Editing Glorious First of June (section)

===Convoy===
By early spring of 1794, the situation in France was dire. With famine looming after the failure of the harvest and the blockade of French ports and trade, the French government was forced to look overseas for sustenance.{{sfn|Rodger |2004|p=429}} Turning to [[French colonization of the Americas|France's colonies in the Americas]], and the agricultural bounty of the United States, the National Convention gave orders for the formation of a large convoy of sailing vessels to gather at [[Hampton Roads]] in the [[Chesapeake Bay]], where Admiral Vanstabel would wait for them. According to contemporary historian [[William James (naval historian)|William James]] this conglomeration of ships was said to be over 350 strong, although he disputes this figure, citing the number as 117 (in addition to the French warships).{{sfn|James |2002|p=127}}

The convoy had also been augmented by the United States government, in both cargo and shipping, as repayment for French financial, moral and military support during the [[American Revolution]]. In supporting the French Revolution in this way, the American government, urged especially by Ambassador [[Gouverneur Morris]], was fulfilling its ten-year-old debt to France.{{sfn|Williams |1907|p=381}} Friendly relations between the United States and France did not long survive the [[Jay Treaty]] which came into effect in 1796; by 1798 the two nations would be engaged in the [[Quasi War]].{{sfn|Gardiner|2001b|p=148}}