Dan Hazard, Chairman of USA250-OC’s Advisory Leadership Team, recently participated in the annual French in Newport living-history day on July 12, commemorating the Franco-American alliance which led to the surrender by the British to American and French forces at Yorktown on October 19, 1781.
On July 11, 1780, three French military officers arrived in Newport, Rhode Island, including Jean Baptiste Donatien, Compte de Rochambeau, who would join his army of 5,500 men with those under the command of General George Washington. French in Newport brings to life that historic day. Rebecca Bertrand, Executive Director of the Newport Historical Society (NHS), noted, “The Franco-American Alliance was born here in Newport and was a definitive milestone in our nation’s pursuit of independence. We are proud to keep that legacy alive” and provide an opportunity for people to “experience history for yourself.”
“The experience did not disappoint,” Hazard reported. “Reenactors such as the Marquis de Lafayette and the Compte de Rochambeau presented fiery speeches at the Colony House and later wandered through the crowd in the nearby square for photo ops.” Noting that a colonial fife and drum corps played throughout the day and that authentic lunches of pork, cheese, and bread were baked in traditional ovens provided by a group from George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Hazard also listened to the “grim tale” by a doctor who discussed how he used a variety of tools to remove bullets from the wounded during battles.
Hazard also participated in a small group tour recounting how the French saved Newport. He was accompanied by his friend, Christian McBurney, a noted historian and author of six books on the Revolutionary War, including The Rhode Island Campaign: The First French and American Operation in the Revolutionary War.
Organized by the NHS in partnership with the National Park Service Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail, the program “serves as a cornerstone of the Society’s preparations for the United States’ approaching 250 celebrations.” It included re-enactments, exhibits, family-friendly activities such as a scavenger hunt, fife-and-drum demonstrations, tea-tasting and more.