Public Events and Commemorations 
for the WRRR during 2013

Five-year WRRR-NHT Anniversary Dates for 2013

Links to Event Photo-Reports

Feb 02: NJ - W3R®-NJ Annual History Breakfast
Feb 09: DC - Hike the Hill -- Visit Congress
Feb 22: DE - George Washington's Birthday
Mar 09: FL - Last Naval Battle of the Am. Rev.
Apr 13: NJ - W3R®-US Annual Meeting
Apr 13: FL - Plaque honoring Francisco Xavier Sanchez
Apr 27: RI - Bus tour of WRRR sites
May 02: MD - Military Wagon Trains in Prince George's County
May 09: DE - Departure of Lauzun's Legion
May 11: FL - Battle of Pensacola
June 01: US - National Trails Days
June 15: PA - Lafayette Lecture
June 22: RI - The 9th Rochambeau Strawberry Biscuit Tea
Aug 011: DE - Washington's Early Military Career
Sept 07: DE- Lafayette's Birthday Party
Sept 18: NJ - Memorial Note for Jim Raleigh
Sept 19: CT- Presentation on Rochambeau
Sept 21: NY- Washington-Rochambeau Regatta
Sept 27: CT- Tribute to U.S. Rep. Pamela Sawyer
Sept 27: VA- NEW Fred W. Smith Library at Mount Vernon
Oct 18: VA - Battle of the Hook at Gloucester
Oct 18: PA - History Fair - A Soldier's Life
Nov 01: DE - Battle of Cooch's Bridge
Nov 04: NY - Recognition for Jim Johnson
Nov 11: NY - Dedication of New Monuments
Dec 07: DE - Delaware and the Yorktown Campaign

2013-02-02 (Saturday): Princeton NJ 
Annual History Breakfast Forum of the W3R®-NJ
William Welsh -- Co-founder of Congress of American Revolution Round Tables -- spoke on "George Washington's Other Generals"
Location: Nassau Club, 6 Mercer St., Princeton NJ.

2013-02-09 to 14: Washington DC -- Hike the Hill 2013   is a joint effort by the American Hiking Society and the Partnership for a National Trails System (PNTS) to gather trail leaders from all across the country in Washington DC. Hike the Hill includes workshops, discussions, seminars, and presentations on policy, the new Congress, and the benefits of trails. Attendees met with other trail volunteers and with Congressional delegations. IN 2013 the WRRR-NHT had the highest ratio of activity to federal support of any national trail.

2013-02-22 (Friday) Wilmington DE  
RAISE A GLASS TO HONOR GEORGE WASHINGTON
At its annual Toast to George Washington the George Washington Society had a fine dinner and a presentation by Michael Quinn, Director of the American Revolution Center in Philadelphia.

2013-03-09 (Saturday) Merritt Island FL -  
The 230th anniversary of the Last Naval Battle of the American Revolution (in 1783) was commemorated at the Brevard Veterans Center, 400 South Sykes Parkway, Merritt Island FL. with a parade of marching units, a speaker, and the presentation of wreaths The Center has a museum dedicated to veterans of all U.S. wars, with a huge centerpiece celebrating the American Revolution. The event is organized annually by the Brevard Chapter of the Florida Society, Sons of the American Revolution.


March 30, 2013, was the Fourth Anniversary of the

Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route

as a National Historic Trail.


2013-04-13 (Saturday) : Princeton NJ: Tenth Annual Meeting of the W3R®-US  

There was lively discussion before the meeting started.


Ursula Reed introduced our luncheon speaker, Former U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Murphy.


Former U.S. Rep Patrick J. Murphy spoke about the passage of the WRRR trail legislation.


Former U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Murphy was named an Honorary Chair of the W3R®-US.


The members gave outgoing Chair Sallie de Barcza a French vase.


WRRR Superintendent Joe DiBello and banner with the official NPS logo for the WRRR-NHT.


Sallie de Barcza was M/C for the evening banquet.


New officers were sworn in.


Life Member Col. Serge Gabriel, Ret., was named an Honorary Chair of the W3R®-US.

2013-04-13 (Saturday) St. Augustine FL -  
Honoring Francisco Xavier Sanchez
The Gainesville and St. Augustine Chapters of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) dedicated a memorial marker in honor of Francisco Xavier Sanchez in the Tolomato Cemetery, located on Cordova Street north of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine.

Sanchez, a Spanish citizen and resident of St. Augustine, provided food and other supplies for French, Spanish, and American prisoners held at Ft. Mark (Castillo de San Marcos) in St. Augustine. Among those prisoners were three signers of the Declaration of Independence: Thomas Heyward, Jr., Arthur Middleton, and Edward Rutledge. Rutledge was held for a number of months in "close confinement" at the fort. Sanchez is the only native of St. Augustine who is documented to have provided support for the patriot cause during the Revolution.

2013-04-27 (Saturday): West Warwick RI:  
Bus and Bike Tours of the WRRR in RI -- The Rhode Island Statewide Historic Preservation Conference hosted several tours along the WRRR-NHT. The bus tour went from Gen. Nathanael Greene's home west to Hope RI -- where naval cannon were forged for the Continental navy -- then back east to the Joy Homestead in Cranston. The bike tour followed the roadbed of the old Providence, Hartford, and Fishkill Railroad from West Warwick RI to Coventry RI and back.


The bus tour group met Col. Jeremiah Olney, commander of the Rhode Island (portrayed by Ron Sullman of the 2nd Rhode Island re-enactment group) at the Joy Homestead in Cranston RI.
[photo courtesy of L. Rapoza]

2013-05-02 (Thursday) : Bowie MD:  
Dr. Robert A. Selig will give an illustrated lecture, From Baltimore and Annapolis to Bladensburg and Beyond: The Yorktown Campaign in Prince George's County, at the Belair Mansion, 12207 Tulip Grove Drive, Bowie, MD 20715. The presentation is free and open to the public.
Read the abstract of the talk.

2013-05-05 (Sunday): Valley Forge PA:  
Pennsylvania Sunday at Valley Forge
"General Washington" spoke of his winter encampment here in 1777-78 and of his joy at learning in the spring of 1778 that France and the United States had signed a treaty of military alliance. After the service Sculptor Pierre Lefebvre displayed his bronze bust of General Rochambeau for the first time in public. The work was funded by the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

"General Washington" spoke during the worship service

Pierre Lefebvre, the bust of General Rochambeau, and Lanny Patten
[photos courtesy of Lanny Patten]

2013-05-09 (Thursday) : Wilmington DE:  
The Navy JROTC corps of cadets at the Delaware Military Academy passed in review for French Consul General Olivier Serot Alméras and Superior Court Judge Richard Cooch, who participated in commemorating the 230th anniversary of the departure of the last French Regiment (Lauzun's Legion) from Wilmington in 1783. World War II veterans who helped liberate France from German occupation were escorted by members of American Legion Post 25 in Middletown DE. The event was coordinated by the W3R®-DE, the Alliance Francaise de Wilmington, and the Delaware Military Academy.

An honor guard of re-enactors is introduced by Bill Conley (chair of the W3R®-DE)

Bill Conley, Veronica Eid (vice chair of the W3R®-DE),
M. Alméras, Ursula Reed (chair of the W3R®-US),
and Joe DiBello (Superintendent of the WRRR-NHT)
[photos courtesy of Ursula Reed]

2013-05-11 (Saturday) Pensacola FL:  
The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) in connection with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Children of the American Revolution (CAR) commemorated the siege of Pensacola by laying wreaths in memory of General Galvez and his forces, both Spanish and French, who captured the British fort and garrison here in 1781. There was a presentation of the colors by the SAR color guard in colonial garb as well as a musket salute. A speaker outlined the events of the siege and its importance to the War for Independence.
History of the Siege and Battle of Pensacola, Florida :
Spanish Field Marshall Bernardo de Galvez commanded a force of several Spanish regiments and a French brigade. This siege and battle took place over a period of nine weeks. The climactic moment came on May 8, 1781, when Spanish fire blew up the powder magazine in the Queen's Redoubt The victory allowed thousands of French troops to join the troops with Admiral de Grasse's fleet. In September this fleet sailed to the Chesapeake Bay, and in October these troops participated in the siege and surrender of the British forces defending the fortified complex of Yorktown and Gloucester, Virginia.

2013-06-01 to 02: National Trails Days  
These days provide an opportunity to hold a public "fresh-air" event along or near the WRRR-NHT:
View WRRR-related activities at Bolton (2), Coventry, Columbia, Lebanon(2), and Southbury(2) CT.
  • Take a Scout group on a hike along a safe-to-walk section of the trail or a nearby rural road.

  • Organize a group bike ride from one French campsite to the next and back (round trip 28 miles or 47 km).

  • Hire a small tour boat to follow the water route from Trenton to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Wilmington, Elkton to Annapolis, or other segments along the way to Jamestown VA.

  • Have a family picnic in a park near the route and discuss how your picnic differs from the lunch stops experienced by French and U.S. soldiers as they marched south in the summer of 1781 -- both in terms of the food, the sanitation, and the reasons for being here for lunch rather than at home.

2013-06-15 (Saturday) at 4:00 PM:   Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center, Philadelphia PA Lafayette visits Philadelphia and the Fairmount Water Works in 1824 & 1825: Odyssey of an American Icon -- a presentation by Alan Hoffman, Esquire, President of the American Friends of Lafayette.

Alan Hoffman began his talk with a portrait of Lafayette
[photo above is courtesy of Ursula Reed; rest are courtesy of Lanny Patten]

A large audience greeted the speaker

W3R®-US chair Ursula Reed with Wayne Strasbaugh, and Anne Patton

Board meeting of the W3R®-US after the event

2013-06-22 (Saturday): Cranston RI:  
The Nineth Annual Rochambeau Strawberry Biscuit Tea was hosted by the Cranston Historical Society at the Joy Homestead. This celebrates that day that the last division of the French Expeditionary Force passed by this farm on the march to the Continental Army's camp north of New York City. The farm's strawberries were ripe and ready to eat, and the troops were happy to take a short break for rest and refreshment in the fields.

Bourbonnais fifer Richard Scheryka at the Strawberry Biscuit Tea
[photo courtesy of L. Rapoza]

2013-08-11 (Saturday) Christiana DE  
Hale-Byrnes House at 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
The Public is Cordially Invited to attend author Bert Dunkerly's talk: George Washington's Early Military Career, sponsored by the American Revolution Round Table of Northern Delaware. Books will be available for sale and autographing. Well-behaved children always welcomed. $5 at the door includes coffee & dessert.
For details see Hale-Byrnes House

Thank You and Best Wishes, Samantha !

Since 2010 Samantha Driscoll has done an outstanding job as Preservation Planner for the WRRR-NHT. She created trail maps, assisted with partnership development, monitored the design of the federal logo and brochure, and created and developed the website and newsletter for the WRRR-NHT. Federal budget restrictions led to the closing of her term position. We are sorry to lose her talent and dedication, but we wish her well in her new position (in Sept 2013) as Program Planner for the Pennsylvania Environmental Council in Philadelphia, working with state trails.

2013-09-07 (Saturday) Christiana DE  
Hale-Byrnes House at 5:00 PM
Lafayette's Birthday Party Diane Shaw, Curator of Lafayette Collection at Lafayette College will speak about Lafayette. Please bring a dish to pass. Well-behaved children always welcomed. $5 at the door includes coffee & dessert.
For details see Hale-Byrnes House


The W3R®-US lost a good friend and long-time Director when  
James "Jim" Thomas Raleigh died on September 18, 2013.


Jim Raleigh on the walkway over the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie NY
after the 2010 Annual Meeting on 2010 April 10-11.
photo courtesy of Ralph Nelson


Born in Minnesota in 1934, Jim graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a major in Electrical Engineering. Most of his career was with Bell Laboratories, which included a stint n Systems Engineering with the Apollo program for Bellcomm. He was at Cape Canaveral for several of the lift-offs.

Outside of the Labs Jim led an active life, competing in world-class canoe slalom races in the 1960s in Austria and Czechoslovakia, then designing and supervising the U.S. Olympic trials for that sport in 1972.

During the Bicentennial his Interest in Revolutionary War history led him into leadership roles in several organizations -- The Friends of Monmouth Battlefield, Englishtown Inn, Princeton Battlefield, and the Philip Freneau Press -- which published a series of historical essays during the Revolutionary War bicentennial. He was an active lobbyist for state historical, environmental, and transportation issues.

Jim recognized the value and the potential of the WRRR and became the founding chair of the W3R®-NJ. He was a Director of the W3R®-US since 2006 and attended most of its Board meetings. His frequent, creative, and thoughtful program suggestions provided opportunities for constructive action. In 2010 Jim was the recipient of the first W3R®-US Thanks Two Million service award, named for the number of paces a French soldier would have marched from Newport RI to Yorktown VA and back.

We shall miss Jim's research and mapping skills, broad understanding of the battlefields and military trails in New Jersey, and ability to perceive and to communicate the broader implications of local events.

2013-09-19 (Thursday) Wethersfield CT  
The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum will host a lecture by historian and author Jini Jones Vail: The March Heard 'Round the World: Wethersfield, Washington and Rochambeau. Vail will include many personal stories recorded by men who marched, as well as reports from locals who witnessed the mass movement of French troops across Connecticut.
The lecture begins at 6:30 p.m. and will be preceded by a wine reception (by donation) at 6 PM and followed by a book signing of "Rochambeau, Washington's Ideal Lieutenant -- a French General's Role in the American Revolution." Admission to the lecture is free and donations will be accepted.

2013-09-21&22 (Sat & Sun) Ossining NY  
Sat: 11 AM Harbor Square, Ossining waterfront; Haverstraw Marina
The First Annual WashingtonÐRochambeau Regatta was developed by numerous groups, coordinated by Janet Burnett (W3R®-US Vice Chair, W3R®-NY Director, Highlands Coalition,and active participant in numerous other activities in the Hudson Valley).
On Sunday, September 22, speeches begin at 11 AM, followed by the regatta -- departing from the Ossining waterfront, led by the sloop Clearwater at noon, headed for Haverstraw. The winner will receive the Hinchey Cup, named for the Hon. Maurice Hinchey -- a sponsor of the federal legislation establishing the WashingtonÐRochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail. The regatta will be followed by a reception from 2 to 4 PM at the Hudson Water Club at Haverstraw Marina. RSVP is required, Please call Janet Burnet at 845-323-7962 or Email janetburnet@aol.com.

2013-09-27 (Friday) Bolton CT  
A Tribute to CT Rep. Pamela Sawyer
For details see Speakers and Program and Publicity Flyer

2013-09-27 (Friday) Mount Vernon VA  
Opening of the new Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington Destined to be the international headquarters for knowledge about AmericaÕs most famous founding father, the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington will maintain WashingtonÕs importance and relevance in a fast-changing world, when his standards of leadership are needed more than ever.
FWS Library website. Please click on the "Watch a Tour" video link there. (Note the volume by Chastellux.)


Huzzah!    Huzzah!    Huzzah!

October 19, 2013, is the 232nd Anniversary of the


Surrender of the British at Yorktown to


Generals Washington and Rochambeau.


Huzzah!    Huzzah!    Huzzah!

2013-10-18-to-20 Battle of the Hook in Gloucester VA (adjacent to Yorktown VA)  
A Revolutionary War reenactment of the 1781 Yorktown Campaign, celebrating the allied US-French victory over the British army. Over 1,000 re-enactors and living historians portrayed historic battles on the property of the Inn at Warner Hall in Gloucester, VA.
Phiotos and Videos [Facebook page]
Photos and a report auf Deutsch

2013-10-26 Philadelphia PA at 10 AM to 4 PM 
Visit the History Fair at Holy Family University.
2 PM - Dedication of WRRR-NHT banners
2:30 PM - Presentation by WRRR historian, Dr. Robert A. Selig

2013-11-01 Saturday 7:30 - 9:30 PM Christiana DE   (Hale-Byrnes House)
The Public is Cordially Invited to attend Wade Catt's talk: An Opportunity of Annoying Them Greatly - The Battle of Cooch's Bridge, sponsored by the American Revolution Round Table of Northern Delaware. Well-behaved children always welcomed. $5 at the door includes coffee & dessert.
For details see Hale-Byrnes House

2013-11-04: Poughkeepsie NY  

A Well-deserved Recognition for James Johnson, Ph.D.

Dr. Frank T. Bumpus recently established an endowed chair at Marist College to promote greater understanding of the history, culture and identity of the Hudson River Valley. James Johnson is the first person named to that chair.

In 2002, James Johnson co-founded the Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College. He has been its executive director for the past decade. A few years before he co-founded HRVI Jim was one of the founders of the WRRR movement, which in 2004 was incorporated as the National Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association. Jim has served continuously as a Director of the W3R®-US. He has initiated and supported many WRRR-related projects in New York. As an expert on the military history of the Revolutionary War in the vicinity of the Hudson River he enhanced the programs of both organizations.


Rep. Maurice Hinchey and James M. Johnson, Ph.D. in 2007, when the latter
testified before Congress in support of the WRRR as a National Historic Trail.

Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!


2013-11-11: Dobbs Ferrry NY  
Two new monuments were dedicated by the Village of Dobbs Ferry at the Little White Church Cemetery on Ashford Avenue. On this Veterans Day some 150 people attended as Village Mayor Hartley Connett presided at the monument dedication. Mayor Connett and Bill Florin, Commander of Dobbs Ferry American Legion Post 1048, placed a wreath honoring veterans from all wars. Boy Scouts from Troop 24 and Cub Scouts from Pack 24 raised the U.S. flag.

One honors Revolutionary War and Civil War soldiers buried in the cemetery.

The other commemorates the August 19, 1781, start of the Continental Army's march from Dobbs Ferry NY to Yorktown VA, for the siege and surrender that essentially ended the Revolutionary War in the U.S.


(above) Mayor Connett and Bill Florin place the wreath. (right) Scouts raise the flag.
[photos courtesy of Dr. Richard Borkow, Village Historian for Dobbs Ferry]

Westchester County, New York's Role in the Revolutionary War [Westchester Magazine for July 2013 ]

This artcle by Dr. Richard Borkow includes notes on the contributions of France throughout the course of the War for Independence. One section describes the 1780 July feint of General Washington's troops toward New York City in order to keep British troops in that city from embarking to attack the newly-arrived French army in Newport RI - still weak from their long voyage and not yet having built strong defenses around Newport. To make navigation to the article's sections easier, right-click on the blue print next to the graphics on the main page and open that section's link in a new tab.

2013-12-07 Saturday 7:30 - 9:30 PM Christiana DE   (Hale-Byrnes House)
The Public is Cordially Invited to attend Dr. Robert A. Selig's talk: Delaware and The Yorktown Campaign of 1781 Well-behaved children always welcomed. $5 at the door includes coffee & dessert.
For details see Hale-Byrnes House

2013-12-14 (Saturday) Philadelphia PA
The Fall Meeting of the W3R®-US Board of Directors was held from 10 AM to noon at Belmont Mansion in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia PA

At the Board Meeting at Belmont, we heard National Park Service WRRR-NHT Superintendent Joe DiBello's presentation on Conceptual Design for Interpretive Signage along our NHT in NY as a model for the whole 700-mile NHT. At this meeting, we were also excited to learn about plans for the re-enactment of the crossing of the Hermione. And, as requested by Dr. Jacques Bossiere (W3R®-US chair 2004-2007), we created a committee to honor NPS' Larry Gall for initiating the WRRR-NHT, at the founding meeting in Newburg, NY in December of 1999.

The meeting was followed by lunch and -- from 1:30 Ð 4:30 PM the Christmas tour six other authentic Fairmount Park historic houses of the American Revolution period -- decorated for the season.