Michel Capitaine du Chesnoy, the marquis de Lafayette's cartographer

Magazine Antiques, Jan, 1998 by Paul E. Cohen

The Battle of Monmouth turned out to be the last major confrontation of the British and American armies in the northern theater. It was the longest battle of the war and was fought under conditions made unbearable by a temperature that reached one hundred degrees. Lafayette was in charge of the second line of offense, which was not drawn significantly into the action. Capitaine drafted the only contemporaneous plan of the battle from the American side [ILLUSTRATION FOR PLATE IV OMITTED].(18) He carefully drew the deep ravines that figured so decisively in the action, and the several positions taken up by both armies. The twenty-four item explanation supplied considerable detail. The discovery of this map confirms that the only published plan of the battle is a reduced, 8 3/4 by 15 1/2 inch, version of Capitaine's map.(19)

While the Battle of Monmouth was taking place, a French fleet under Vice-Admiral Charles Hector d'Estaing (1729-1794) was underway, bound for America. It arrived at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, on July 5, 1778. Lafayette became the liaison between the French admiral and Washington as they planned their first military action: an attack by land and sea on the British-occupied port of Newport, Rhode Island. Divisions commanded by Generals Greene, Lafayette, and John Sullivan (1740-1795) were to lead the land assault, with the French fleet attacking by sea. The poorly coordinated battle began disastrously and ended in retreat for the Americans. The land forces began fighting too soon; d'Estaing sailed into a three-day storm while pursuing a small British fleet; and in the end the British returned to Newport. Losses were about the same for both sides. Once again Lafayette turned retreat to his advantage when he received from Congress a formal recognition of his services in the successful evacuation of Rhode Island. Capitaine made two maps of Rhode Island, one showing the unsuccessful action executed by General Sullivan's troops [ILLUSTRATION FOR PLATE VIII OMITTED], and the other a map after the American retreat [ILLUSTRATION FOR PLATE V OMITTED].

Lafayette had examples of these two maps of Rhode Island with him in 1779 when he returned to France on leave with the permission of Congress. He discussed the continuing presence of the British in Newport with the French foreign minister, Charles Gravier (1719-1787), comte de Vergennes. On June 24, he wrote the count:

I went to your office...to give you the maps. I had them made on the spot to my own satisfaction, and I shall be pleased if they different points that you were so kind as to discuss with me. You will see; Monsieur le Comte, the enemy's works on Rhode Island and the area of land, too extensive to be well defended, by which an attack from the rear could be carried out. I think that of the various means of attacking this island, several offer a good probability of success.(20)

By the end of 1779 the British army no longer occupied Newport.

Lafayette had explained to Henry Laurens on July 23, 1778, why Capitaine was so important to him: