The Connecticut Foot Guard recently commemorated the 2022 Rochambeau Day. The day is honored in Connecticut State History as the historical day in which General George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, met with the commander of the French Expeditionary Force, Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau.
The day is the first time the Commander In Chief of the American Army met with the French General and his Army who’s mission it was to support and assist the Continental Army in their fight against the British. The French sent over 5,500 French Regulars to assist the American Army. Over the next few months they kept the British Northern Army trapped in New York City all the while making plans for a spectacular campaign that would decide the fate of the war.
During the meetings, General Washington and General Rochambeau planned out a trap for the British Southern Army which was stationed in Yorktown, Virginia. They made arrangements to quickly move their combined force of 12,000 soldiers from the New York City area to Yorktown, Virginia. Once they arrived in Yorktown so did the French Fleet which kept the British from retreating by sea. The combined force then continuously sieged the British forces in Yorktown until the commander of the British Army, General Charles Cornwallis, surrendered. This surrender ended the war and gave America its Independence.
In Honor of that Fateful day the Connecticut Foot Guard holds a ceremony and discharge their historical Brown Bess Muskets, which were used by the Continental Army during the American Revolution, commemorating the day.
This past weekend the First Company Governor’s Foot Guard celebrated the 2022 Rochambeau Ceremony.In 1780, the First Company Governor’s Foot Guard escorted French General Rochambeau to meet with General George Washington where Connecticut’s Old State House now stands.This day commemorates the French-American alliance during the American Revolution and is not only an important day to the United States, but also to Connecticut and the First Company Governor’s Foot Guard.
