We are reposting this from the Bulletin of the Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association which is one of BoRIA’s partner organizations. Dr. Robert Selig, who will be honored with a medal from the French government, wrote an original article for this website. In addition, the American Society of Le Souvenir Français, also mentioned in the article, is also a partner organization.
“The pleasure of your company is requested in Yorktown for a wonderful patriotic two days.”
So wrote Executive Director Ellen von Karajan in a late August email to friends and associates of W3R-US, encouraging them to come to Virginia for the Oct. 18-19 celebration of the 241st anniversary of the French-U.S. victory over the British, who surrendered Oct. 19, 1781.
The celebration will include a special highlight for W3RUS. Following the memorial wreath-laying ceremony at the French Memorial on the Yorktown Battlefield Wednesday morning, Oct. 19, W3R-US Historian Dr. Robert Selig will be awarded the French National Order of Merit, one of France’s highest honors, recognizing his eminent work on the crucial French contribution to American independence and in the development of the Washington-Rochambeau Trail.
Dedication of a historical marker emphasizing the essential role of the French navy at Yorktown
will be another highlight of the observance. The marker, honoring Admiral de Grasse and the
French navy and sponsored by the American Society of Le Souvenir Français, will stand on the
Riverwalk and is scheduled to be dedicated during a 5 p.m. ceremony Tuesday, Oct. 18, with
W3R-US and W3R-VA participating.
Other scheduled highlights, subject to change, will include:
Tuesday, Oct. 18
6 p.m., dinner, American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, $75 per person. Speaker: Julien Icher, administrator of the Lafayette Trail (the Marquis’ Farewell Tour of the United States in 1824/25)
Wednesday, Oct. 19
8:45 a.m., wreath-laying ceremony at French Cemetery
9:15 a.m., wreath-laying and commemorative ceremony at French Memorial
11 a.m., parade along Main Street
11:45 a.m., patriotic exercises and ceremony at the Monument to Alliance and Victory. Speaker: Dr. Robert Selig
