<P> Not long after Clinton's return to New York, a French fleet arrived off the North American coast . Washington was involved in the discussion on how to best use this force, and an attack was planned against the British outpost at Newport, Rhode Island . Despite the presence of two of Washington's most reliable subordinates, Lafayette and Greene, the attempt at cooperation was a dismal failure . British and Indian forces organized and supported by Sir Frederick Haldimand in Quebec began to raid frontier settlements in 1778, and Savannah, Georgia was captured late in the year . </P> <P> During the comparatively mild winter of 1778--79, Washington and Congress discussed options for the 1779 campaign season . The possibility of a Franco - American campaign against Quebec, first proposed for 1778, had a number of adherents in Congress, and was actively supported by Lafayette in Washington's circle . Despite known weaknesses in Quebec's provincial defenses, Washington was adamantly opposed to the idea, citing the lack of troops and supplies with which to conduct such an operation, the nation's fragile financial state, and French imperial ambitions to recover the territory . Under pressure from Congress to answer the frontier raids, Washington countered with the proposal of a major expedition against the Iroquois . This was approved, and in the summer of 1779 a sizable force under Major General John Sullivan made a major expedition into the northwestern frontier of New York in reprisal for the frontier raids . The expedition successfully drove the Iroquois out of New York, but otherwise had little effect on the frequency and severity of frontier raids . </P> <P> Washington's opponent in New York, however, was not inactive . Clinton engaged in a number of amphibious raids against coastal communities from Connecticut to Chesapeake Bay, and probed at Washington's defenses in the Hudson River valley . Coming up the river in force, he captured the key outpost of Stony Point, but advanced no further . When Clinton weakened the garrison there to provide men for raiding expeditions, Washington organized a counterstrike . General Anthony Wayne led a force that, solely using the bayonet, recaptured Stony Point . The Americans chose not to hold the post, but the operation was a boost to American morale and a blow to British morale . American morale was dealt a blow later in the year, when the second major attempt at Franco - American cooperation, an attempt to retake Savannah, failed with heavy casualties . </P> <P> The winter of 1779--80 was one of the coldest in recorded colonial history . New York Harbor froze over, and the winter camps of the Continental Army were deluged with snow, resulting in hardships exceeding those experienced at Valley Forge . The war was declining in popularity, and the inflationary issuance of paper currency by Congress and the states alike harmed the economy, and the ability to provision the army . The paper currency also hit the army's morale, since it was how the troops were paid . Congress fixed the rate between paper and gold dollars at 40 - to - 1 in March 1780, but many merchants refused to accept the Continental currency at the official exchange rate . One Loyalist wrote, "Mock - money and mock - states shall melt away / / And the mock troops disband for want of pay ." </P>

Why was the arrival of american forces so important to the war