Charles W. Riegle -- Long-time Liaison with NSSAR

On January 17, 2021, Charles W. Riegle passed away in Sarasota FL. He served as a National Trustee (for Connecticut) of the National Society, Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR). For years he was the chief liaison between the NSSAR and the W3R®-US.


photo courtesy of William Battles, III

Program Ideas for the 250th Anniversary Years, 2025-2033

We were recently reminded by April Antonellis of the National Park Service that it is important to
  • Plan Early to acquire affiliates, funding, and reservations
  • Sponsor Intelligent Designs to provide coordination, approvals, and publicity
  • Align with Wider Priorities to make your project's goals benefit from the wider historical, geographical, and social goals of the WARO
  • Have an Exit Strategy so that the items, publications, and relationships developed during the 250th period will continue to be useful afterwards
Your planning for WRRR-related events during the 250th Anniversary period (2025-2033) can benefit from considering the experiences of WRRR activities during the 225th Anniversary period (2000-2008). Many of these experiences were captured in reports posted on the W3R®-US website. These reports have been organized by date and are linked from an WRRR Historical Event Timeline which presents a concise historical overview of French aid to the U.S. during the years 1775-1783 and the commemorations of 25 years ago.

Here is a [*] A two-minute video overview of the W3R®-US and the work it is doing to help develop the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail (WARO)
(This video was made for a fundraising day.)

New Rosters of French Officers and Casualties

Some History area pages have changed:

New in 2020 -- Guided Tour for Yorktown

The GPS-enabled "Yorktown Tour Guide" app (created by the American Battlefield Trust) is available as a free download from App Store, Google Play, or Web App. Download it to your cell phone or tablet for use when touring Yorktown VA. The app contains photos of the structures, directions to get from one site to the next, and both text and audio descriptions of the sites as they relate to the 1781 siege and victory at Yorktown.

Three Tours at Your Fingertips: The app takes users on three distinct tours:
  • Historic Yorktown Homes
  • the siege trenches, gun emplacements, and redoubts
  • the Allied Encampment
Audio interpretation is included at each of 21 stops along with integrated directions to each site with its map feature.

Aids for Education and Learning

Videos and Slideshows about the people, places, and events of French Aid 1775-1784

Here are a several links (provided by Lucy Poirier):
[*] Classroom resources on French Participation in the American War of Independence, Library of Congress
[*] Our Allies during the American Revolution [Ducksters Education Site]

New Book Emphasizes Supplies

Selig, Robert,  The Franco-American Encampment in the Town of Greenburgh, 6 July -- 18 August 1781 (Town of Greenburgh, NY, 2020). This is 266 pages with many illustrations and maps. This is available free from www.greenburghny.com

History - Mission - Vision

In 2019 the National Park Service published [*] the WARO Foundation Document, which will guide the development of this National Historic Trail.

History
The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail (WARO) is 680 miles in length and comprises a network of roads and waterways used by French forces under Rochambeau and American forces under Washington in the Yorktown Campaign. The route spans nine states and the District of Columbia.

The military, logistical and cultural significance of this march served as a pivotal point in the American Revolutionary War. Without the assistance of thousands of French soldiers and sailors, many of whom gave their lives, the outcome of the war could have been different. Today the route includes many historic sites and scenic byways that are open to the public and important to explaining this key part of French and American history.

Mission
The mission of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail is to preserve and interpret the routes taken by American and French troop from 1781 – 1782 and to commemorate the role of the critical French-American alliance in the victory over British forces at the siege of Yorktown, Virginia.

Vision
Our vision is to commemorate the Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail by making it relevant and meaningful to present day audiences through a clearly focused presence that includes innovative outreach and programming. In doing so we will foster relationships with partners and stakeholders to influence interest in the Trail and create visitor experiences.
The National Park Foundation has a [*] resource center website with helpful notes on the work of a trail Board of Directors, including fund-raising, and promoting volunteerism.

This is the Archive Website for the W3R®-US

This archival site (w3r-archive.org) consists of
  • descriptions of French contributions to the U.S. struggle for independence
  • research reports to identify and interpret historical documents describing these French contributions. These studies were generally initiated and/or supported by the W3R®-US and its affiliates.
  • chronological reports on commemorations presentations, and re-enactment events related to these French contributions. These studies were generally initiated and/or supported by the W3R®-US and its affiliates.
  • a history of the legislative efforts to name the trail as a National Historic Trail.
  • lists of the achievements and activities of the W3R®-US
  • suggestions for touring areas along the trail by car, on bicycle, or on foot.
  • information about the W3R®-US organization: vision, mission, goals, charter, bylaws, officers, national affiliates, state organizations
Before January of 2018 this material was posted on a similarly-structured website at our original URL (w3r-us.org).

In January of 2018 the URL w3r-us.org was transferred to a completely re-designed website. A grant from the National Park Service (NPS) paid for the design of the new website. A grant from the Florence Gould Foundation is providing for increasing the amount of material on that URL. The new site has extensive interactive maps, well-documented historical narratives written by NPS-designated trail historian, Dr. Robert A. Selig, and links to many informative historic sites to visit along the trail.

Our plan is to gradually update and revise the files on the w3r-archive.org URL, and then to transfer them to the w3r-us.org URL.