To
many Americans of today, the notion of French soldiers fighting side
by side with Continental soldiers and state militias for American
liberty and independence comes as a surprise. Almost 220 years after
Yorktown, far too few Americans are aware of the crucial importance
of America's French allies during the Revolutionary War.
The support
provided by French King Louis XVI toward the success of that war has
been largely forgotten in the collective memory of the American people.
This is true even in states such as Connecticut, where it was until
recently left to devoted individuals such as town historians or to
private organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution,
the Sons of the American Revolution, or the Souvenir Français,
to keep the memory of the Franco-American alliance alive. Only after
long efforts by, among others, State Representative Pamela Z. Sawyer
and the Inter Community Historic Resources Committee under its energetic
chairman Hans DePold, did the State Legislature in 1998 appropriate
funds for the "Rochambeau in Connecticut: Tracing His Journey"
project. Administered by the Connecticut Historical Commission, that
first appropriation resulted in two reports. One detailed the historical
background of the French involvement in the American War and existing
above-ground resources along the marching route of French infantry
and artillery through the state in 1781/82.[1]
The other presented the results of archeological work carried
out on some of the surviving campsites of these 5,000 men.[2]
In 1999, the legislature
renewed its commitment to the project by again appropriating funds.
The present report for Phase II of the "Rochambeau in Connecticut:
Tracing His Journey" project is once again part of a collaborative
effort by archaeologists, map-makers, and historians to research,
map, and document the presence of the French expeditionary corps in
Connecticut from 1780 to 1782 and to emphasize the significance of
France's, and Connecticut's, contribution in the American Revolutionary
War.
The present report
submitted by the historical consultant to the project consists of
three parts. The first part analyzes the Conference at Hartford in
October 1780, which provided an important opportunity for Generals
George Washington and the comte de Rochambeau to get acquainted with
each other. The second part examines the Conference at Wethersfield
in May 1781, where the groundwork was laid for the successful cooperation
of the two allies that culminated in Lord Cornwallis' surrender at
Yorktown to the combined Franco-American armies later that year. The
third part tells the story of the Volontaires Etrangers de Lauzun,
a unique cavalry and light infantry detachment under the duc de Lauzun,
its winter quarters in Lebanon from November 1780 until June 1781,
and its subsequent march from Lebanon to White Plains, New York.[3]
Since it forms part of a larger project, this report focuses tightly
on the three topics mentioned above. Historical background information
and historical context have been kept to a minimum; for such information
the reader is referred to my report for Phase
[1]
Robert A. Selig, Rochambeau in Connecticut: Tracing his Journey. Historic
and Architectural Survey Connecticut Historical Commission (Hartford:
State of Connecticut, 1999).
[2]At the time this report is being prepared,
the archaeological report has not yet been released to the public.
[3]For additional information on previous
efforts to trace, map, catalogue and preserve the memory as well as resources
connected with the French presence in Connecticut see my 1999 report cited
in Footnote1.
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