. Once it became clear that the French stay in Newport would last through the winter months, the French soldiers began printing a newspaper, using the press that was carried on board the ship. The first issue of the Newport newspaper, the Gazette Françoise, appeared on November 17, 1780, followed by six consecutive issues and a final Supplement on January 2, 1781. The original purpose of the Gazette was to satisfy the curiosity of French officers seeking to educate themselves about their American military counterparts. To revisit the newspaper now is to capture a moment in American history, to see a unique perspective on Revolutionary America, naval customs of the era, and the political and social ambiance of Newport during the Revolution. In this newly translated and annotated edition of La Gazette Françoise, published by Salve Regina University Press, Eugena Poulin and Claire Quintal have revisited the texts of the original French newspaper, translating them and comparing them to the English newspaper articles upon which they were based. La Gazette performed a distinct service, that of informing quasi-idle and eager-to-fight young military men of persons like them involved in a great experiment in democracy, one upon which they could look back with immense satisfaction in later years, with a sense of exhilaration that comes from having helped to achieve a momentous victory that changed the course of history.