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Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, 1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807, was a French nobleman and general whose army played the decisive role in helping the United States defeat the British army at Yorktown in 1781 during the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. He was commander-in-chief of the French Expeditionary Force sent by France to help the
American Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
fight against British forces.


Military life

Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur was born in
Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest Communes of France, commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the ...
, in the province of
Orléanais The Duchy of Orléanais () is a former province of France, which was created during the Renaissance by merging four former counties and towns. However after the French Revolution, the province was dissolved in 1791 and succeeded by five ''départm ...
, and he was educated at the Jesuit college in
Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...
. After the death of his elder brother, he entered a cavalry regiment and served in Bohemia, Bavaria, and on the Rhine during the
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...
. By 1747, he had attained the rank of colonel. He took part in the
Siege of Maastricht (1748) The siege of Maastricht took place in April–May 1748 during the War of the Austrian Succession. A French force under the overall command of Maurice de Saxe besieged and captured the Dutch barrier fortress of Maastricht in the final few months ...
and became governor of Vendôme in 1749. He distinguished himself in the
Battle of Minorca (1756) The Battle of Minorca (20 May 1756) was a naval battle between French and British fleets. It was the opening sea battle of the Seven Years' War in the European theatre. Shortly after the war began British and French squadrons met off the Me ...
on the Seven Years' War outbreak and was promoted to Brigadier General of infantry. In 1758, he fought in Germany, notably in the
Battle of Krefeld The Battle of Krefeld (sometimes referred to by its French name of Créfeld) was a battle fought at Krefeld near the Rhine on 23 June 1758 between a Prussian- Hanoverian army and a French army during the Seven Years' War. Background The Hano ...
and the
Battle of Clostercamp The Battle of Kloster Kampen (or Kloster Kamp, or Campen) was a tactical French victory over a British and allied army in the Seven Years' War. The Allied forces were driven from the field. Prelude During the autumn of 1760 Duke Ferdinand of B ...
, receiving several wounds at Clostercamp.


American Revolution

In 1780, Rochambeau was appointed commander of land forces as part of the project code-named
Expédition Particulière ''Expédition Particulière'' (English: Special Expedition) was the codename given by the Kingdom of France for the plan to sail French land forces to North America to support the colonists against Britain in the American Revolutionary War. Numberi ...
. He was given the rank of Lieutenant General in command of some 7,000 French troops and sent to join the Continental Army under
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
.
Axel von Fersen the Younger Hans Axel von Fersen (; 4 September 175520 June 1810), known as Axel de Fersen in France, was a Swedish count, Marshal of the Realm of Sweden, a General of Horse in the Royal Swedish Army, one of the Lords of the Realm, aide-de-camp to Rochamb ...
served as his aide-de-camp and interpreter. The small size of the force at his disposal made him initially reluctant to lead the expedition. He landed at
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
, on 10 July but was held there inactive for a year due to his reluctance to abandon the French fleet blockaded by the British in
Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sma ...
. The College in the
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded by Roger Williams. It was an English colony from 1636 until ...
(now known as Brown University) served as an encampment site for some of Rochambeau's troops. The College Edifice was converted into a military hospital, now known as University Hall. In July 1781, the force left Rhode Island and marched across Connecticut to join Washington on the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
in
Mount Kisco, New York Mount Kisco is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village and Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The town of Mount Kisco is coterminous municipality, coterminous with the vil ...
. The Odell farm served as Rochambeau's headquarters from 6 July to 18 August 1781. Washington and Rochambeau then marched their combined forces to the
siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...
and the
Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 17 ...
. On 22 September, they combined with the
Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...
's troops and forced heavily outnumbered and trapped
Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...
to surrender on 19 October. The
Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...
presented Rochambeau with two cannons taken from the British in recognition of his service. He returned them to Vendôme, and they were requisitioned in 1792. Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur was a member of the
Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...
from France.


Return to France

Upon his return to France, Rochambeau was honored by
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
and was made governor of the province of
Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...
. He supported the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
of 1789, and on 28 December 1791 he and
Nicolas Luckner Nicolas, Count Luckner (german: Johann Nikolaus, Graf Luckner; 12 January 1722, Cham in der Oberpfalz – 4 January 1794, Paris) was a German officer in French service who rose to become a Marshal of France. Luckner grew up in Cham, in eastern ...
became the last two generals created
Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...
by Louis XVI. When the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
broke out, he commanded the ''
Armée du Nord The Army of the North or Armée du Nord is a name given to several historical units of the French Army. The first was one of the French Revolutionary Armies that fought with distinction against the First Coalition from 1792 to 1795. Others existe ...
'' for a time in 1792 but resigned after several reversals to the Austrians. He was arrested during the
Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...
in 1793–94 and narrowly escaped the
guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...
. He was subsequently pensioned by
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
and died at
Thoré-la-Rochette Thoré-la-Rochette () is a commune of the Loir-et-Cher department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department The following is a list of the 267 communes of the Loir-et-Cher department of France. The ...
during the
First Empire First Empire may refer to: * First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783 * First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018) *First French Empire (1804–1814/1815) * First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes u ...
.


Legacy


Honors

President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
unveiled a statue of Rochambeau by Ferdinand Hamar as a gift from France to the United States on 24 May 1902, standing in
Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C. Lafayette Square is a seven-acre (30,000 m2) public park located within President's Park, Washington, D.C., United States, directly north of the White House on H Street, bounded by Jackson Place on the west, Madison Place on the east and Pennsy ...
The ceremony was made the occasion of a great demonstration of friendship between the two nations. France was represented by ambassador
Jules Cambon Jules-Martin Cambon (5 April 1845 – 19 September 1935) was a French diplomat and brother to Paul Cambon. As the ambassador to Germany (1907–1914) he worked hard to secure a friendly détente. He was frustrated by French leaders such as Raym ...
, Admiral Fournier, General Henri Brugère, and a detachment of sailors and marines from the battleship '' Gaulois''. Representatives of the Lafayette and Rochambeau families also attended. A ''Rochambeau fête'' was held simultaneously in Paris. In 1934,
A. Kingsley Macomber Abraham Kingsley "King" Macomber (March 7, 1874 – October 6, 1955) was an American adventurer, businessman, philanthropist, Thoroughbred-racehorse owner and breeder. He was born in Morristown, New Jersey, the second of the three sons of Henry ...
donated a statue of General Rochambeau to
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
. The sculpture is a replica of a statue in Paris. The French Navy gave his name to the ironclad frigate '' Rochambeau''. was a transport ship that saw service in the United States Navy during World War II. President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act on 30 March 2009 with a provision to designate the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route as a National Historic Trail. A bridge is named for Rochambeau in the complex of bridges known as the
14th Street Bridge (Potomac River) The 14th Street bridges refers to the three bridges near each other that cross the Potomac River, connecting Arlington, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Sometimes the two nearby rail bridges are included as part of the 14th Street bridge complex. ...
connecting Washington D.C. with Virginia. A mansion on the campus of Brown University is named Rochambeau House and houses the French Department.


Memoirs

Rochambeau's ''Mémoires militaires, historiques et politiques, de Rochambeau'' was published by Jean-Charles-Julien Luce de Lancival in 1809. Part of the first volume was translated into English and published in 1838 under the title ''Memoirs of the Marshal Count de R. relative to the War of Independence in the United States''. His correspondence during the American campaign was published in 1892 in H. Doniol's ''History of French Participation in the Establishment of the United States.''


Legacy

* Rochambeau's son, the vicomte de Rochambeau, was an important figure in the
Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt ...
,
French Revolutionary The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...
, and
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. * Rochambeau Middle School in
Southbury, Connecticut Southbury is a town in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Southbury is north of Oxford and Newtown, and east of Brookfield. Its population was 19,879 at the 2020 census. Southbury comprises sprawling rural country areas, sub ...
, is named for the comte de Rochambeau. The Rochambeau Bridge carries Interstate 84 and U.S. Highway 6 between Southbury and Newtown
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
(Rochambeau's army marched through the area during the American Revolutionary War). There are also various shopping centers and minor streets named in Rochambeau's honor throughout Connecticut. * The French international school (''lycée français'') in Bethesda, Maryland is named
Lycée Rochambeau Rochambeau The French International School of Washington DC is a private French international school in Montgomery County, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. It maintains its administrative headquarters and its secondary campus in Bethesda, a presc ...
. * A
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
over the
Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
in Washington, D.C., is also named for Rochambeau. * There is a Rochambeau Drive named in his honor in
Greenburgh, New York Greenburgh is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in western Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York. The population was 95,397 at the time of the 2020 census. History Greenburgh developed along ...
, and
Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...
, which is not far from the Yorktown battlefield. * There is a Rochambeau Avenue named in his honor in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
, and a Rochambeau Street in both
New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...
* There is a Rochambeau Avenue named in his honor in the
Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...
. * There is a Rochambeau Place in Springfield, Virginia. * There is a statue of Rochambeau in
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
, and another in Washington, D.C. on
Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a diagonal street in Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland, that connects the White House and the United States Capitol and then crosses the city to Maryland. In Maryland it is also Maryland Route 4 (MD 4) ...
across from the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
in Lafayette Park that, according to the
United States Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
was sculpted by
Fernand Hamar Fernand Joseph Job Hamar, born 15 July 1869 in Vendôme and died 10 March 1943 in Paris, was a French sculptor. Childhood and training Fernand Hamar was the eldest of Alexis Hamar and Marie Guillot. He had a sister, Marguerite and a little b ...
and cast by the Pal d'Osne foundry in France and dedicated 24 May 1904, and a statue memorializing his meeting with
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
in Dobbs Ferry, New York. * There is a Rochambeau Playground in the Richmond District in
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
.A Rochambeau Farm is on the Historic Guard Hill in Bedford Corners, New York. * There is a Rochambeau monument at French Hill in
Marion, Connecticut Marion is a neighborhood in the New England town, town of Southington, Connecticut, Southington in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is generally the area in the vicinity of the intersection of Route 322 ...
, close to the
Asa Barnes Tavern The Levi B Frost House, also known as the Asa Barns’ Tavern, is an historic building in the Marion village of Southington, Connecticut. The home represents over two centuries of Southington history. Appearing twice on the National Register of ...
, the eighth campsite of his troops through Connecticut in 1781. * Rochambeau is referenced twice in the American
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
''
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
'', in the songs " Guns and Ships" (where Washington sings, "We rendezvous with Rochambeau, consolidate their gifts,") and "
Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" is the twentieth song from Act 1 of the musical ''Hamilton'', based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. I ...
" (where Hamilton sings, "The code word is Rochambeau, dig me?! Rochambeau! You have your order now, go, man, go!") These songs reference both Rochambeau's status as a commander and the name Rochambeau sounding like "rush on boys" and supposedly being used as a code word.


Motto and coat of arms


Notes


References

* "Jean Baptiste Donatien De Vimeur Rochambeau." in ''Dictionary of American Biography'' (1936)
online
* Kennett, Lee. ''The French Forces in America, 1780–1783'' (Greenwood, 1977), * Nager, Cody E. "The Fading Mirage Of Revolution: The French Expeditionary Force's Disillusionment With America, 1780–1782." '' The Historian'' 81#3 (2019), p. 426+
online
* Whitridge, Arnold. "Rochambeau And The American Revolution" ''History Today'' (May 1962), Vol. 12 Issue 5, pp 312–320. * Tugdual de Langlais, ''L'armateur préféré de Beaumarchais Jean Peltier Dudoyer, de Nantes à l'Isle de France'', Éd. Coiffard, 2015, 340 p. (). * Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, ''Memoirs of the Marshal Count de Rochambeau, Relative to the War of Independence of the United States,'' ed. and trans, by M. W. E. Wright (New York: The New York Times and Arno Press, 1971),


External links


Society of the Cincinnati

American Revolution Institute


* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rochambeau, Jean-Baptiste Donatien De Vimeur, Comte De 1725 births 1807 deaths Vimeur, Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Marshals of France Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars People from Vendôme