re was nothing on the British side equal to that
caricature of a recruiting system in which different bounties were
offered by Congress, by the States, by the separate towns, so as to make
it the interest of the intended soldier to delay enlistment as long as
possible, in order to sell himself to the highest bidder; to that
caricature of a war establishment, the main bulk of which broke up every
twelvemonth in front of the enemy, which was only paid, if at all, in
worthless paper, and left continually without supplies. On the whole, no
better idea can be had of the nature of the struggle on the American
side, after the first heat of it had cooled down, than from the words of
Count de Rochambeau, writing to Count de Vergennes, July 10th, 1780:
'They have neither money nor credit; their means of resistance are only
momentary, and called forth when they are attacked in their own homes.
They then assemble for the moment of immediate danger and defend
themselves.'"

"FRENCH MONEY, TROOPS, AND SHIPS TURN THE SCALE IN FAVOUR OF AMERICAN
INDEPENDENCE.

"A far more important cause in determining the ultimate failure of the
British was the aid afforded by France to America, followed by that of
Spain and Holland. It was impossible for England to re-conquer a
continent and carry on a war at the same time with the three most
powerful naval States of Europe. The instincts of race have tended on
both the English and American side to depreciate the value of the aid
given by France to the colonists. It may be true that Rochambeau's
troops, which disembarked on Rhode Island in July, 1780, did not march
till July, 1781; that they were blockaded soon after their arrival,
threatened with attack from New York, and only disengaged by a feint of
Washington's on that city. But more than two years before their arrival,
Washington wrote to a member of Congress: 'France, by her supplies, has
saved us from the yoke thus far.' The treaty with France alone was
considered to afford a 'certain prospect of success' to 'secure'
American independence. The arrival of D'Estaing's fleet, although no
troops joined the American army, and nothing eventually was done,
determined the evacuation of Philadelphia. The discipline of the French
troops, when they landed in 1780, set an example to the Americans;
chickens and pigs walked between the lines without being disturbed. The
recruits of 1780 could not have been armed without fifty tons of
ammunition supplied