"This is outrageous! Two thousand elite allied troops, yet they still let less than one thousand British army escape. General Washington is derelict in his duties! Moreover, this happened at such a critical moment, right when we are formally negotiating with British representatives. How much diplomatic disadvantage has this caused us? Councilor Charles, your Military and Ordnance Committee should arrange for a thorough investigation into this matter, to see if there are any problems and to hold all those derelict accountable." Several agitated Continental Congress Representatives united to complain to Charles about General Benedict's forces breaking out.
The news that the Continental army and French army had jointly surrounded Benedict, only for him to easily break through, naturally shook the entire high command when it reached Philadelphia.
Over the past year or so, a series of victories against the British army had caused these Continental Congress Representatives' confidence to surge. They truly believed that their side's strength could contend directly with Britain and even achieve a hundred victories in a hundred battles. Therefore, at the slightest unfavorable turn on the battlefield, they would clamor to hold the commander-in-chief accountable.
Of course, that was also because, no matter how one looked at it, the Allied forces, composed of the American-French armies, held an absolute advantage. If the Allied forces were at a disadvantage now, they might be a bit more rational.
Charles naturally understood that a temporary advantage or disadvantage appearing on either side of the battlefield was very normal, especially since he heard that the British army had even deployed a limited number of lancers (previous text error, at that time European countries all had heavy cuirassiers, only Britain had medium lancers). A short-term setback was completely understandable. On the contrary, continuous victories would make one worry if the enemy had a conspiracy.
"Gentlemen! The current setback is only temporary. I do not believe that, with our absolute advantage, we will truly lose to the British. The Allied forces and the British are still fighting. At this time, I cannot intervene in their command, and I also have great faith in General Washington," Charles explained tactfully.
"Exactly! Commander-in-Chief Washington has already found a way to deal with those British cavalry. So everyone need not worry about the General's command ability at all. I believe that only under Commander-in-Chief Washington's leadership can we win the final victory in the war against Britain." Adams also quickly came out to speak up for Washington.
He was completely in line with Washington's political stance. Even the Federalist faction he led was already preparing to invite Washington to be their faction leader after the war of Independence ended. As for Adams, having been suppressed by Charles multiple times, he had already become compliant and was prepared to be Washington's deputy.
Actually, if one were to speak of political ambition, Adams certainly had it, but from every perspective, this fellow was a very sensible person. Unfortunately, being sensible sometimes also meant not being authoritarian or dictatorial, and not being the supreme leader of a powerful nation. He often sacrificed himself for the greater good, making it difficult for him to hold leadership positions for a long time. Historically, after becoming President, he was too cautious, trying to accommodate multiple interests, which ended up pleasing no one, and he lost his presidential seat.
After a brief debate, the Continental Congress still regained confidence in the Continental army and the French army.
However, the next day, when meeting with the British representative, John, he had obviously also learned of the battle that occurred in Albany, and his voice immediately became much louder.
"Gentlemen! Although we have reached an agreement regarding the release of General Cornwallis, for the sake of the soldiers still suffering in prisoner-of-war camps, I have decided to remain in Philadelphia and continue to engage with your side, so that once the war progresses, we can discuss the possibility of mutual prisoner exchanges!"
Although this Ambassador was clearly adept at various diplomatic maneuvers, he was not very skilled at judging military prospects. So, he even brazenly stated that he was prepared to wait for a prisoner exchange. Charles did not bother with him, merely urging Jefferson to quickly reach bilateral agreements with France and Spain. As for negotiations with the British, it was better to wait for a decisive outcome from the northern war before resuming talks.
Negotiations with France quickly made progress. In addition to the undisputed maintenance of America's existing territory, a formal agreement was also reached regarding the disputed areas for the division of British Colonies.
America agreed to abandon its claims to all British Colonies south of the Ohio River, except for retaining the Kentucky area, and to support France's claims to this region. France, in turn, announced that it would abandon its claims to Canada and support America's claims to Canada.
At the same time, both sides unanimously decided that the Quebec region should be separated from Canada, and the American-French nations would support Quebec's right to choose its own allegiance again, allowing all propertied individuals within the region to democratically vote and choose whether to belong to France or America.
Quebec is located in eastern Canada, southeast of Hudson Bay, bordering America to the south, with an area of 1.54 million square kilometers. Its population is primarily of French descent. In 1608, the Frenchman Champlain established a settlement in Quebec City, and Quebec became a French Colony. Subsequently, Britain and France long contended for it, and it transferred to Britain in 1763, making it the most important region of what is now Canada.
Because Canada had only transferred from France to Britain a little over a decade ago, Britain had not undertaken extensive development there, and Quebec was precisely the main residential area of the original French colonists. Once Quebec was separated from Canada, the current Canada would be left with little more than an empty shell.
However, the Quebec region was very delicate. During the war of Independence, a large number of colonists participated in the war against Britain. Both the American and French sides wanted it, and in the end, for the sake of Allied friendship, they could only decide to let the Quebecois choose for themselves.
Both sides were very confident. France believed that Quebec's population was primarily of French descent, and they would surely vote to become a French Colony again. Americans, on the other hand, believed that all colonial people were unwilling to return to the rule of their suzerain and would surely choose to join the free America. As for letting this place continue under British rule, that was completely impossible. Britain's power was so weak now that it was simply impossible to control this region, which was basically populated by French colonial descendants, in a short period.
Although Charles also very much wanted the Southern Ohio region, he knew that this region, being close to the south, had an economic situation completely different from the north. Moreover, the British influence was stronger.
His Pittsburgh trying to swallow an elephant was still a bit beyond its capabilities. The American government should also only be able to benefit the political forces of southern states like Virginia. So, he simply gave up. As for Canada, Charles was also prepared to wait and see the situation. If General Benedict's forces were completely annihilated and Canada was empty of power, it would be unable to resist the Allied forces advancing north, and then it would naturally be fully occupied. If Benedict successfully escaped back to Canada, then naturally, they could at most only demand the Quebec region, and it would be impossible to hope for the entirety of Canada.
Negotiations with France were easily resolved, but in the bilateral negotiations between America and Spain, a great deadlock was reached. Even when Jefferson finally conceded, agreeing to legally prohibit support for the colonial independence forces in the Florida region, Spain still resolutely refused to give up its demands for those few towns controlled by the American side.
Finally, the French Ambassador, Girard, could no longer bear it. Using the authority Louis XVI had granted him, he expressed willingness to offer several towns in Southern Ohio, near Florida, to Spain in exchange for several towns in Northern Florida. Conveniently, Florida and the Southern Ohio region bordered each other, making it easy to connect them, and the Spanish Ambassador readily agreed.
This way, the most critical issue in the negotiations was finally resolved.
In the following days, America successively signed bilateral peace agreements and several other bilateral documents, such as navigation and trade regulations, with Spain, Prussia, and other countries. Finally, an unofficial anti-British alliance was formed.
By the time the anti-British negotiation delegation was formally established, the latest war report from the northern battlefield also arrived.
The news was mixed: Benedict, leading over eight thousand British army, was successfully pursued by the Allied forces, who eliminated over five thousand men, with another thousand-plus scattering. However, the remaining less than two thousand men were led by General Benedict to Portsmouth, where they utilized the British Navy fleet awaiting them there, boarded warships, and departed American territory, escaping by sea.
If only a thousand-plus British army had left, it would not have affected the overall situation, but the most crucial point was that their commander, General Benedict, also successfully retreated by sea. With such a General returning to garrison Canada, plus over a thousand veterans, local colonists could be mobilized at any time to organize ten thousand men to resist the American-French Allied forces' attack. This would make conquering Canada very difficult.
"This is truly a disgrace to the Allied Navy!" the French Ambassador also began to stomp his feet before the Continental Congress after hearing this news. Fortunately, he was more cultured and did not start swearing loudly.
"It's unexpected that the British Navy still had the courage to leave port and fight. This was truly unforeseen. Ambassador, please don't worry. Our Navy is currently primarily protecting merchant ships traveling between Europe and America, and we don't have time to spare to strike the British Navy!" Adams consoled Girard.
—
As he spoke, he did not forget to glance at Charles. It was he who had diverted the entire Navy to escort merchant ships, giving the British Navy the opportunity to rescue Benedict's remnants.
Charles also did not expect the British Navy to dare to come out. In fact, although the American-French Naval Joint Fleet had been called upon by him to protect merchant ships, it had never relaxed its surveillance of the Canadian coastal ports. It was just unknown where this British Navy fleet had suddenly appeared from, suddenly showing up in Portsmouth. After all, the British Navy was most familiar with this stretch of coast. The newly returned French Navy and the nascent American Navy could only be considered outsiders, so a bit of an accident was understandable.
Charles could not defend himself against Adams deliberately pushing this unforeseeable incident onto him, and could only say:
"In any case, there has finally been a great victory on land! The Navy has also been monitoring the Canadian coast. We can now see if they can intercept Benedict's forces before the British Navy fleet docks. However, this is very difficult to achieve, so Benedict is still very likely to return to Canada. Now, we can only urge the army to quickly advance towards Canada, attacking north as quickly as possible."
"Actually, I don't think there's a need to be too insistent on a complete victory. Although I don't know much about matters of war, it sounds like this should already be considered a great victory, right? I think if we tell sir John about Benedict's major defeat, he will surely be willing to convey the desire for peace to Britain." Jefferson interjected.
"Indeed! That's right, the key to determining the war still lies with the British king and the British Cabinet. As long as they realize that defeat is inevitable, they will certainly engage in formal negotiations. With the fighting reaching this stage, the British army is certainly facing an inevitable defeat," Girard also agreed with Jefferson's view.
"Alright then! We will immediately inform sir John of this news, and then reiterate our desire for peace," Charles smiled.
When the American-French sides conveyed the news of Benedict's major defeat to the British negotiation representative, sir John could hardly believe his ears. However, he also understood that such a major event would certainly not be a joke from the American-French sides. Upon hearing the American-French sides' desire for peace again, he no longer firmly refused, but cautiously stated:
"I have fully understood the goodwill conveyed by the gentlemen, but due to limitations of authority, I cannot respond on the spot. I will convey this goodwill to His Majesty king George as soon as possible. All replies must await His Majesty's instructions."
With John's reply, Jefferson and Girard knew that the negotiations in Philadelphia were mostly complete.
Where the specific negotiations would be held next would depend on Britain's reaction. Perhaps in Britain, perhaps in France, or perhaps in America. In any case, the anti-British alliance countries had already coordinated their positions and reached an internal consensus, so there was no need to rush back and forth. They could completely react based on Britain's demands.
Although this news did not mean the war was truly over—at least General Washington and Count Rochambeau were still leading their troops, pressing on towards Canada—when ordinary Philadelphians heard about it, the entire city erupted in cheers, shouting, "Victory!" and "The fighting is over!"