Public Events and Commemorations 
for the W3R® during 2016

Links to Events

June 18: RI - W3R®-US Annual Meeting
Aug 02: all - Gould Foundation award
Aug 21: NY - FDR State Park exhibit dedication
Sept 14: NY - Newburg exhibit dedication
Oct 18: NY - W3R®-US Fall Board Meeting
Nov 30: DE - New Book: "Revolutionary Delaware"
Dec 19: CT - Memorial for Alicia Wayland


March 30, 2016, is the Seventh Anniversary of the

Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route

as a National Historic Trail.


2016-06-18 (Saturday) in Providence RI:  
The Thirteenth Annual Membership Meeting of the W3R®-US will be held from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM at the Old Brick School House (Providence Preservation Society), 24 Meeting Street, Providence, Rhode Island. The theme of the meeting is "FOCUS ON OUR MISSION". After an afternoon walk and dinner we'll watch the much-celebrated "Waterfire" -- in which 80 bonfires illuminate three rivers and the bridges crossing them -- while listening to live music from around the world. For hotel and registration information, see the Invitation and Schedule.
NOTE: On the previous day (Friday the 17th) local W3R® members will lead a day hike along the part of the 27-mile W3R® National Historic Trail from Providence to Newport. Extend your trip and re-live history !
Hike June 17, Schedule for June 18.

2016-08-02: Florence Gould Foundation Award  
The Florence Gould Foundation has pledged $150,000 to assist all of the states along the W3R in developing their state plans, maps, and brochures for the W3R National Historic Trail (NHT). The National Park Service (NPS) is facilitating work sessions in each state and is developing guidelines and templates for the maps and brochures following the NPS format. W3R-US will develop a scope of work to best utilize this opportunity.

2016-08-21 and 2016-09-14:  New York Outdoor Wayside Exhibits
Outdoor wayside exhibits for the W3R National Historic Trail (NHT) are being installed at fifteen sites in New York. The National Park Service (NPS) will help describe and map the route and highlight each exhibit as it is formally dedicated. The first two are on the afternoons of August 21 at FDR State Park and of September 14 at Washington's Headquarters in Newburgh NY. The town of Cortlandt NY has marked the local W3R-NHT with ten banners in Verplanck and Van Cortlandtville.

2016-10-18:   Yorktown VA -- The Fall Board meeting of the W3R-US
was held on Tuesday, October 18, from 3:00 to 4:30 PM at the NPS Yorktown Visitor Center. At 3:00 PM on Wednesday, October 19 (the next day), the W3R-US joined the American Friends of Lafayette to tour the new American Revolution Museum of Yorktown.


Huzzah!    Huzzah!    Huzzah!

October 19, 2016, is the 235th Anniversary of the


Surrender of the British at Yorktown to


Generals Washington and Rochambeau.


Huzzah!    Huzzah!    Huzzah!

2016-11-30: Wednesday at 7:00 PM in New Castle DE  
The New Castle Court House Museum, located at 211 Delaware Street in New Castle, Delaware, cordially invites the public to the official book launch of Revolutionary Delaware: Independence in the First State (The History Press, Charleston SC, 2016) -- paperback, list price $21.99. The author, Kim Burdick, will give a talk entitled “Rollin’ on the River” about life along the Delaware River during the decade of the American Revolution 1774-1784. Following the presentation there will be a book signing by the author. www.historypress.net
Additional book signings will be
2016-11-26 at 1:30 PM at the 9th Street book store on Market Street, Wilmington DE
2016-12-10 at 1:00 PM at the Concord Pike Barnes and Noble store
2016-12-17 morning -- a talk at the Kirkwood Highway Library

Located in the center of the coastal colonies, much of the north-south commercial and military traffic flowed through Delaware during the Revolutionary War. Before 1776 Delaware was simply "the three southern counties" of Pennsylvania, but tensions between the Scottish farmers of Delaware and the Quaker merchants and land-owners resident near Philadelphia led the counties to declare independence from BOTH Pennsylvania AND Great Britain a month before the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The U.S. declaration was passed only because Delaware's third delegate, Caesar Rodney, made an overnight ride from his home in Dover, Delaware, to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia PA on July 2, 1776. His presence and spirit broke the tie in the Delaware delegation and allowed unanimous passage of the vote for independence. (several states abstained).

Delaware is the only state that has a single road over which nearly the entire French and American armies passed on their way to Yorktown and back in 1781-82, and Delaware was one of the last states that maintained a garrison of French troops as the U.S. waited for the British to evacuate major cities in the U.S.

Mrs. Burdick is the Manager of the historic Hale Byrnes House, located near the Stanton campus of the Delaware Technical Community College. She is the Chairman of the Statewide Preservation 50 ad hoc committee. Her work has frequently appeared in the Journal of American Revolution, including their hard-cover Annual Volumes for 2015 and for 2016.

In addition to being a former chair of the National Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association, Inc. (W3R®-US) Mrs. Burdick is past chairman of the Delaware Humanities Forum's Council. She is currently Chairman of the American Revolution Round Table of Northern Delaware and and also Chairman of the George Washington Society of Delaware, known for its focus on good scholarship and good fellowship.

Loss of a Connecticut Stalwart,
Nancy Alicia Wayland (1933-2016)  

The officers and members of the W3R®-US remember with pride the long-term service of Nancy Alicia Wayland, who died on December 19, 2016. As as a Director of the W3R®-CTand the W3R®-US Alicia played an important role in the effort to recognize the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route as a significant public asset. She provided welcoming committees and arranged speaking engagements for the 2004 W3R® scouting team, the 2006 full-route marchers, and the 2011 Americorps marchers. She also provided the facilities for the 2009 National Park Service-W3R®-US Regional Planning Meeting on the future of the W3R® as a National Historic Trail.

In the town of Lebanon Alicia served as President of the Historical Society, was a member of the Town Museum Board and the Jonathan Trumbull House Board and several other town committees. Her careful research and engaging writing style led to many articles and several books that served the public good, supported sound restoration efforts and provided well-founded educational material.

Alicia is survived by her husband Howard, to whom she was married for fifty-three years -- and numerous family members. Her joyful spirit and her dedication to making history come alive are an inspiration to us all.