Von Fersen and the rest of the French wintered in Williamsburg. Anticipating the American Civil War nearly 80 years later, von Fersen remarked that he wouldn't be surprised to see Virginia separate herself from the rest of the states at some point due to the strain of "aristocracy" prevalent there as opposed to the northern states. In December 1782, the French made sail for the West Indies and Venezuela but word reached them of the signing of peace and the ships headed back to France. Von Fersen arrived back in Brest in June 1783.