FRENCH INVASION OF 1744. A collection of letters addressed to M. de Segent, Commissaire ordonateur at Dunkirk (once as 'Ingenieur en chef'), concerning the preparation, embarkation and return of the attempted French invasion of England in 1744, comprising 26 letters signed and one in autograph by Marc-Pierre, comte D'Argenson as secretary of state at the Ministry of War, Versailles, 3 December 1743 - 31 March 1744, and 25 autograph letters signed by 'Malloch', secretary to the Young Pretender, n.p. [nr Dunkirk], 1 March - 21 April 1744, altogether 43 leaves, 4to, and 11 leaves, folio , traces of guards. The letters from D'Argenson at the Ministry of War comprise detailed instructions for the assembling and equipping of the invasion fleet, culminating in orders for embarkation on 8 March; a letter of 17 March hints at the intervening disaster, requesting only 'une recapitulation generale de l'etat des troupes, de leur perse, du nombre des malades, des effets du roy qui auront été sauvés, de leur etat, de la quantité de ceux qui auront été perdus'. The letters of the secretary of the Young Pretender are interesting in demonstrating the ambivalent involvement of the Prince in the 1744 invasion. The Prince is in complete incognito, though close to Dunkirk, and the letters consist of repeated requests for information, and demonstrate a certain sense of neglect ('Ces messieurs la semblent de nous avoir oubliés'), hinting at the Prince's frustration and desire for action ('Son Altesse royale s'ennuye beaucoup d'n'avoir rien a faire'), and longing for 'un heureux debarquement en faveur et sous les ordres de Nôtre Prince'. Even after the failure of the expedition, Malloch confidently states the belief which was to lead to the disasters of the 1745 rebellion: 'ce jeune Prince n'a besoin de rien pour rendre justice a song sang illustre, que de se faire connoitre par les siens'. The Dunkirk expedition for the invasion of England, comprising 7,000 men under the Maréchal de Saxe, was frustrated by the vigilance of the English Channel fleet, and, driven by a severe storm, only regained Dunkirk after heavy losses.
FRENCH INVASION OF 1744. A collection of letters addressed to M. de Segent, Commissaire ordonateur at Dunkirk (once as 'Ingenieur en chef'), concerning the preparation, embarkation and return of the attempted French invasion of England in 1744, comprising 26 letters signed and one in autograph by Marc-Pierre, comte D'Argenson as secretary of state at the Ministry of War, Versailles, 3 December 1743 - 31 March 1744, and 25 autograph letters signed by 'Malloch', secretary to the Young Pretender, n.p. [nr Dunkirk], 1 March - 21 April 1744, altogether 43 leaves, 4to, and 11 leaves, folio , traces of guards. The letters from D'Argenson at the Ministry of War comprise detailed instructions for the assembling and equipping of the invasion fleet, culminating in orders for embarkation on 8 March; a letter of 17 March hints at the intervening disaster, requesting only 'une recapitulation generale de l'etat des troupes, de leur perse, du nombre des malades, des effets du roy qui auront été sauvés, de leur etat, de la quantité de ceux qui auront été perdus'. The letters of the secretary of the Young Pretender are interesting in demonstrating the ambivalent involvement of the Prince in the 1744 invasion. The Prince is in complete incognito, though close to Dunkirk, and the letters consist of repeated requests for information, and demonstrate a certain sense of neglect ('Ces messieurs la semblent de nous avoir oubliés'), hinting at the Prince's frustration and desire for action ('Son Altesse royale s'ennuye beaucoup d'n'avoir rien a faire'), and longing for 'un heureux debarquement en faveur et sous les ordres de Nôtre Prince'. Even after the failure of the expedition, Malloch confidently states the belief which was to lead to the disasters of the 1745 rebellion: 'ce jeune Prince n'a besoin de rien pour rendre justice a song sang illustre, que de se faire connoitre par les siens'. The Dunkirk expedition for the invasion of England, comprising 7,000 men under the Maréchal de Saxe, was frustrated by the vigilance of the English Channel fleet, and, driven by a severe storm, only regained Dunkirk after heavy losses.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
