![Lot 339 [Charles Henri Hector, Count of Estaing] Revolutionary War–Era French and English Fleet Strength Manuscripts](https://cdn.rrauction.com/auction/721/3502766_1.jpg)
Manuscript document, one page, 7 x 9.5, listing the seventeen vessels under the command of Charles Henri Hector d'Estaing which sailed from Toulon on April 13, 1778, bound for service in support of the American Revolution. The document provides the name of each ship, the number of cannon carried onboard, and the name of each commanding officer—among these are "d'Estaing" and "de Bougainville." In fine condition.
Accompanied by a similar document listing about 40 warships spotted at the Bay of St. Helen and under the command of British Admiral Augustus Keppel, led by the famed 100-gun HMS Victory. Per an accompanying auction description, both papers originated in the papers of Pierre Augustin de Beaumarchais (1732–1799), an author, watchmaker, and merchant who spearheaded early French efforts to supply the Continental Army before France's official entry into the war.
Charles d'Estaing was a French general and admiral (1729–1794) who led a fleet to aid the American rebels in 1778; though he sympathized with the people during the later French Revolution, he was loyal to the crown and thus executed by guillotine during the Reign of Terror.
