It appears that 18th-century France is having another moment. Recent auctions and a new PBS dramatic series have focused on Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, who famously didn”™t say, “Let them eat cake,” regarding the starving peasants. “Marie Antoinette” is an engaging, acted-to-the-hilt series about the sexual politics behind the lives of a complex royal couple, though Antoinette was certainly not the feminist the series would have us believe.
Without Antoinette”™s shy, bookish, hunting hubby ”“ the day to artistic, party-girl Antoinette”™s night ”“ there might”™ve never been a United States of America since Louis supplied what we might call the M and M ”“ money and military might.
On Saturday, May 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Yorktown Heritage Preservation Commission / Yorktown 250 in partnership with the Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association (W3R) and the Yorktown Grange will commemorate the role that Gen. Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau, and the French army played in aiding Gen. George Washington and the Continental Army in the fight to free the American colonies from British rule.”¯
”¯In February 1780, Louis agreed to send land forces to help the flagging American cause, appointing Rochambeau to command the French army.”¯”¯The French Army arrived in Newport, Rhode Island, in July 1780 and”¯spent the winter regrouping and getting ready to”¯join the American fight for independence.”¯”¯
”¯In July 1781, the French forces joined the Americans at their camp at”¯Philipsburg, now Greenburgh, to”¯assess the military strength of the British who were in Manhattan and”¯decide on a plan of attack.”¯That August, they learned French Admiral François Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse, planned to sail to Chesapeake Bay, and they decided”¯the best chance for victory was”¯to attack the British Army in”¯Yorktown, Virginia.”¯ The two generals mapped out their plan and”¯decided on a route to move their armies from Greenburgh to Yorktown, Virginia, which took them”¯through Yorktown, New York.”¯
”¯Rochambeau Park, dedicated in honor of the French general in 1954, was among five locations the French forces occupied in Yorktown, then known as Crompond. On Aug. 21, 1781, the French troops encamped overnight at Hunt”™s Tavern, named for the local watering hole (now Freyer”™s Nursery), with more than 5,000 Frenchmen, a few women, servants,”¯waggoneers, 1,500 horses”¯and hundreds of wagons pulled by as many”¯as 2,000”¯oxen.
”¯On May 20, visitors to Rochambeau Park will join local, county and state officials in welcoming our French allies to discuss the French Army”™s role in winning our independence with a Rochambeau national scholar, French dignitaries”¯and history teachers.”¯ Guests will interact with members of the French, Continental”¯and British forces in uniform and observe drills and the firing of muskets.”¯ Adults and children can also participate in an encampment setup and drill with model muskets under the leadership of a sergeant.”¯”¯Exhibitors attired in period dress will share stories about Rochambeau and the French troops in Yorktown. Visitors are invited to wander the spacious grounds, enjoy food and beverages and greet animals similar to breeds of the day.”¯
”¯“Bring the whole family and learn how our Yorktown played a crucial role with Rochambeau in aiding Washington and the Continental Army in the fight for our independence from British rule,” Lynn Briggs, chairman of Yorktown”™s Heritage Preservation Commission, said of an event that is one of many planned leading up to the 2026 commemoration of our nation”™s 250th”¯anniversary.”¯
Rochambeau Park is one of three historic Revolutionary War sites in Westchester County where French troops camped during the war.”¯ The other encampment sites are Smith”™s Tavern in Armonk and the Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters in Hartsdale.”¯ On the day of the event, visitors will be guided to visit Rochambeau Park and the other sites with a soon-to-be-released free TravelStorys”¯“Follow the French””¯audio tour about the crucial French alliance with Washington and the Continental army. The tour was organized by the Friends of Odell House Rochambeau”¯Headquarters,”¯with funding provided by the Scarsdale Historical Society.
”¯Yorktown officials said they are grateful to Rochambeau Park /Yorktown Grange, 99 Moseman Road, for helping to bring the event to Yorktown and nearby community residents. In response, Grange Master Mark Franks said:”¯ “We are proud to help Yorktown create public awareness of Rochambeau Park, this historic Revolutionary War site.”
