[Extract]
. . .

Marine militaire continentale¹

La marine actuelle du Congrès Consiste En quelques frégates Commandées par des officiers gens grossiers Et autant quon En peut juger sans instruction Et ils ont disent ils Cinq v^aux. de guerre Et six frégates En Construction. Le vaisseau de soixante Et quatorze canons qui Est sur Les chantiers à Boston est a peine boisé. ils n’ont aucun amas de bois, et La rareté des ouvriers jointe au prix excessifs de La main d’œuvre pourra faire quil soit pouri avant d’Etre achevé. ils n’ont Eu qune Seule fois de Lavantage sur Les battiments de La marine anglaise. il passe meme pour Constant que Le Congres a donné ordre tant aux armateurs qu’aux frégates Continentales dEviter Les v^aux. de guerre Et de ne Sattacher qua dévaster Ceux du Commerce.

il y avoit trois frégates Continentales a boston qui nattendoient pour sortir que de pouvoir Completter Leurs Equipages. ils sont dans la disette de marins par LEnorme quantité de Corsaires quils ont En mer. L’Espoir du brigandage fait quon trouve plus facilement des matelots que des soldats.
Abus extrêmement préjudiciables à la marine de france²

Le gouvernement français ne Sçauroit prendre trop de précautions pour sopposer a L’Emigration des matelots. Les ameriquains Les débea[uchent.] des v^aux. du Commerce qui viennent de Leurs ports; ils achetent En france des battiments armés de français sous Le pavillon de notre nation, et ils Les Conservent sous pretexte quils sont Engagés pour 3 ans dans Le v^au. sur Le quel ils sont partis de france quoyque Ces matelot ignorent l’achapt du battiment quon a soin de tenir secret. Les mauvais traitements qu’ils font Essuyer aux matelots français retiennent a bord de Leurs v^aux., et Leur Extreme infidelité dans Leurs promesses faciliteront infiniment Les soins que Le gouvernement prendra pour faire Cesser Cet abús quil est de La plus grande importance de réprimer.

Brest, le 15 juin 1778

[Translation]

[Extract]
...

Continental Navy¹

The navy of the Congress consists of a few frigates commanded by officers who are men unpolished and as far as I can tell uneducated and they say they have five ships of war and six frigates under construction. The ship of seventy-four guns that is on the stocks at Boston is scarcely timbered. They have no stores of timber, and the scarcity of workers joined to the excessive price of manual labor could result in its rotting before it is finished. They have had the advantage over the ships of the English navy only once. It constantly happens that Congress gives orders to both privateer captains and the Continental frigates to avoid ships of war and only to attempt to destroy those in commerce.

There were three Continental frigates at Boston that awaited only to be able to complete their crews before going out. They are in shortage of sailors because of the enormous number of privateers that they have at sea. The hope of plunder is found more easily among seamen than among soldiers.
Abuse extremely prejudicial to the French navy²

The French government cannot take too many precautions to oppose the emigration of its seamen. The Americans seduce them from the merchant ships that come to their ports; in France they purchase ships fit out by Frenchmen under the flag of our nation, and then retain them under the pretext that they have enlisted for three years in the vessel in which they left France, even though these seamen were unaware of the purchase of the ship, which was carefully kept secret. The ill treatment that they make the French seamen kept on board their vessels undergo, their extreme bad faith in their promises will infinitely facilitate the pains that the government will take to stop this abuse, which is of the greatest importance to repress. . . .

Sainneville

Brest, 15 June 1778