It Happened in Middlebury – Rochambeau’s Middlebury visit

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Middlebury’s monument to French General Rochambeau is inscribed, “THE CAMP OF THE FRENCH ARMY EN ROUTE TO YORKTOWN, JUNE 27, 1781. (Middlebury Historical Society photo)

By DR. ROBERT L. RAFFORD

Some feel there can never be too much praise in this country for the Comte de Rochambeau and the French army under his command in 1781. They played a pivotal role in ending the Revolutionary War and freeing our country from England’s tyranny.

Middleburians share a special pride in this hallmark of American history because, in June 1781, General Rochambeau and his army of 5,000 soldiers encamped on Breakneck Hill in our quiet town (then a part of Waterbury). They were on a tireless march from Newport, R.I., where they had disembarked, to Yorktown, Va. They also encamped here on their way home the following year. This June marks the 235th anniversary of the French army’s Middlebury encampment.

In 1904, Middlebury commemorated Rochambeau’s encampment here with a monument, the first of its kind in Connecticut. It is a quarter mile off Artillery Road, near the intersection with Breakneck Hill Road, on town land in what was once called “Rochambeau Heights.” The monument was erected by the Irish American Historical Society, and the effort was spearheaded by Waterburian Dennis H. Tierney.

Tierney’s 1916 obituary stated he was “one of the foremost and respected citizens of Waterbury, and who was prominently identified with the city’s real estate business and development.” Irish-American citizens knew the French army was partly composed of a number of Irishmen who had left their native land to fight the British, a common enemy. Tierney also was responsible for erecting a monument to Rochambeau in Southington in 1912 and a monument to two unknown French soldiers who had died on the march in Waterbury in 1914.

The words inscribed on the Southington monument are from Rochambeau’s address to General George Washington, perhaps echoing words from the Old Testament, “I am the friend of your friends and the foe of your foes. I shall serve with all my ability henceforth under the command of your Excellency.”

Middlebury’s monument may have been inspired by the May 24, 1902, unveiling celebration by President Theodore Roosevelt in Washington, D.C.’s Lafayette Square of a statue honoring Rochambeau.

In 1780, 5,500 French troops landed in Newport, R.I., on their way to assist their American allies in greater New York City, then controlled by British forces. American forces under Washington met with Rochambeau’s army and united north of the city. When word arrived that the French fleet under the Comte de Grasse was sailing for Chesapeake Bay, the united forces deceived the British into thinking they would attack New York and instead marched toward Virginia, where the Continental Army force under the Marquis de Lafayette had been shadowing the British army under Lord and Lieut. Gen. Charles Cornwallis.

At Yorktown, the French fleet blocked the British from an escape; the American forces under Washington and French forces under Rochambeau had the British forces surrounded. Defeated, Cornwallis surrendered himself and his army on Oct. 19, 1781, making Yorktown the decisive and last major battle of the American Revolutionary War.

After this loss, the British government had no option but to negotiate an end to the conflict, resulting in the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which won freedom and independence for America. That our small town played a significant role in that march will forever be an honor we should wear proudly. We suggest June 27 of each year should be known as Rochambeau Day in Middlebury.

Bob Rafford is the Middlebury Historical Society president and Middlebury’s municipal historian. To join or contact the society, visit MiddleburyHistoricalSociety.org or call Bob at 203-206-4717. Your membership would be a valuable addition.