Committee of Secret Correspondence - Effect of The Committee of Secret Correspondence On The American Revolution

Effect of The Committee of Secret Correspondence On The American Revolution

Although the Committee of Secret Correspondence was replaced by the Committee of Foreign Affairs on April 17, 1777, the Committee of Secret Correspondence will always be remembered for the large impact it had on the outcome of the American Revolution. The Committee played a large role in convincing France to forge an alliance and aid the United States, which in part led to the United States gaining independence from Britain. This is because France, once convinced to aid the United States, played a large role in the war effort. For example, French fleets under General Degrasse and Rochambeau played a huge role in the British defeat at Yorktown by blockading the Chesapeake Bay preventing British escape as well as assisting Washington’s patriot army’s attack on Yorktown. This successful military effort led to the surrender of British General Cornwallis and a few days later the resignation of the British Prime Minister, Lord Frederick North. After the surrender, the British were left with no option but to sign the Treaty of Paris, on September 3, 1783, which was negotiated by members of the Committee of Secret Correspondence John Jay and Benjamin Franklin. The large part the French played in this battle was evident in George Woodbridge’s quotation, “The strategy of the campaign was Rochambeau’s; the French fleet was there as a result of his arrangements; the tactics of the battle were his; the American army was present because he had lent money to Washington; in total naval and military participants the French outnumbered the Americans between three and four to one. Yorktown was Rochambeau’s victory.” In other words, without the financial, military, and intellectual support of the French in the Revolution, which was present because of the efforts of the Committee of Secret Correspondence, Americans would not have been as successful as they were in the war.