Jourdan had done ample homework before coming to North America. He knew that Louisiana's indigenous soldiers were fairly mediocre fighters.
Yet he had been entrusted with an important mission by the Regent. He needed an army that could fight.
In fact, the more than forty guards he had brought here were all selected junior and mid-level officers.
Napoleon felt the sting of it. He had only 1,100 soldiers of French descent in total, absolute elites.
But in order to send Jourdan away as soon as possible, he still agreed through clenched teeth.
Once the war council ended, Jourdan immediately headed for the barracks to inspect his troops.
On the way, he asked the Colony staff officer assigned to assist him, "Has Frederick been connected to the Shap Signal Tower yet?" "Not yet, General," the man replied. "As you know, Louisiana's finances are not in very good shape. There aren't even any Signal Towers in northern Arkansas. There is one between New Orleans and Mobile, though. The former Governor of West Florida paid to build it, so it would be easier to apply to the ports for berths and Warehouses."
Jourdan let out a breath. Mobile lay in the central-western part of Florida, still nearly six hundred kilometers from Frederick at the far eastern end. "Better than nothing," he said, then turned to his staff officer and lowered his voice. "Write to Governor Morales in my name at once. Have him withdraw the troops from St. Augustine to Tallahassee in batches. But announce to the public that those troops are going to reinforce New Granada." Morales was the Governor of East Florida.
The staff officer froze for a moment, then hesitantly said, "General, what if the Americans take the opportunity to attack St. Augustine?"
Wilkinson had been training troops in Georgia