He impressed them one and all with a sense of power and greatness which could not be disregarded.

Many times he failed to get the French fleet in cooeperation, but finally it came.

Then he put forth all his influence and all his address, and thus he got De Barras to the Chesapeake, and kept De Grasse at Yorktown.
This was one side of the problem, the most essential because everything hinged on the fleet, but by no means the most harassing.
The doubt about the control of the sea made it impossible to work steadily for a sufficient time toward any one end.

It was necessary to have a plan for every contingency, and be ready to adopt any one of several plans at short notice.

With a foresight and judgment that never failed, Washington planned an attack on New York, another on Yorktown, and a third on Charleston.