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Supplies for the American Army
With the start of the Revolutionary War, Americans faced the daunting challenge of fighting the British Empire -- until now, their main provider of military goods. As Commissioner to France, one of Franklin's major duties was to secure desperately needed supplies for the American army. Working from an extensive list provided by Congress, Franklin sought everything from cannons, to musical instruments, to buttons and shoes. Over the course of the war, the French provided supplies, and underwrote aid worth $13 billion in today's money.
"I have at last obtained a Promise of Some money towars the supplies and shall want I believe 10,000 suits of Cloaths with shirts, hats stockings and shoes."
-- Letter from Benjamin Franklin to Jonathan Williams, Jr., 1779 |