[1] With the American Revolutionary War approaching, the Second Continental Congress, which took place in Philadelphia in 1775, recognized the need for international allies to help the Thirteen Colonies in their fight for independence from Great Britain.
[2] RESOLVED, That this Congress will make provision to defray all such expenses as they may arise by carrying on such correspondence, and for the payment of such agents as the said Committee may send on this service.
[1] However, most of the efforts of the committee went not to making friends in Great Britain, but towards forging alliances with other foreign countries that would sympathize with the patriot cause during the American Revolution.
[4] He also travelled to France to convince the French to forge an alliance with the United States[5] and was a prominent figure in the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which ended the revolution.
[7] For example, in 1776, the Committee was instructing Silas Deane, an undercover agent in France, on how to interact with the French government and encourage them to provide munitions and ships to the United States.
"[8] "I do solemnly swear, that I will not directly or indirectly divulge any manner or thing which shall come to my knowledge as (clerk, secretary) of the Board of War and Ordnance for the United Colonies.
[9] Supporting the Patriots would be an ideal opportunity for France to try to regain lost land in North America as well as dampen Great Britain's economic and political strength by winning the revolution.
To do this, the cabinet chose Julien Alexandre Achard de Bonvouloir, a 26-year-old former French officer, to travel to the United States as an undercover agent,[9] and make contact with the Continental Congress.
[3] During the meeting, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay were continuously debating how much information about the state of their country they should tell the Frenchman, as they knew there was a chance that he was a spy.
Lee, who frequently aided the Committee of Secret Correspondence, suspected Silas Deane,[3] a colonial agent in France, of financial wrongdoing.
[3] At the same time as the Committee was undergoing negotiations with Bonvouloir in the United States, they were also instructing Silas Deane, a Connecticut delegate for the Continental Congress.
For example, French fleets under General Degrasse and Rochambeau blockaded the Chesapeake Bay at the Siege of Yorktown, preventing British escape, and assisting Washington's patriot army's attack.