Washington - Rochambeau National Historic Trail
Events
The W3R ® -DE continues the celebration of the trail through events such as in-classroom presentations, dedications and other external activities throughout Delaware.
On May 9, the W3R
®
-Delaware in conjunction with the Alliance
Française Delaware and the Delaware Military Academy hosted the French Embassy
Consul General, Monsieur Oliver Serot Almeras. The event paid tribute to
the French Cavalry, “Lauzun’s Legion”, who were stationed in Wilmington, Delaware
during the 1782-1783 time period. The Legion was positioned there following
the battle of Yorktown to protect Philadelphia from any possible British fleet
attack. This marks the 230th anniversary of the Cavalry departure in May of 1783.
The event featured Cadets at the Academy, Delaware Congressional Delegation,
State and County Legislators, as well as the W3R
®
-US Chair, Ursula
Reed and the NPS represented by Joe DiBello. Also in attendance was a unit of
WWII Veterans from Delaware who served in France in 1944-45, escorted by
American Legion Post 25 of Middletown, Delaware. Bill Conley, W3R
®-
DE
Chair hopes that events such as this remind all Delawareans of the deep,
centuries-old friendship between the United States and France. See more about
the event in this article.
Remembering Lauzun’s Legion 230 Years Later - Wilmington, Dela
w
are - May 9, 2013
Cooch’
s F
ar
m, Dela
w
are - April 5, 2014
On Saturday morning, April 5th a well-attended ceremony at Pencader and Cooch’s Bridge
Battlefield was held which included the inauguration of a Memorial Plaque dedicated to
Rochambeau and the French Army who along with the Colonial Army, camped and passed
here. W3R
®
-DE in collaboration with many partners including the Cooch family; Pencader
Heritage Area Association; elected officials; Alliance Française de Wilmington;
the Association of Teachers of French - Delaware Chapter; and too many organizations and
individuals to name here helped organize and participate in the event. The event was
supported by matching funds from an NPS Challenge Cost Share Grant from W3R
®
-US.
Honorary French Consul Michael Sculin was the special guest representing the French Govt.
Two reenactors from America’s March to Yorktown, Rose Morin and David Holloway,
travelled from Connecticut to attend. For more news and to see photos of the memorial,
speakers, and attendees, please visit here.
Photo Gallery