10. Deane relayed the need for clothing, and Beaumarchais moved to address it
Silas Deane, besides negotiating one of the best trade deals in history, also pressed on Beaumarchais the problem of inadequate clothing available for Washington’s troops. Beaumarchais in turn met with Jacques-Donatien le Rey le Chaumont. Chaumont was a member of the Court of Versailles and a favored advisor to Louis XVI. He was also responsible for providing the uniforms for the French Army. Beaumarchais made him a partner in Hortalez et Cie, in return for a line of credit for 1 million livres. The credit was used to purchase uniforms and shoes, which in turn were sold through the Dutch traders in St. Eustatius.
The uniforms of the French Army at the time were white coats, with facings colored to indicate the regiment to which the wearer belonged. Those sent to the Americans were dyed brown. Chaumont was an immensely wealthy man who contributed a significant amount of his personal fortune to the American cause, absorbing the cost of uniforms provided by his factories. He also owned shipyards. One of them converted a French Indiaman into a warship at his expense, and was given to Benjamin Franklin. Franklin assigned the ship to an American naval officer, John Paul Jones, who named the vessel Bonhomme Richard.