Tag: Rochambeau

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Christmas Day: A Soldier’s Holiday?

Soldiers’ celebrations depended on circumstances, personal beliefs, and family or community traditions. David DeSimone notes in his article “Another Look at Christmas in the Eighteenth Century”: [From the seventeenth century the] celebration of Christmas was outlawed in most of New England. Calvinist Puritans and Protestants abhorred the entire celebration and likened it to pagan rituals […]

by John Rees
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Meeting of the Three Commanders

On March 6, 2019, a chilly late winter afternoon, the Virginia Beach Historic Preservation Commission dedicated a Virginia Historical Highway Marker to commemorate a historic meeting of three commanders. On September 18, 1781, Adm. François Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse, Gen. George Washington, and Gen. Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau, met on board […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
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This Week on Dispatches: Norman Desmarais on the Gazette Françoise

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor, writer, and historian Norman Desmarais on the Gazette Françoise, a French newspaper published for French soldiers, begun soon after their arrival in Newport, Rhode Island. This is the first known service newspaper published by an expeditionary force. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every […]

by Editors
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Sir Henry Clinton’s Generalship

“My fate is hard,” Sir Henry Clinton remarked after learning that he had been named commander of the British army in May 1778, adding that he expected to someday bear “a considerable portion of the blame” for Britain’s “inevitable” lack of success.[1] There were good reasons for Clinton’s pessimism. Not only was France entering the […]

by John Ferling
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This Week on Dispatches: Kim Burdick on the Atlantic Crossing of the French l’Expédition Particulière

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR contributor Kim Burdick about l’Expédition Particulière, the codename for the French fleet that sailed from Europe to support the American war effort following the Treaty of Amity and Friendship. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. Dispatches […]

by Editors
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Why Newport, Rhode Island, Scorned the French

One would expect that a country that had been at war for five years would welcome its first ally with open arms. We might have mental images of civic officials leading throngs of eager citizens to greet the allies or of platoons of soldiers firing salutes. It didn’t happen. No government officials, no military officers […]

by Norman Desmarais
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Historic Structures and Sites Worth Preserving?

A recent article mentioned Sidman’s Tavern in New Jersey, a building with strong connections to the American Revolution that is under threat of destruction. That compelled us to ask our contributors: “Which historical structure related to America’s founding that is currently not recognized by a foundation, group, or organization do you think deserves preservation?” While […]

by Editors
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Rochambeau’s Arrest

The French army was returning from Yorktown, Virginia in 1782 on their way to Newport and Boston. Lt. Gen. Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur Comte de Rochambeau, preferring his duty to his comfort, always ordered his general staff to select the house closest to the camp for his headquarters. When the army reached Crompond, New […]

by Norman Desmarais
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Command and Control During the Yorktown Campaign

The definitions of joint command of land, maritime, air and other forces as practiced by the United States military today were unknown to those who practiced warfare in the eighteenth century. However, the concepts outlined in contemporary definitions were known to military practitioners during that period.[1] General Washington understood the importance of unifying his efforts […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
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Washington’s Deviation to Virginia

General Washington received the disappointing news on August 14, 1781. Comte De Grasse’s powerful French fleet of nearly thirty warships was not sailing for New York as Washington had long hoped, but was instead destined for the Chesapeake Bay. Washington’s plan for an allied attack on British held New York City depended heavily on the […]

by Michael Cecere