Admiral de Grasse

Admiral de Grasse

Admiral Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse was born in Toulon in 1722. His parents were part of French nobility. His dad was a captain in the army. De Grasse joined the Order of Malta, in 1734, when he was 11 years old. He joined the French navy in 1740. After he joined the French Navy, he served on two ships. When he was on those ships, he got captured and became a prisoner in England. When he got out of prison, he went back to France and fought in the French and Indian War. He was promoted to Captain in January 1762.

Admiral de Grasse did not play a role until the end of the Revolutionary War. At the end he was a great hero at sea. He also battled Lord Cornwallis at sea and won the battle in Yorktown in 1781. He and his fleet surrounded Yorktown and let Washington's armies take over the town. He sailed to Chesapeake Bay and he was getting ready for an attack from Admiral Tom Graves. He sent some of his fleet to a river near the bay. Admiral Tom Graves knew that that was the only escape route for Cornwallis to get out and that it also would cut off their supplies and reinforcements.

Admiral de Grasse was one of the most successful naval officers at the time. For winning the war, Congress gave him a piece of the field ordinance taken from the British at the end of the war. Washington wrote him a letter saying how great his army was and thanking him for help winning the war. De Grasse was very important in helping to win the Revolutionary War because he cut off reinforcements which just might have destroyed the Continentals.