In 1781, Britain's Lord Cornwallis surrendered with more than 7,000 troops to Gen. George Washington at Yorktown, Va., effectively ending the American War of Independence.
Some people who are really, really into this are doing interesting things. One website worth visiting is the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route.
This picture was taken August 29, 2006 in Princeton NJ and shows some of the participants: Mike Fitzgerald, David Fagerberg, day-marcher Paul Hutchins, David Holloway, and Mathieu Petitjean, President of the American Society of the Souvenir Francais. They re-enacted Washington's march to Yorktown and are in yorktown for the 225th anniversary. It's a big 4 day event.Jen and I watched "The Revolution" on The History Channel and I liked this part:
"In a breech of military etiquette, Cornwallis declined to attend the surrender ceremony, claiming illness. The second in command, Brigadier General Charles O’Hara, filled that role. To avoid the humiliation of turning over Cornwallis’ sword to Washington — known contemptuously to many British as “General Buckskin” — O'Hara attempted to present the token to General Rochambeau. The French commander refused to accept the sword and pointed to Washington. When O’Hara turned to make the presentation, Washington called on his second-in-command, General Benjamin Lincoln, to accept. Thus, General Buckskin won some satisfaction in the wake of his humiliation at the surrender of Charleston."
Here is a link to the History Channel's video on this event.
Also, let me point out, Rochambeau was one of the few useful Frenchmen in history.
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