Charles-René-Dominique Sochet Destouches Papers mssDE
Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
April 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Charles-René-Dominique Sochet Destouches papers
Creator:
Destouches,
Charles-René-Dominique Sochet, 1727-1794
Identifier/Call Number: mssDE
Physical Description:
4.4 Linear Feet
(2 boxes, 1 volume, 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1754-1804
Date (bulk): 1780-1781
Abstract: The collection is made up of papers
relating to the military career of French admiral Charles-René-Dominique Sochet
Destouches.
Language of Material: Materials are in French and
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
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[Identification of item]. Charles-René-Dominique Sochet Destouches papers, The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from the American Art Association, 1926.
Charles-René-Dominique Sochet Destouches (1727-1794) was second in command to Chevalier de
Terney the head of the fleet of Expédition particulière, the French expeditionary army under
the command of Rochambeau. The expedition arrived in Rhode Island in July 1780 and was
stationed in Newport. Destouches assumed command of the fleet during de Terney's journey to
the Hartford conference in the latter part of September 1780. On the death of de Ternay
(December 15, 1780), Destouches was temporarily put in command of the French squadron. He
commanded the squadron during the British blockade of Newport (January 1781) and the action
at Chesapeake Bay (May 16, 1781). In May 1781, Destouches was replaced by Admiral Barras de
Saint-Laurent. In 1781-1782, he took part in the siege of Yorktown and the attack on St.
Kitts. He then returned to France and in 1792 received the rank of rear admiral.
A collection of 117 items which covers the years 1754 to 1804; it is chiefly the papers
accumulated by Destouches during his command of the squadron of Expédition particulière in
September 1780 to May 1781. Included are letters, instructions, communications, intelligence
reports, orders and regulations, accounts of salaries and provisions, reports of ships'
activities, lists of French ships and their captains, and lists of English ships captured by
combined French and Spanish fleets. Correspondents include Chevalier Anne-César de la
Luzerne, Jean-François de Galaup compte de La Perouse, Antoine-Raymond-Jean-Gualbert-Gabriel
de Sartine comte d'Alby, George Washington, and others. Also included is a journal of
Charles H. d'Arsac de Ternay for the year 1780 and Destouches' account of the naval
operations at St. Kitts and Nevis. The papers also include a volume of 69 drawings of
various coats of arms and military maps of Huntington Bay, Rhode Island; Gardiner and Plumb
Islands, New York; Penobscot Bay, Maine; and Isle de France, by Nicolas Louis de Caille
(circa 1754).
Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1930. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the
finding aid derived from a legacy in-house summary report.
Arranged chronologically.
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssDE 1-120.
George Washington to Charles Rene Chevalier Destouches?, 1781 February 22 (mssDE 1); George
Washington to Charles Rene Chevalier Destouches, 1780 December 23 (mssDE 73), were acquired
with the Charles-René-Dominique Sochet Destouches papers and subsequently transferred to the
George Washington collection (mssGW) by Huntington Library staff.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
France -- History, Naval -- 18th
century
Saint Kitts and Nevis -- History -- 18th century
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Participation,
French
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Naval
operations
West Indies -- History -- 18th
century
Letters (correspondence) -- France -- 18th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- Revolution,
1775-1783
Manuscript maps -- United States -- Revolution, 1775-1783
Manuscript maps -- West Indies -- 18th century
Military records -- France -- 18th century
Military records -- United States -- Revolution, 1775-1783
Personal papers -- France -- 18th century
La Luzerne, Anne-César,
chevalier de, 1741-1791
La Pérouse, Jean-François
de Galaup, comte de, 1741-1788
Sartine, Antoine de, comte
d'Alby, 1729-1801
Ternay, Charles Louis d'Arsac, chevalier de,
1722-1780
Washington, George, 1732-1799
France. Marine
Box 1, Folder 1-50
1754-1781 February
Box 2, Folder 1-56
1781 March-1804
Volume 1