Speaker, dr. Christy pichichero. Dr. Pichichero, our good friend and neighbor, is an associate professor at george mason university. Her talk this evening is being held in conjunction with our current exhibition, revolutionary reflections french memories of the war for america, which is on view in our gallery immediately behind this fireplace and will be open after the talk this evening. Dr. Pichichero will be discussing war and the enlightenment in the context of french experiences during the American Revolution. Many french officers of this era, such as rochambeau, whose writings are featured in our show, consider themselves military philosophers who brought enlightenment and philosophical spirit to their military enterprises. Their experience is in america had a profound impact on their politics and worldviews when they returned to france after the war. These themes are at the center book, theheros military enlightenment war and culture in the french empire from louis xiv to napoleon, published by Cornell University press in 2017. Dr. Pichichero has a bachelor of arts in comparative literature from princeton, a bachelor of music from the Eastman School of music, and a phd and french studies from stanford university. She has been a member of the george mason faculty since 2011. And, i just learned this evening, she has recently been elected president of the western society for french history. Among her many other honors and awards, the society of the cincinnatis fellowship which she received to support her research on the military enlightenment. Our fellowship program, which was established in 2007, provides support to bring up to six scholars annually to our library to conduct research. During dr. Pichicheros fellowship year, i invited her to lunch with her fellow fellows, all the rest of whom were graduate students in the throes of work on their doctoral dissertations. I have always remembered the advice the wise professor gave them. This is a wonderful time of your life. Make sure you take time to enjoy it. And so, please join me in welcoming dr. Pichichero. [applause] dr. Pichichero good evening. Thank you so much for being here this evening. And an enormous thank you to ellen, to kelsey, to the staff here at the anderson house, to the American Revolution institute, and to the society of cincinnati for doing this doing me this great honor of inviting me to give you some information, some thoughts, on the subject of the American Revolution and the French Military and light meant. It is a tremendous privilege to be here, to stand alongside george, who is standing in front of my alma mater. [laughter] it is really a dream come true. Thank you for being here to share this with me. I begin my remarks today as one would expect in a talk with the American Revolution and the french and lightman in its title that is to say i will begin by citing the french writer voltaire making fun of the english. I bring us to chapter 23 of voltaires famed philosophical tale candide. In this particular chapter, voltaire wielded his sharp and sarcastic pen to critique the seven years war. Of 1756 to 1763. The war have been going on for three years when candide was released to the public, and it was a war that voltaire decried as being sublimely foolish. Voltaire opened chapter 23 with the tails taleupon a missed eponymist protagonist candide and a dutch philosopher sailing towards the coast of england and discussing the seven years war. First comes the famous line in which martin says that the english and the french are equally ridiculous for engaging in this war over, i quote, a few acres of snow in canada. Continuing the quote, they spend much more on this beautiful war than the whole of canada is worth. [laughter] andperhaps more ridiculous nefarious was the british penal code, which they witness as they near the english shoreline. Which candide and martin witness as they near the english shoreline. The coast was lined with crowds of people attentively watching a big man kneeling, his eyes bandaged, on the upper deck of a warship in the harbor. Four soldiers were positioned opposite this man. Each of them fired three bullets pointblank into his skull, with in the tranquility world, and the whole assembly dispersed, feeling perfectly satisfied. What is all this, said candide, and demon exercises his powers in these parts . Then he said, who was the big man killed with so much ceremony . He was an admiral, they responded. And why kill this admiral . It is because he did not kill a sufficient number of people. He gave battle to a french admiral, and it was found it was not near enough to him. But, said candide, the french admiral was just as far from the english admiral as the latter was from him. That is indisputable, they replied, but in this country, it is seen as good to kill an admiral from time to time in order to encourage the others. Candide was so overwhelmed and shocked by what he saw and heard that he did not want to set foot on shore, and made a bargain with the dutch skipper to conduct him to venice without delay. This episode was based on a shocking true story. Just two years before candide was published, a british officer , john being, was sentenced to public execution by firing squad on the upper deck of his ship, the hms monarch. This disproportionately cruel punishment was meted out to penalize him for losing the battle of majorca in 1756. Bings decided that had exercised in excess of caution and shown an ability to adapt his traditionalist tactics to changing circumstances. As the first line of battleships was battered by the french and the second was unable to advance within cap within cannon range of the french fleet. And the second line advanced. Bing retreated to gibraltar, judging as a failure his failure and leaving the last british garrison on the island. The naval victory and the taking of majorca were trumpeted near and far in the french press. It was a triumph of symbolic importance in the early stage of the war and of strategic value, especially when the treaty of paris was devised and majorca was exchanged for the french antilles and an island off the coast of brittany. As this occurred in voltaires narrative events, the cruelty and cost of war extended far beyond battles themselves. Crimes were perpetrated not only by enemies, but the very states for which a military man had been willing to lay down his life in combat. I have lingered on this textual example because it foreground s several of the issues i will speak about this evening. Candides episode in is set in the seven years war. Incensed louis the 14th and others to take up arms in the American Revolution. Revenge, they say revenge, they say, is a dish best served cold, and the decade or so between the close of the seven years war and the initiation of french aid for the american cause allowed france to prepare to hit back at england to partially rebalance the system of global imperial power. And relatedly, the humiliating losses of the seven years war not only a fueled not only fueled, in part, the french engagement in revolution, but it contributed to growing national prejudice in france. Between the latter wars of louis 14th and the french revolution, france experienced a dramatic military decline that stunned not just the armed forces, but the entire nation. During the war of spanish succession, important political aims were met, but france suffered military defeats all over West Central Europe as john churchill, the duke of marlborough, and the prince of savoie marched their armies toward paris, successfully defeating the french. Save for a handful of victories, bungling and ineffectiveness also severely hampered French Military performance in the war of austrian succession. During the seven years war, french naval power was virtually annihilated and armed forces inured tremendous losses europe, india, africa, and the americas, succumbing to the tiny state of prussia on the continent and losing nearly all of its strongholds overseas. For the largest, wealthiest, and most populous country in europe, one that had achieved great military glory in its far removed in its far removed and more recent past, these losses were seen as no less than a national disaster. Losing this war was not just an exacerbating force, but a critical motivator for both the critiques and the reforms of what we call the military enlightenment. While many equate the enlightenment with pacifism and wholesale condemnation of war in all of its forms, in reality, the world of the french enlightenment met and conjoined with the military sphere in many varied and significant ways. Aire did not volt leave this at condemning the seven years war. Instead, he engaged with a specific event and the harshness of the British Naval penal code. In the French Military enlightenment, public intellectuals, military leadership, and many others were deeply involved in thinking about war and military policy from philosophical and practical perspectives. Instead of simply condemning war, they fostered reforms that could aid in resolving Frances National crisis and alleviate, to some extent, the multifarious brutalities of war. Understanding this context in france is critical for interpreting the writings of french officers who crossed the atlantic to fight in the American Revolution. This brings me to my third and final reason for including the vignette from chapter 23 in candide. One of the French Military officers present recorded details of the entire campaign in his memoirs and offered this and this officer is none other than rochambeau. Many scholars and enthusiasts are accustomed to reading the translated and abridged version of his memoirs, relative to the independence of the United States, published in 1838. However, this is a small section, only 100 pages, of a 400page memoir. He records details and personal impressions of his entire military career which spanned more than 50 years. He chronicles his experiences of the war of austrian succession, the seven years war, the American Revolution and the french revolutionary wars. These wars brought him to different parts of the world from the mediterranean to flanders, to yorktown. In my talk today, i will focus on rochambeau and make mention of a few other french officers. I will argue that these should be seen in connection with military enlightenment and the roles of military men in this era of global warfare. In thinking about the subject of the exhibitions here in the , revolutionary reflections, french memories of the war for america, we are encouraged to contemplate french experience is of the u. S. Or for independence from multiple perspectives in time. There is a sense of the present in the firsthand phenomenal, logical experience of fighting in america that french officers recorded in their memoirs. But in writing memoirs, there is also a looking backward into the past, to recollect these experiences, whether it be hours, days, or years later. Rochambeaus memoirs were published in 1808 and its likely he wrote them after his military career came to a close. So memory and reimagining have a role here. To takelso curious french experiences in the American Revolution as a point of departure and look forward to hypothesize on their significant and influence on france in the period that followed, especially during the french revolution. The latter line of inquiry had been of particular interest to historians of france, who have long sought to treat the influence of political ideals like liberty and natural rights as well as cultures of leadership and warfare from the american to the french revolution. Scholars research and teach atlantic revolutions, analyzing the american, french, and haitianrevolutions revolutions together, theres a wonderful consortium that is getting ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2020 and is entirely dedicated to studying this fascinating age in history in a global context. Examining rochambeaus memoirs in their entirety, unsettled and unsettled or nuanced many of my assumptions about the heroes of the American Revolution. About the camaraderie between the french and americans that the society of the cincinnati camera rates, about the lenses through which french officers viewed American Culture and what mattered to these officers that we may not have expected. One of my favorite anecdotes in rochambeaus memoirs regards our dear friend lafayette, who transformed himself from a tragically awkward but wealthy fish out of water to a champion of the American Revolution. We know him as a darling of George Washington. And perhaps the first grade americanophile. His home with his wife on the paris was a hub of American Culture and francoamerican political encounters in the city. There, french elites rubbed elbows with the jeffersons and jays and others at lafayettes american dinners where english was the language of choice for conversation and where evening entertainment was often offered by his own anastasia and George Washington lafayette. Even the invitations to these soirees were printed in english. The american dinners were intended to be authentic and succeeded, as even the puritanical Abigail Adams felt very much at ease at the lafayette home. During the war, however, lafayettes enthusiasm for the american cause created issues, notably in communications between washington and rochambeau. Since there was a language barrier between rochambeau and washington, the latter decided , and this is from his memoirs, decided he would send lafayette to me with full powers from him. During the protracted time of tension with the British Forces mobilizing in new york and long island, lafayette came to speak with rochambeau about possible ways forward before returning to washingtons camp. Rochambeau recalls i assume as soon as lafayette returned to washingtons headquarters, he wrote me the most depressing most pressing dispatches, reminding me of the substance of our former conversations, and urging me in the name of that general to join him immediately, to fend off a forthwith attack on the island of new york. He finished with a species of summons, founded on the policy of the country and implying the campaign was the last effort of his, washingtons patriotism. We were the more displeased at these dispatches as, by the same courier, i received letters from general washington himself, and not a single sentence of those letters alluded to the proposed plans of lafayette. Rochambeau ascertained that lafayette was, perhaps more than washington, anxious to strike a decisive blow by attacking the center of the enemy position. Rochambeau wrote back to lafayette in french and washington in english to explain his perspective on why this attack was ill advised and that to request that all future communications between him and washington be direct and not without the interference of a third person. Lafayettes enthusiasm for america could go a little too far sometimes. If you think back to his home in paris that is filled with objects from america and little George Washington singing songs in english, you could think a lot of french would think it was a little much. After complaining about lafayettes enthusiasm, however, rochambeau immediately wrote a paragraph celebrating his virtues and defending saying washington forgave this as well, often referring to the youthful ardor of his friend to express washingtons sentiments with greater energy. The digressions in rochambeaus memoirs where he interrupts what could be a rather dry narrative of events to relay impressions and judgments are some of the most interesting part of his writings and have not received sufficient attention. These commentaries as well as other more ancillary incidents are key to understanding the cultural lens through which many officers interpreted their experiences during the french revolution sorry, the American Revolution. Take, for example, a digression that occurs at the end of the u. S. War for independence. Rochambeau remarks, i have never mentioned the multitude of addresses of the towns and assemblies general of the different states of america presented to the general, and all of which were expressive of their feelings of sincere gratitude toward france. Some offered the good wishes of the inhabitants for the success of future operations, others for those of the army. I will only speak of one of these addresses on account of its essence is the of its eccentricity. I added the asterisk. That word is a problem. Its a translators liberty. I continue a step you a ation of the ancient society of friends in philadelphia, the quakers, a ccosted me. General, explained the eldest of the party, it is not on account of your military abilities. We care not for your accomplishments. But you are a friend to mankind and therefore we have come to pay our respects to thee. Why, of all the expressions of praise and gratitude, why did why was this one the one that rochambeau chose to memorialize in his writings . It was not because of his eccentricity. As i mentioned, that word is not in rochambeaus own memoir. That was added by the translator. Its because these marks reflect a system of values and warfare. Ones that he brought with him from france and that are reflective of what his what is termed the military enlightenment. The military enlightenment, as i mentioned, was born of the crisis marshall martial crisis that plagued france, but also the experiences of the first global wars. The enlightenment is perhaps best understood as a Development Viewed themselves as enlightened, compared to antiquity and other proceeding historical times. To this narrative, which grew out of the quarrel of the ancients and moderns that took place in french academy, and here i quote historian dan edelstein. The present age was enlightens ed because the philosophical spirit of the scientific revolution had spread to the educated classes. Institutions of learning and even parts of the government. Participants of the military enlightenment saw themselves as actors in the history of progress and they shared conviction that the conditioning of the armed forces and the functioning of warfare generally needed to be