I am Ellen Alan Clark and i am the Library Director for the American Revolution institute and it is my special pleasure to welcome you and to introduce our speaker, dr. Christy pichichero. She is the 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 doctor pecker row 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, consider themselves military philosophers who brought enlightenment and philosophical spirit to their enterprises. Their experiences had a profound impact on their politics and worldviews when they returned to france after the war. These themes are at the center of her book military war and culture in the french empire from louis the 14th to napoleon. Published by Cornell University press in 2017. She 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. She has been a member of the george mason faculty since 2011. Among her many other honors and awards, the society of these cincinnatis fellowship 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. 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 wise advice the professor gave them. This is a wonderful time in your life. Make sure you take time to enjoy it. Please join me in welcoming dr. Pichichero . applause good evening. Thank you so much for being here this evening. An enormous thank you to ellen, to kelsey, to the staff of the anderson house, to the Revolution Institute and the society of the cincinnati for joining me this great honor of inviting me to give you some information, some thoughts on the subject of the American Revolution. It is a privilege to be here to stand alongside george, who is standing in front of my alma mater. Its a dream come true. Thank you for sharing this with me. I began my remarks as one would expect in a talk with the American Revolution and the french revolution in and the french enlightenment in his title. I will begin by citing the french rider voltaire making fun of the english. I bring us to chapter 23 of his famed philosophical tale candide. In this particular chapter, voltaire wielded his sharp and sarcastic pen to critique the seven years war. 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 economists protagonist candide and a dutch philosopher discussing the seven years war. First comes the famous line in which martin says the english and the french are equally ridiculous for engaging in this war over a few acres of snow in canada. Continuing the quote, they spend much more on the beautiful war than the whole of canada is worth. But perhaps more ridiculous was the british penal code which 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. Four soldiers were positioned opposite this man. Each fired three bullets point bank pointblank into his skull with all the tranquility in the world and the assembly dispersed. What is all this . What demon exercises his powers in this parts. Then he said, who was the big man killed with so much ceremony . He was an admiral, they responded. Why kill this admiral . Because he did not kill a sufficient number of people. He gave battle to a french admiral and he was not near enough to him. But, said candide, the french admiral was as far from the english admiral as the latter was from him. That is indisputable, they replied, but it is seen as good to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others. Con deed was so overwhelmed and shocks he did not want to set foot on shore and made a bargain with the dutch captain to convey him to venice without delay. This episode was based on a shocking true story. Two years before candide was published, a british officer was sentenced to public execution by firing squad on board his ship the hms monarch. It was meted out to penalize him for losing the battle of majorca in 1756. It was decided he had exercised in excess of caution and shown an ability to adapt his traditionalist tactics to changing circumstances. And the second line advanced. Being retreated to gibraltar, judging as a failure his failure and leaving the last british garrison on the island. The victory and the taking of mallorca were trumpeted near and far in the french press. It was a triumph of symbolic importance in the early stage of the war end of the cruelty and cost of war extended far beyond banners that sells cries were perpetrated not only by enemies, but also by the very state for which a military man had been willing to lay down his life in combat. Ive lingered on this textual example because of foreground, several of the issues i will speak about this evening. First, this episode in candide to take a barns in the American Revolution. Revenge, they say, revenge they say, is a dish best served cold. And a decade or so between decade or so between the close of the seven years war and the initiation of french aid for the american cause allow the americans to hit that at england to rebalance the system of global imperial power. Second, the humiliating loss not only fueled, in part, the french engagement in the french of revolution, but it contributed to growing national prejudice in france. Between the 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. Important political aims were met, but france suffered military defeats all over europe as they march to their armies toward paris, successfully defeating the french. Save for a handful of of victories, bungling and ineffectiveness severely in the war of austrian succession. Hampered french performance. French naval power was virtually annihilated and armed forces endured tremendous losses and europe, india, and the americas, losing nearly all of its strongholds overseas. For the largest, wealthiest, and most populous country in europe, these losses were seen as no less than a national disaster. Losing this war was not just an exacerbating force, but a Critical Force and what we call the military enlightenment. The world of the french enlightenment met and conjoined with the military sphere in many very very ways. Full terror did not leave this at condemning the seven years war. In the French Military enlightenment. Public intellectuals like voltaire were deeply involved in thinking about military policy from practical perspectives. Instead of simply condemning war, they fostered reforms that could redeem rances marshall and 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 in the American Revolution. This brings me to my third and final reason for including chapter 23 in candide. One of the French Military officers present recorded details of the campaign in his memoirs and offered this officer is none other than rochambeau. Many scholars and enthusiasts are accustomed to reading the abbreviated version of his memoirs, relative to the independence of the United States, published in 1838. But 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, and the french revolutionary wars. These wars brought him to different parts of the war world from the mediterranean to flanders, to yorktown. I will make mention of a few other french officers. I will argue that these should be seen in connection with military enlightenment in the era of global warfare. In thinking about the subject of the exhibition here in the anderson house, revolutionary reflections, french memories of the war for america, we are encouraged to contemplate french experiences of the u. S. War for independence from multiple perspectives and time. There is a sense of the president and the first hand, cinnamon illogical experience of fighting in america, that french officers reported 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. Rochembeau his memoirs were published in 1808 and its likely he wrote them after his military career came to a close. Some memory and reimagining have a role here. We are also encouraged to take this as a point of departure and look forward to hypothesize their influence on france in the time that followed. The latter line of inquiry had been of particular interest to historians pursuing ideals like liberty and natural rights from the american to the french revolution. Scholars analyzing the american, french, and haitian revolutions together, theres a wonderful consortium that is getting ready to celebrate its anniversary in 2020 and is entirely dedicated to studying this history in a global context. Examining rochambeaus memoirs in their entirety, unsettled and nuanced many of my assumptions about the heroes of the American Revolution. About the camaraderie, the lenses through which french officers viewed American Culture and what mattered to these officers that they may not have expect ed. One of my favorite anecdote in his memoirs regards our dear friends lafayette, our dear friend lafayette, who transformed himself from a tragically awkward fish out of water to a champion of the American Revolution. We know him as a darling of george washington. Perhaps the first whos home with his wife, on the left back of paris, was a hub of American Culture and franco american political encounters in the city. There, torrential leads rubbed elbows with the jeffersons, the adams is the james, and others. At lafayettes american dinners where english was the language of choice for conversation and wear evening entertainment was offered by his own children anastasia and george. Even the invitations to the soirees were printed in english. They were intended to be authentic and succeeded, as even the puritanical abigail man Abigail Adams felt at home. But lafayettes enthusiasm for the american cause created issues, notably in communications between washington and rochambeau. Since there was a language barrier, the latter 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 about possible ways forward. Rochambeau recalls i assume lafayette as soon as lafayette returned to washingtons headquarters, he wrote me the most depressing dispatches and urging me to join him immediately, to attempt an attack on the island of new york. He finished with a species of summons, implying the campaign was the last effort of his, washingtons patriotism. By the same career, i received letters from general washington himself, and not a single sentence of those letters alluded to the proposed problem 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 laugh he is in french and to explain his perspective on why this attack was ill advised and that all communications between him and washington be direct and 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. But lafayette immediately defended his deal, saying washington for gave this as well, often referring to the youthful ardor of his friend to express washingtons sentiments with greater energy. He interrupts what could be a rather dry narrative of events to relay impressions are some of the most interesting parts of his writings and have not received attention. These commentaries are key to understanding the cultural lens through which many officers interpreted their experiences during the American Revolution. Take for example a digression that occurs at the end of the u. S. War for independence. For simple remarks, i have never mentioned the multitude of addresses 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 also expressed wishes for the success of future operations. Others for the army. I will only speak of one of these on account of its eccentricity. I added the asterisk. That word is a problem. Its a translators liberty. Continue. A deputy and of the ancient society of friends in philadelphia, the quakers, a me. General, explained the eldest of the party, it is not on account of your military abilities. We carry not we care not for your accomplishments. But you are one of mankind and therefore we have come to pay our respects to thee. Why, of all the expressions of praise and gratitude, why did this one why was this one the one that rochambeau chose to memorialize in his writings . It was not because of his eccentricity. That word was added by the translator. Its because these remarks reflect a system of values and warfare. They are reflective of what is called the military enlightenment. The military enlightenment, as i mentioned, was born of the marshall crisis that plagued france during the 18th century, but also the experiences of the first global wars. The enlightment is perhaps best understood as a development by which here i quote dan edelstein. The present age was enlightens because the philosophical spirit of the scientific revolution had spread to the educated classes. Participants saw themselves as actors in the history of progress and they shared convention conviction that warfare needed to be improved. In the name of advancement, agents of the military enlightenment applied a philosophical spirit, what the french called a philosophy, to acquire a deeper understanding of war and the military and to propose and implement military force. It was in part philosophical, contemplating war and its conduct. Ideal characteristics. The relationship between war and citizenship. And the cost of war in its economic, moral, physical, and emotional terms. It was also practical and technical. Military, aiming to achieve tactics, drill, and medicine. These dialogues and debates were not bound by the chambers in versailles, nor where they confined to the army, the navy, and their administrations. They engaged a far greater public. Like voltaire, the public intellectuals of the day, the elite, theorists, poets, historians, doctors, mathematicians, engineers and more. They were vital for members of the aristocracy, whose justification of socioeconomic privileges were tied to warfare. Socioeconomic folk of france marched off to war and sheltered the the wars were arenas of national concern. The military enlightenment was part of a broader phenomenon of enlightenment, engaging in the same narrative and embracing philosophy to make war reflective of an enlightened age. Philosophically and politically, participants brought a wide range of perspectives. Some are atheists. Some were deists. Some championed universal principles, while others acknowledged human fallibility, confronting infinite contingency. Some advocated for classical republicanism while others were unabashed royalists. The overarching project emerged, one that entails a bipartite ambition. The first was to achieve marshall objectives while sparing costs and precious resources, especially manpower. The second was to wage war humanely. Including the rationality and dignity of the human race. French military officers of all ranks saw themselves as leaders in the environmentin the military enlightenment. They are filled with memoranda and letters. Many of them were considered military philosophers who were dedicated to truth and the moral tenants of making good war. This involved rationality and innate empathy to conduct more inhumane fashion and more in a humane fashion and build bonds with comrades. War, its sentiment, and lexicon, subtle feeling, as adam smith put it, represented a departure from traditional themes. They were the development of this time in history. While rochembeau never declared himself a military philosopher, his self understanding as an agent of the military enlightenment is clear. He opened his memoirs with the declaration of his devotion to relaying the truth and only the truth. He wrote, and this is my translation from the french, the truth must be the basis of history. I can only write what i saw or learned of in a certain manner. One will find blanks in the tableau that i have made in which i had a part in the course of my life. I prefer to be quiet rather than to risk violating this first principle of truth and fidelity from which one must never stray. In addition to this commitment to truth, rochembeau had attachments to moral values, waging war humanely as a friend of humankind. It is for this reason, i believe that he cherished the story of his encounter with the quaker above all others and therefore only recorded the such conversation in his memoirs. It is important to recall that military officers were among the most prolific world travelers during this period due to the wars of empire. By the late 18th century, france had navigated, dispatched missionaries and scientific teams, established trade posts, colonized lands on six of the seven continents excluding antarctica, and had sailed three of the five world oceans. Prevented ex tension extensive exploration. Merchants were active in sugar plantations and penal colonies, fisheries and for trade post in the american colonies on the indian subcontinent, and end china, and madagascar, and economic hubs throughout the mediterranean see. In this era of mercantilism, they sanctioned monopolies for private companies such as the Company Design and work to secure francis position in the world of global trade. Francis colony of sandal lying and high eating, was the premier producer of sugar in the world. Louis the 15th, the 16th and their ministers, were keenly focused on colonizing and controlling the french part of the island, and populating plantations with and slaved people and on protecting the human and material cargo transport mint on ships going to and from the island. Naval sea and land units called marine troops, as well as metropolitan regular army units were deployed. Their task was to patrol and protect french interest, settle colonists, refer to as military canonization, and ate the military especially in wartime when trade routes became the pathways and locales of warfare. Empire and diaspora shaped the careers of military men in multiple ways. Some, Health Commissions in both the army and the navy and participated and battles across the globe from the european continent during the were war of australian austrian succession, across the globe to the korean and north america and the caribbean and revolutionary war. They occupied a number of important positions. They were governors general, diplomats, explores cartography ors, and pseudoethnography ors who relate valuable information about foreign lands, leaders, cultures and military. They wrote travel narratives, navigational lives, and memoirs, both autobiographical narratives but also essays on the learned subjects. That spoke about cultures, politics and commerce of different indigenous groups. Living and fighting abroad around the globe was a source of inspiration and challenge for the military philosophers of the 18th century. In north america, these individuals were adopted by indian tribes, learned forced diplomacy and embraced local waves of war. They coupled with native women, depended on nate native medical practices and treated their rations for moccasins. They scout enemies and they were sculpt themselves. Oceans away, on the indian sub continent, they trained and led forces of sea pay of indian mercenaries and struck a tenuous alliances, with local authorities. They collaborated with african princes and send a gal to ensure a supply of enslaved people and the security of chipped french slave trading posts and ships. Such experience this could not be transform these men, confirming or debunking stereotypes about ethnic others and also about the alleged superiority of european culture in society. Like their counterparts who never left europe, they recorded observations, wrote recommendations, and authored treatises on the peoples with whom they interacted. While a plethora of cultural this understandings to place, published works in manuscripts conveyed the system logical legitimacy they exercised as explorers and inhabitants albeit, at times temporary of these worlds. Many military mens thus saw themselves as purveyors of enlightenment, creators or translators of historical and global knowledge. I am currently engaged in a digital humanities project that is revealing the prevalence of military intellectuals in certain parisian salons and indifferent french academies attesting to their sensuality in Knowledge Networks and production during this era. Their works were consumed avidly by both military and civilian leaderships. All of this helps us to find an answer to the most basic question that we seldom ask when approaching memoirs by french officers who fought in the American Revolution. Why did they write these memoirs in the first place . Recontextualizing officers in the movement of the military enlightenment is critical to our understanding of why and what they wrote. Let us turn again to the letter. Of the 492 officers who traveled with rochembeau to aid the american cost, those of 40 men are extant. Notably maggie Francois Joseph maxime. I will not test you on these names afterwards. Baron gasp are, jeanne baptist burger, and louis also known as jeanne louis kristoff shasta lu and others. These documents not only reveal military details of rochembeaus and collaboration with the americans but also shows how these french warrior others communicated their ideas back to their homeland. Officers debated on the appearance, worries, and fighting capacities of their native American Allies and took positions on the practice of slavery. Some condemned it based on humanitarian arguments, while others purchased enslaved people to use as domestic servants. Here i am quoting the racial terminology of the time which is now largely unacceptable. A dog often leads a half year life and its better northeast than the poor knee grow slaves and milanos. Paradoxically, eaves or as faithful as gold. And quote an inquired and enslaved man named peter who they put into the latter category. Officers who are most interested in the european descent tended to snap their american counterpart due to the latter difference of social standing. The former were aristocrats the french, while Many American officers were of the our humble artists in class. Cobblers, bakers and in keepers. Rochembeau related to musing anecdote on the subject. A Good American villager asked him, and he is speaking about duke, a Good American villager asked lawson of what trade was his father in france . My father replied lows i, does nothing. Typical aristocrat. But i have an uncle who is a martial, making allusion to the borough on. Very good, said the american. That is a very good trade. France is American Allies and their fight for independence represented a political danger at least potentially. While many were enthusiastic about the americans fight for freedom, the crown and high ranking military officers were nervous about whether the fires of violent revolutionary fervor might trump from american troops to french once. Strict anti threaten his asian laws were implemented to keep french and american soldiers from socializing. Officers seemingly avoided one another as well. One remarked, i quote, one never sees a french officer with an american one. We had a strong understanding between us, but we did not at all live together. This, i think was the best thing that could have happened to us. Their character being so different from ours. Corals which surely have broken out between us. , hardly five of every hundred were not noble and outside of sharing and military service, they had very little in common with their american homily odds who were often cobblers, butchers and most often in keepers. And quote. They were snapped french officers felt far more cultural affinity with enemy officers. Rochembeau and many of them saw lauzin and 100 bottles of wine he knew how to preplease a frenchman but not win a war. Journal writers in the French Forces noted the grandiose gestures made by officers which made american officers quite jealous. All the french officers kept keeping company with american officers they passed judgment on the unenlightened and downright grotesque behavior of these foreign gentleman as well gentlemen as well. He was appalled at atrocities perpetrated in jamestown. He recounted with horror the vision of a young, pregnant American Woman whose body had been mutilated and eviscerated, then hung on the door with her defunct fetus hanging from her hollow womb with a sign that read, rebel, no longer shall you give birth. Kinder hospitality and maurice could be mores could be found between generals and the bourgeoisie, met in cities like boston and newport. There were some american mores that french officers could not fathom. A number of officers marveled at the practice of bundling, which allowed young couples, engaged to be married or unengaged, to spend hours or even entire night alone together in a bedroom. There, they were to remain completely closed but could clothed, but could kiss and devote themselves to tender caresses, excepting those that only marriage has a right to permit. Bundling, a show of incredible trust, respect, bundling it is only four americans. Policies and prejudices that fueled antifraternization would not be the last thing character of social relations between french and american officers. When the war of independence drew to a close, general entering a suggest of the formation of a society that would permit the officers of a general suggested the formation of a society that would permit the officers the society, was founded in may, 1783, and was named for lucius quintus cincinnatus, who left his farm to become Roman Council and a wartime dictator. Once peace settle he returned lawful power to the senate, went home again to plow the fields alongside his family. George washington became the societys first president. Officially, the first chapter was limited to American Army and Navy Officers who had served a minimum of three years. Still, Society Members sought to make a gesture of gratitude and to forge an enduring bond of friendship with their french counterparts and therefore invited highranking officers to join the society as well. Rochambeau, lafayette, and another were among 14 french founding members of the society. A French Branch was founded in december 1783. Here we have a document located here at the society, in our archives, that shows the first list that was compiled in january 1784 of the french society. Memoirs revealed that friendship between french officers and american officers had not necessarily been common during the war itself. However, the image and dream of friendship that the society of cincinnati promulgated still characterizes the alliance between france and United States to this day. Id like to conclude my remarks today with a few thoughts on why it matters to read french memoirs on the war for america through the lens of the military enlightenment. First this perspective allows us to view the memoirs and their authors in a new light. We can see these french officers as they saw themselves, as important agents in the pursuit of enlightening war, who aspired to embody alignment enlightenment, intellectuals and, cosmopolitanism, and morality in an age of global warfare. This perspective also draws attention to different parts of the memoirs and brings into relief issues that french officers thought to be important. New influence can emerge from such queries. The question of attitude towards slavery is one area to which i had the privilege of focusing while i was here as a fellow at the city of cincinnati. Certain metropolitan french officers exhibited the limits of their many during the American Revolutionary war, as they did not so much as bat an eye i slavery, as i mentioned. In newport, rochambeau and others purchased domestic servants. At yorktown, any gross who were not reclaimed by the masters found then the gross the negroes who were not reclaimed by their masters those of us who didnt have a servant were very happy to find one and for sochi. And for so cheap. Yet fighting alongside free men of color was an experience that marked certain officers profoundly. It might have played a role in turning them into a bush nationalists. American and British Forces both employed africans in their armies. American forces employed a greater number of africanamericans, such that they composed about 1 4 of the troops. There were black and mixedrace soldiers who fight valiantly alongside metropolitan French Forces, their service resulted in death or forced military service for nearly all of them. Data, such as the membership of the society of the friend of blacks, founded in 1788 in france, under the leadership of shaq brazeau should lay on this question. The society had 95 founding members, of whom between 1 5 and 1 4 were military officers of the army or navy. Of these military men 1 3 had fought in the American Revolutionary war and were members of the society of the cincinnati. One fought and witnessed the courage of the volunteers and other men of color at engagements such as the siege of savannah of 1779. He later became the naval minister during the directory. As well as to establish a school near paris for black and mixedrace children. He also became the most courageous and vehement voice in favor of maintaining the policy of abolition when napoleon wanted to reinstate slavery in 1802. He combated napoleons unabashed racism, to no avail. Reading the memoirs by french officers in light of the military enlightenment also allows us to have a more nuanced and complete picture of the foreignness and clumsiness of the earliest days of french and american allegiance. This image, which you may have seen on the website, advertising this talk, is a marvelous example. I will give you a closer view. Here we have a stone inscription, america and the seas, we thank you for their freedom. Up here we have the gallic rooster and the fleurdelis. Then we have the best of louis the 16th bust of louis xvi. Washington is spelled wagging ston on this document. If you think this is an outlier, there are documents where washingtons name is spelled waggingston. Maybe its the french pronunciation. We have this very interesting figure right here, subduing england, which is represented by the lion in the corner. He is quite pale and androgynous with long flowing light brown hair and is donning not just the expected icons of liberty, but also an animal skin and a multicolored plumed headdress and skirting or belt somewhat reminiscent, albeit in a fantastical way, of medical of native american ceremonial guard. Garb. Im endlessly amused by this image with its infelicitous spelling of washingtons name. In some ways, it reflects who we are today. A strange, colorful, beautiful in rising, i become beautiful, this text says. A strange, colorful, beautiful conglomeration of different cultures and people seeking to right the wrongs of history, to conquer oppression, to establish our rights, and to live in freedom. This image and perhaps inspire us, since we are inheritors of this same struggle, which continues today in our country. We must pursue the fight together of seeking liberty and justice, not just for the few, but for all. Thank you. [applause] hello. Professor, thank you for that wonderful top. Thank you talk. Thank you for emphasizing the role of slavery. I think thats an important point. I would like to ask you if you have any sort of thoughts on how slavery sits or doesnt sit in the wider narrative of the military enlightenment. Isnt the underside of the military enlightenment is it the underside of the for the most part racism is part of the reason these fights are being thought, i am thinking of the example of haiti which is relevant for both france and the u. S. Because when the haitian revolution happens, the french attempt to crush it. The fighting that happens in haiti is incredibly brutal. The americans are terrified because the United States at this time depends on an economy of slavery and is frightened of the idea of a giant black revolution and doing that. I want to know more about how you see that example fitting or not fitting into this narrative. Thank you so much for that question. You kind of indicated it. Theres two sides to this coin happening at the same time. Its true for a lot of different groups. While for example, as part of the military enlightenment, much more care is given to the common soldier for the common soldiers health and hygiene and also for a type of democratization of heroism, to start recognizing the heroism of these individuals. There are really interesting stories of how in masonic lodges, common soldiers who came to fight in the American Revolutions were brought back to france and then celebrated in these very elaborate ceremonies in the lodges, in freemason lodges. So there is this part of celebrating the subaltern. On the other side, at any moment, anyone can ignore this and commit atrocities. Many times those atrocities go unpunished. Certain groups never really receive respect. That example that i gave of the American Woman and this horrible torture that she succumbed and this grotesque example, being flouted for all to see women were a part of society who were absolutely sort of not included in this, maybe barely at the beginning of the french revolution. One can imagine with the question of slavery, how central it is to frances power at the time, how many people are invested in the slave trade in one way or another. Many of these military figures are involved, napoleons own wife was intimately and critically involved. Not intellectually critically but in terms of the importance of her familys finances, involved in the slave trade. There are many people who are sort of un critical about slavery or who support it and who promulgated the birth of pseudoscientific racism. At this moment when it can be operationalized in some way to justify the continuation of slavery. So we have officers who are absolutely involved in this and who confirm all of the negative developing stereotypes about people of african descent and why they should continue to be enslaved. On the other hand, this is this other literature about colonial warfare that is very urgent in the past years, it is reckoning with the fact that on the ground people had to work together. The spanish conquistador model of going and conquering other people and forcing their way was often not what really happened. There was a need to understand other cultures and people in order to collaborate with them. Also, there is a sense of growing respect for these different people. You have military writers who are connecting french culture and values to values for example of native americans, they say we have so many similarities. They are attached to honor just like we, are they have a culture of honor. They enjoy dancing like we do. Theres this whole other piece of the population on military enlightenment, who are more supportive of a generous stance, of a stance that goes towards equality. There are interesting writings in the archives where, for example, one of the officers who served in in haiti wrote. He said free people of color, you should stand up. You have strength. You have a culture. We want to invite you to be a part of what we do in the military. When can be skeptical technical problem it is easy to always be cynical and say everything they did was just to get people to serve. They just needed man power. On the other, hand it is very clear and narrative about people with the french officers would see as ethnic others, and about common soldiers who they also saw quite different from themselves, almost a different species, where there is sincere attachment and respect and desire to uplift these people. It is really an issue that has two sides that are really developed and it is something i talk about in my book and it is also fueling some of my work for my next project. Keep looking for my work out there. Thank you for that question. Yuck the contribution the accomplishment of Louis Alexander but here, he served as a young lieutenant and the 70, 80 81 american campaign, later on he became napoleons staff, he was a logistical genius, responsible for napoleons victories. He translated that into an action plan. He made a huge contribution to french history and military successions and salon. I think hes mentioned in the memoir, im not sure but can you please comment . Louis all examined are bare tier. Thank you so much for. That it may well be that you know more about this individual than i do. It sounds like this is somebody whos life you have studied. I really look forward to hearing more about what you know about this persons trajectory. He constitutes indeed, one of the sort of tactical geniuses and also one of these officers whose career spanned a period that seems unlikely and some way. How could you be a revolutionary serving the American Revolution and then be an officer serving a dictatorship . It is something that is very interesting about the careers of these military man and to think about who was able to survive the guillotine, who survived the french revolution what were the narratives that were deployed in order to help them survive, and also some luck in many cases, that people who were jailed were able to get out. Kobes pierre himself was routed just in time for many of these people to survive. This was really critical both for the french revolution and for the napoleon a camera. The military experience of someone like bare tear and other officers who survived what was central to the initial successes of napoleons campaign, so losing these officers would have been a tremendous dream and casualty for the French Military. Yes. You had that slide up there where you had ideas a characterized the military enlightenment. I am curious, what proportion of the senior or otherwise prominent french officers at the time subscribed more or less to . This was the some isolated subculture or did this characterize the leadership of the french army broadly . Or i soon it might be something in the middle . Can you talk about this . Please thank you so much, im trying to get back to that slide. I would say, the French Armed Forces at the time, the very top officers, generals and oftentimes kernels, are also the most powerful grand ease aristocratic families of france. They are absolutely positively sitting in the salons in paris and also participating in these conversations adverse eye. These people are very well read and other historians like ihra has conducted the study and work here at the library of the society of the cincinnati to show what were the reading lists, the common readings that officers engaged in for pleasure, but also to inform themselves in preparation for fighting these by battles all over the planet. , so there is definitely a lead and elite segment of the population that is reading rousseau and using the vocabulary of the social contract, many of them seeming to be steeped with that vocabulary of moral philosophy which i abate back to the list of terms. What is interesting and the archive, especially, is where you see some middling officers who were maybe less powerful, who did not have as much money, and were likely were never sitting in those fancy parisian salons. They too surprisingly, had a lot of the same discourse in what they were writing. Lets see if this is going to be my slide. No. Look at this. One yes. So this was a really shocking an interesting discovery, to imagine a sort of trickle down effect. These gentlemen maybe had a less ex sensitive education a less extensive education and the higher officials and higher offices officers. They also came from the provinces rather than paris. I think this is part of what made me write this book. Something was happening in the French Armed Forces. This is part of the language of talking about war and talking about military reform. Would you hypothesize those middling officers, as you put it who were not in those salons. Are they getting at the Officers Mess . Over brandy or whatever it is that they drink at the end of the mail . Yes, it happens in a lot of places. This is one of the things i had to think about in my book. How is this happening . Logistically, that this type of discourse and in this way of thinking is permeating through the french army, at least through the officer corps to a certain. Extent and so, absolutely it is people having casual conversations in cafes, in free mason lodges. This is a very important aspect of how the military enlightenment is happening. It is free masonry. Many lodges, in fact the spread of free masonry and france was in large part thanks to the French Military because they established masonic lodges in many of the different towns where they stay temporarily and set up a barracks. And they would establish a military lodge and then the troop would move on but the lodge would stay and became populated by local people. Lodges were a part of it. People were definitely reading, people were corresponding. There were all these different mechanisms by which this information was permeating. That is where this question of sociability is really key. This is an age of sociability. It is a native sitting down in speaking to one another. It is not the age of the iphone, where we do not speak to one another. This was an age that really cared deeply about discussion, about dialog and about debate. That culture was key to the sort of blossoming of the military enlightenment. Thanks for that question. Thank you for a wonderful top this evening. She will be at the rear of the ballroom signing books. Please join us for refreshments and the winter garden. If you have not had a chance to see that exhibition, i invite you to do so. Thank you again. Thank you everyone. Thank you so. Much [applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. The book the road to Nathanael Greene and the American Revolution describes how general greene reversed a series of losses and eventually defeated the british in the Southern Theater of the war for independence. Next, author and historian John Buchanan discusses his new book at the American Revolution institute of the society of the cincinnati in washington,