Journal De Flohr Anglais
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Account of the Land and Sea Expedition in America of the Acclaimed Deux- Ponts Regiment from 1780 to 1784. Written in Strasbourg on the 5th of June in the year 1787 by Georg Flohr. Held at the André Malraux Multimedia Library, Strasbourg, France Annotated edition based on Albert Schreiber’s French translation. Introductory texts by Grégoire Binois, Daniel Fischer, Edern Hirstein, Thomas Tricot under the direction of Isabelle Laboulais. July 2013 1 Table of Contents Foreword (Isabelle Laboulais) The Manuscript The Writing of the Manuscript (Edern Hirstein) Geographic Knowledge and Description (Isabelle Laboulais) The People Biography of Georg Daniel Flohr (Edern Hirstein) Christian de Deux-Ponts (Daniel Fischer) Guillaume de Deux-Ponts (Daniel Fischer) The Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment (Grégoire Binois and Daniel Fischer) The Places The Itinerary and the Explanation of this Itinerary (Edern Hirstein and Isabelle Laboulais) The American Population (Daniel Fischer) German Colonization of the American Colonies (Daniel Fischer) The Antilles in the 1780’s (Thomas Tricot) The Facts The American Revolution and the War of Independence (Isabelle Laboulais) The Attack of Redoubt 9: Between Historical Account and Memory (Edern Hirstein) 2 Foreword The “Flohr” is a text that is unique in form and content. A major work in the collection of manuscripts conserved in the department of cultural heritage of the André Malraux multimedia library, it is a rare account of the European participation in the process by which the Insurgents won their independence and founded a State based on new values; it also delivers useful observations that nourished multicultural, multiracial, and multiethnic history, centered around the exchanges and interactions between the Europeans, American Indians, and Africans, this “Atlantic history” that some historians—still few in number in France—have been writing for about twenty years. 1 Beyond the account of a decisive moment in Atlantic history, the Flohr also illustrates the complexity of travel literature in the eighteenth century, the porosity of genres and the influence that its most widespread forms exerted upon a young rifleman enrolled in the Royal Deux-Ponts regiment when he set about writing an account of the expedition of his regiment. A close study of the text was essential in order to put Flohr’s account into perspective, and to measure the importance of rewriting in retrospect. Far from nullifying the value of this tale, this collective work, on the contrary, aims to facilitate its readability and underscore its complexity. The original manuscript was transcribed and translated into French by Albert Schreiber. This version of the text was the object of a collective effort aimed at facilitating the reading of the text composed by Flohr and highlighting its major contributions. This preliminary research was undertaken by four second-year Master’s students. Grégoire Binois worked mainly on Flohr’s contributions to the history of war practices and culture, Daniel Fischer on American history, Edern Hirstein on Flohr in particular, and on the reconstruction of his itinerary, the precise analysis of his text, and Thomas Tricot carried out the iconographic research that accompanies the footnotes. In the coming months this version will be completed by contributions from Jean-Luc Eichenlaub on the codicological analysis of the manuscript, from Mireille Pétry, who traces the manuscript’s journey until it reached the department of cultural heritage collections at the André Malraux multimedia library, and from Martial Guédron on the drawings that Flohr included to enrich his text. Isabelle Laboulais Modern History Professor University of Strasbourg–EA 3400/ARCHE 1 For more on Atlantic history, see the historical record organized by Cécile Vidal for a one-day workshop organized at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in 2006: http://nuevomundo.revues.org/10233# 1-histoire-atlantique-de-part-et-d-autre-de-l-atlantique 3 The Writing of the Manuscript Kept in the André Malraux multimedia library (Strasbourg), Flohr’s manuscript is one of remarkable richness in many ways. 2 Though the illustrations are the most noticeable, they are only the tip of the iceberg. In the pages of this account the reader will also enjoy the many informative, naturalistic, or simply anecdotal digressions that Flohr slipped into his war diary. Such diversity is surprising when compared to the title of the manuscript: “Account of the Land and Sea Expedition in America of the Acclaimed Deux-Ponts Regiment”, or considering the intended purpose: “concerning the present description of America as I have scrupulously noted day after day during the war opposing England and American colonies.” Taken from the Erklärung and written by Flohr, this citation implies that the description of America contained in this manuscript is faithful to the notes he took during the military campaign. This preliminary statement is inevitably refuted by a close reading of the text. The framework of the text is made up of information dealing with the destination, of indications of the number of kilometers traveled each day, all elements that evidently correspond to the distinct genre that is the war diary, which presents itself as the practice of systematic and concise writing. The resulting work is as useful to military staff officers as it is to mapmakers, 3 but also to individuals who keep fact records for private or collective interest. 4 The writing of such a diary requires regular note taking in the field. In this context the written record is limited to mentioning the date and the names of the places the soldiers passed through; it is at times embellished by a short description of the landscape that was encountered or the risks of the voyage, the day’s events and the number of kilometers traveled are mentioned. With Flohr the war diary genre is the object of a certain number of adjustments, or rather, additions. Nevertheless, his field notes make up the primary source of his account. A comparison with other available war diaries, or with the records kept by the aides-de-camp or the mapmakers shows this. Thus when Flohr mentions the town he passed through or the stages of the journey accomplished by his regiment, he transcribes their names phonetically. The town of Bowling Green becomes “Bollingen” by his pen, Page’s Bridge is similarly transformed into “Bettesbrück”. Such place names could not be reproduced afterwards, Flohr most likely took up the spelling used in his field notes. The distances covered also do not correspond to those 2 Ms f 15 3 In L’art de lever des plans, de tout ce qui rapport à l’architecture civile et champêtre (3rd edition, Firmin Didot, Paris, 1792), Dupain de Montesson dedicates an entire section to the characteristics of travel diaries. 4 For a comparison, see the diaries of Claude Blanchard, Guillaume of Deux-Ponts or Dupont d’Aubevoye de Laubèrdière. The latter notes in his diary: “I write for myself, for my own satisfaction, and to one day remind myself of some of the most extraordinary times and of the most glorious revolution found in history.” see “Journal de l’armée aux orders de Monsieur le Comte de Rochambeau pendant les campagnes de 1780, 1781, et 1783 dans l’Amérique Septentrionale” (At the Bibliothèque nationale, N.A.F. n° 17691, fol. 209 and fol. 3). 4 indicated by other witnesses. 5 This rudimentary note taking that makes up the framework of Flohr’s voyage is accompanied by commentaries on the landscape he encountered (“On the road we passed through a lovely little town on a beautiful plain”, diary page 51) including a multitude of flattering descriptions. The descriptions of towns, as superficial as they may be in some cases, include such precise indications that their direct origins cannot be called into question (“In this city of B. one can find quite a few Frenchmen, who live there: most of them live on the same street, which is why it is called the Rue Française.” diary page 115). The numerous digressions concerning the specifics of the local flora and fauna stand out due to their length and fact that they are written in the first person singular. These two characteristics suggest that they were written by Flohr and that they reflect his own vision of the American landscape. However, it is difficult to differentiate between the parts written “in the field” and those added later based on memories. In all likelihood the majority of the text does indeed have its origins in the day-to-day notes taken by the author. Yet the use of stories from third parties, rumors, as well as the integration of numerical data or official texts rules out the hypothesis of a sole source of inspiration. The digressions are the most interesting parts of the account. Besides the author’s personal observations on the local environment, vegetation or the conditions of slaves, some of them allude to well-known incidents of the American War of Independence. For example, the digressions about the Treason of Benedict Arnold, the battle of Trenton or Princeton, and the sinking of the ship, Le Bourgogne are enlightening. In the case of these three digressions, the information could not have come from the author alone. The treason of Benedict Arnold and the battles of Trenton and Princeton took place in what would have been the recent past, and Flohr, despite what he may say, could not have witnessed the sinking of Le Bourgogne . These three notable accounts must have been taken from the author’s notes, not from his personal observation. Flohr most likely collected this information from his fellow soldiers and integrated it into his diary without indicating its source. The author alludes to this practice when he recounts the story of when the Indian delegation visited Rochambeau in Newport.