The French visionary who designed Washington D.C.

Every tourist guide will tell you, Washington, D.C. is certainly one of the most beautiful cities to visit in the entire world, when cherry trees are blooming along its majestic Mall.

As a matter of fact, I would submit that it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in any season.

This past New Year, when celebrating overseas was out of question due to a spike of Covid, we decided to stay close to home in the United States and visit the nation's capital.

There were no fireworks by the obelisk, however the sheer wealth of museums, fancy restaurants, the awe-inspiring walks along the Mall, the proximity of Mount Vernon, made this four-day stay a sort of revelation: what an exciting, vibrant, majestic capital Washington D.C.really is.

Unfortunately, due to the times in which we live, no visit at the US Capitol, nor the White House, which so inspired me when I first came as a young student in 1976, were possible this time around.

However, I was able to visit, take photographs and get exact GPS coordinates at plenty of sites marking a French presence, such as the marble bench of French Ambassador Jean-Jules Jusserand in Rock Creek Park, where he used to stroll in company of his close friend President Theodore Roosevelt, the stately statues of Rochambeau and La Fayette across from the White House, which we visited after a memorable dinner with Chuck Schwam, COO of the American Friends of Lafayette, the Bartholdi electric Fountain in the Capitol gardens, the Lauzun Legion bridge marker, the bronze monument erected in honor of Louis Daguerre, the pioneer of photography, the equestrian statue of Joan of Arc Memorial, the La Fayette Hall plaque at George Washington University... which are all part of our upcoming "Repertory of French Memories in the United States".

And then, the special private tour to Arlington national cemetery, which was a high moment of our visit. Thanks to Richard Azzaro, co-Founder of the Society of Honor Guards/ Tomb of Unknown Soldier, himself one of the very few Tomb Guards, who are in so many ways the "moral elite" of the US Armed Forces, I was privileged to witness the incredibly moving choreography of the Tomb Guards ceremonial in front of the monument of the Unknown Soldiers. It is an absolute must to all visitors to Arlington. To think that they are on duty, 365 days a year, day and night, under all weather conditions, is a permanent testimony of some of the highest moral standards that are unique to our democracies.

Then, taking a stroll a bit further, certainly one of the "choicest" spot in the entire cemetery, with a view second to none, not far from John F. Kennedy's grave, stands the monumental tomb of Major Pierre L'Enfant.

Thanks again to Ambassador Jusserand, who pushed for his posthumous recognition in 1909 after more than 80 years of obscurity, and who, in his Pulitzer-Prize book "Of Americans Past and Present", devoted a chapter to the close relationship of George Washington with this French military engineer,

L'Enfant, who volunteered to fight for the "Insurgents" early on, and was commissioned as a Major by Continental Congress, who became a "protégé" of General George Washington, sadly died in total poverty and had faded from public memory, when in fact, among his many accomplishments, he developed the visionary design for the brand new capital of the young Republic.

Yes, like so many others, this French aristocrat fell in love with the United States and its values, to defend the cause of freedom, and fervently believed in the revolutionary concept of equality which he found embodied in his new nation. This is his story that we would like to tell this month, as a tribute to another prominent military Frenchman who, quite literally, built the United States capital with a vision that is resplendissent today.

Poor is the nation that has no heroes, but poorer still is the nation that having heroes, fails to remember and honor them.  Marcus Tullius Cicero 106-43 BC

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=106507964

Pierre Charles L'Enfant  was born in Paris (at the Manufacture des Gobelins) on August 2, 1754, and baptized at Paroisse Saint-Hippolyte the next day, as the second son of Pierre L'Enfant (1704–1787), who was "Painter in ordinary to the King in his Manufacture of the Gobelins" and professor at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. He was known for his panoramas of battles, and six of them are in Versailles, including the Battle of Lauffeld in the famous "Gallerie des Batailles", describing the 1747 French victory over a coalition of British, Dutch and Hanoverian armies... where a young officer named Rochambeau was wounded.

Like many young aristocrats influenced by Enlightenments philosophers, and inflamed by the ideals of liberty, equality and human rights put forward by the Insurgents on the other side of the Atlantic. In 1777, at the age of 23, he was recruited by playwright activist Beaumarchais, author of Le Mariage de Figaro, who channeled through a fictitious company Hortalez & Co. ammunitions, war supplies, and volunteers to the American Insurgents.

"Some good engineers and some cavalry officers will soon arrive" Silas Deane, special envoy to the court of Louis XVI, wrote then to Congress. One of the engineers was Pierre Charles L'Enfant. The ship which transported him to America was named after the French Foreign Minister, "Comte de Vergennes", a name, wrote Beaumarchais, "fit to bring luck to the cargo, which is superb." Soon after, another ship, "La Victoire" would similarly bring La Fayette to America...

Like La Fayette, he offered his services to Continental Congress at his own expense. He was commissioned as a captain in the Corps of Engineers retroactively as of February 18, 1778, when he anglicized his surname from Pierre to Peter. In a letter to George Washington, he wrote: "In February, 1778, I was honored with a commission of captain of engineers, and by leave of Congress attached to the Inspector-general".

L'Enfant volunteered to join the ill-fated expedition in Savanah led by Admiral d'Estaing, and was wounded at the Siege of Savannah on October 9, 1779, while leading the assault of a vanguard column from the American contingent and, like d'Estaing himself, was grievously wounded. After escaping to Charleston, "I was," he said, "in my bed till January, 1780. My weak state of health did not permit me to work at the fortifications of Charleston, and when the enemy debarked, I was still obliged to use a crutch."

Made prisoner there, Rochambeau negotiated his exchange against a Hessian officer. "Your zeal and active services," Washington wrote to L'Enfant, "are such as reflect the highest honor on yourself and are extremely pleasing to me, and I have no doubt they will have their due weight with Congress in any future promotion in your corps."

He was not just an ordinary military engineer. In a letter to French Ambassador Comte de La Luzerne, he writes that he devised the earliest "system of discipline and exercises which was finally adopted in the American army", which today is often attributed to Steuben alone.

Digital ID: (digital file from original drawing) ppmsca 53518 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.53518

Medal of Cinncinati: The medal and diploma of the Society of the Cincinnati, an association of former American Revolution officers, were designed by L’Enfant, and upon returning to Paris he helped organize the French branch of the society.

By Daderot - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28728270

After 5 years spent in America, L'Enfant sailed back to France to care for his old father. King Louis XVI had given him a small pension on June 13, 1783 "in consideration of the usefulness of his services, and of the wounds received by him during the American war", prior to his landing at Le Havre on the 8th of December. In later years, he neglected to collect it, even though it was maintained throughout the French Revolution and available to him.

The Society of the Cincinnati a “hereditary, military, and patriotic organization formed in May 1783 by officers who had served in the American Revolution. Its objectives were to promote union and national honors, maintain their war-born friendship, perpetuate the rights for which they had fought, and aid members of their families in case of need” had just been founded in May 1783.

In an unpublished letter to Rochambeau, Marshal de Ségur, Minister of War, said: "His Majesty the King asks me to inform you that he allows you to accept this honorable invitation (to be a member). He even wants you to assure General Washington, in his behalf, that he will always see with extreme satisfaction all that may lead to a maintenance and strengthening of the ties formed between France and the United States. The successes and the glory which have been the result and fruit of this union have shown how advantageous it is, and that it should be perpetuated." Concerning the institution itself the minister wrote: "It is equally honorable because of the spirit which has inspired its creation and of the virtues and talents of the celebrated general whom it has chosen as its president." (With Americans Past and Present, 1916 by JJ Jusserand, p.146)

When it became time to create a medal, it was normal that George Washington, as first president of the Society, asked L'Enfant to design the medal. It was L’Enfant who suggested the society adopted the bald eagle as its insignia. L'Enfant then ask Parisian jewelers Duval and Francastel to manufacture them. His design was met with applause.

Steuben wrote to L'Enfant on July 1, 1783, sending him "a resolution of the convention of the Cincinnati of June 19, 1783, by which I am requested," he says, "to transmit their thanks to you for your care and ingenuity in preparing the designs which were laid before them by the president on that day." 

Another probable, and lesser-known contribution of Major L'Enfant is his design of the Badge of Merit, established by George Washington in 1782, and later revived in 1932 as the Purple Heart medal. The design of the badge inspired the modern Purple Heart. The heart is to represent courage and devotion. The color purple, associated with royalty, stands out on any uniform.

Federal Hall, New York, where President George Washington was inaugurated as first president of the young republic, redesigned by Pierre L'Enfant. By Amos Doolittle - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ppmsca.15703. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16091763

Upon his return, L'Enfant urged America not to let its guard down and spend for its defense. He wrote in imperfect English: "...a neutral Power must be ready for war, and his trade depends on the means of protecting and making his colors respected. America, neutral without [a] navy, without troops or fortified harbors could have nothing but calamity to expect." She cannot live free and develop in safety without "power to resent, ability to protect"...

L'Enfant chose a civilian path, and established a successful and highly profitable civil engineering firm in New York City. He achieved fame as an architect by redesigning the City Hall in New York for the First Congress of the United States, renamed Federal Hall, alas demolished in laters years.

As a noted and prosperous architect, he was friend with dignitaries such as Alexander Hamilton, or gov. Morris, L'Enfant also designed furniture and houses for the wealthy.

"Sir, the late determination of Congress to lay the foundation of a city which is to become the capital of this vast empire offers so great an occasion of acquiring reputation to whoever may be appointed to conduct the execution of the business that your Excellency will not be surprised that my ambition and the desire I have of becoming a useful citizen should lead me to wish a share in the undertaking... 

"...No nation, perhaps, had ever before the opportunity offered them of deliberately deciding on the spot where their capital city should be fixed.... And, although the means now within the power of the country are not such as to pursue the design to any great extent, it will be obvious that the plan should be drawn on such a scale as to leave room for that aggrandizement and embellishment which the increase of the wealth of the nation will permit it to pursue at any period, however remote. Viewing the matter in this light, I am fully sensible of the extent of the undertaking".

In July 1790 the First Congress passed the "Residence Act", a political compromise between the north and south, and between Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton of New York and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, setting the site of the new federal district and national capital to be on the shores of the Potomac River.

Consequently, President Washington appointed L'Enfant in 1791 to plan the new "Federal City" (later named the "City of Washington") under the supervision of three Commissioners, whom Washington had appointed to oversee what would later become the "District of Columbia".

In a letter, George Washington writes: "Since my first knowledge of the gentleman's abilities in the line of his profession, I have received him not only as a scientific man, but one who has added considerable taste to professional knowledge; and that, for such employment as he is now engaged in, for prosecuting public works and carrying them into effect, he was better qualified than any one who had come within my knowledge in this country."

On March 2, 1791, Washington announced to Colonel Dickens, of Georgetown, the coming of the major: "An eminent French military engineer starts for Georgetown to examine and survey the site of the federal city."

A few days later the arrival of "Major Longfont" [sic] was recorded by the Georgetown Weekly Ledger.

By Peter Charles L'Enfant - Library of Congress: Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of t(he) United States ...; Facsimile of manuscript of L'Enfant plan. Created and published by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, Washington, D.C. (1887), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50638693

Arriving on a rainy, foggy night, L'Enfant immediately set himself to work with a zeal and enthusiasm that was shared by all French émigrés at the time, so in love with the ideals of this new republic. Fellow painter Trumbull noted in his memoirs: "Then to Georgetown, where I found Major L'Enfant drawing his plan of the city of Washington; rode with him over the ground on which the city has since been built. Where the Capitol now stands was then a thick wood." (May, 1791.) 

He arrived in Georgetown in March 9, 1791, and by June 22, L'Enfant presented his first plan for the federal city to the President, with a second augmented plan submitted on August 19. During these incredibly short 6 months, he had surveyed the landscape, selected the major sites, drew streets, avenues, circles, squares, even a canal, in a district composed of hills, forests, marshes, and plantations.

Later on, his successor Andrew Ellicott who had assisted him in the survey and mapping kept the overall layout with some revisions. President Washington retained a copy of one of L'Enfant's plans, showed it to the Congress, and later gave it to the three Commissioners.

The U.S. Library of Congress now holds both plans. The first plan identifies "Peter Charles L'Enfant" as its author in the last line of an oval in its upper left corner.

L'Enfant selected the place for the Capitol, a place called "Jenkin's Hill", which he described as a "pedestal awaiting a monument", at the highest point overlooking the Potomac. However, some of L'Enfant's plans, including a huge waterfall cascading down Capitol Hill, were never realized.

He also selected the place for the White House (so named in 1817, but originally called the Federal House), which, he wrote, will be "adding to the sumptuousness of a palace the convenience of a house and the agreeableness of a country seat".

He sketched wide avenues and streets ""Attention has been paid to the passing of those leading avenues over the most favorable ground for prospect and convenience."

The plan specified that most streets would be laid out in a grid. To form the grid, some streets (later named for letters of the alphabet) would travel in an east–west direction, while others (named for numbers) would travel in a north-south direction. Broader diagonal grand avenues, later named after the states of the Union, crossed the north/south-east/west grid. These "grand avenues" would intersect at circles and rectangular plazas that would later honor notable Americans and provide open space.

Above all, L'Enfant was guided by his vision of grandeur for the new nation and its capital city: "we must leave to posterity a grand idea of the patriotic interest which promoted it." (L'Enfant's Observations Explanatory of the Plan, inscribed on it)

However, as often with real estate deals, with expropriations of some properties, and as he ordered rash demolitions of illegally-built homes that run astray of his plans, he made several ennemies, particularly for his high-handed procedure in removing the house of Daniel Carroll, an influential Washington resident, to make way for an avenue. Speculators were unable to conduct their schemes, and the three commissioners became increasingly irritated by L'Enfant's refusal to report to them, and only to George Washington.

Like any artist worth his salt, he would not compromise his designs. He was forewarned several times that his character and insubordination would make the continuation of his tenure impossible. George Washington protected him several times, but at one point became unwilling to waste political capital to continue his defense. Jefferson tried to reason with him, inviting him at lunch and diner to seek compromises, to no avail.

L'Enfant actually made drawings for the Capitol, the President's house, the bridges, the market, etc., which he complained later the commissioners to have unjustly appropriated. (Records of the Columbia Historical Society, II, 140.)

When he presented his bill of $95,500 to Congress, legislators voted to give him only $4,600. At the time of his dismissal, George Washington wrote to the three commissioners, "The plan of the city having met universal applause (as far as my information goes), and Major L'Enfant having become a very discontented man, it was thought that less than from two thousand five hundred to three thousand dollars, would not be proper to offer him for his services; instead of this, suppose five hundred guineas and a lot in a good part of the city were substituted?" 

"Mr. W.W. Corcoran, who lately departed this life in the city of Washington, full of years and honor ... had a very distinct recollection of the personal appearance of L'Enfant, the latter having been a frequent visitor at his father's house. He described him to me as a tall, erect man, fully six feet in height, finely proportioned, nose prominent, of military bearing, courtly air, and polite manners, his figure usually enveloped in a long overcoat and surmounted by a bell-crowned hat—a man who would attract attention in any assembly." Hugh T. Taggart, in Records of the Columbia Historical Society, XI, 216. 

At the time of his death, "he only had three watches, three compasses, some books, maps, and surveying instruments, the whole being valued at forty-six dollars" (With Americans of Past And Present Days, by J.J. Jusserand. )

The gravesite of Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant designed by sculptor architect William Welles Bosworth in Arlington National Cemetery below Arlington House, overlooking the Potomac River and Washington, D.C.

L'Enfant died in poverty on June 14, 1825, hosted by his friend and benefactor William Dudley Digges at his Green Hill farm in Chillum, Maryland, about 8 miles north of Washington D.C. He was never really paid for his work, although others made considerable sums through the implementation of their real estate schemes. Upon his death, he was originally buried unceremoniously at his friends' garden, at the foot of a tree. Years later, anyone looking for where he was buried could find his gravesite overgrown by myrtle and shaded by large cedars. (https://www.geriwalton.com/pierre-charles-lenfant-revolutionary-architect-and-planner-washington-dc/)

Finally, at the instigation of a French ambassador to the United States, Jean Jules Jusserand, L'Enfant's adopted nation then recognized his contributions.

"Around noon eight army engineers carried L’Enfant’s casket out to the east front of the Capitol and set it on an artillery caisson pulled by six bay mares. Cavalry from Fort Myer led the way, followed by the Corps of Engineers band. A cortege of five hundred people, sometimes outnumbering the crowds flanking them, began its procession up Pennsylvania Avenue and across the Rock Creek bridge to M Street, reversing the direction of L’Enfant’s original ride around the site. Flags flew at half-mast all along the way". (Scott W. Berg, Grand Avenues (New York: Vintage Books, 2007), p. 274.)

After lying in state under the Great Dome of the Capitol, on the 28th of April, 1909, (something never done before, for someone who was not part of the US government).

"When the thousands had passed around the catafalque on which reposed the casket, draped in the American flag - patriotic men and women, school children who, perhaps, had never seen the name of l'enfant on history's page - the great casket was lifted by eight sturdy sergeants of the Engineer Corps and borne to the caisson of an artillery gun, and the long-delayed triumphal march which should have been l'enfant's nearly a century ago, was begun to Arlington" (Report Made to the Columbia Historical Society, May 11, 1909,

L'Enfant was re-interred in front of Arlington House on a slope in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, in the presence of President William Howard Taft, of representatives of Congress, the Supreme Court, the Society of the Cincinnati, and other patriotic and artistic societies, and of a vast crowd.

Orations were delivered by the Vice-President of the United States, James Sherman, who concluded: "And turning to you, Mr. Ambassador ... I express the hope that the friendship between our nations, which has existed for more than a century, will be but intensified as time passes, and that we will in the future join hands in advancing every good cause which an all-wise Providence entrusts to our care."

In 1911, a monument was placed on top of L'Enfant's grave during a dedication ceremony attended by 350 dignitaries. William Dudley Digges' great-granddaughter, Elanora Carroll Morgan, unveiled the monument, and a band played the national anthem while two soldiers from the Engineers Corps raised the American flag.

President William Howard Taft, Ambassador Jusserand, and Senator Elihu Root spoke. "Few men," Mr. Root said, "can afford to wait a hundred years to be remembered. It is not a change in L'Enfant that brings us here. It is we who have changed, who have just become able to appreciate his work. And our tribute to him should be to continue his work."  

Engraved on the monument is a portion of L'Enfant's plan in a diagram map, which Andrew Ellicott's revision and the McMillan Commission's plan had superseded.

In 1995, the American Society of Le Souvenir Français and the Daughters of the American Revolution co-signed a historical marker, located by the monument, and dedicated by French Ambassador Jacques Andréani.

EXISTING TRIBUTES IN WASHINGTON D.C.

From left, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser attend the unveiling of the statue of Pierre L'Enfant at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 28. (Screen capture via WUSA9 YouTube)

Only States have the privilege to place two statues of prominent leaders in the Capitol, as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection.

In anticipation to becoming the 51st State, the city commissioned statues to abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Pierre L'Enfant, in 2008.

In 2013, a compromise was passed and Congress allowed only one statue, that of Frederick Douglass. As Representative Holmes Norton declared at the time: “I expect to get his done the way I was able to get Frederick Douglas done"... "It became impossible to refuse Frederick Douglas. I don’t see how the Senate can sit there and say ‘We don't want Pierre L'Enfant — the man who created the very city where the Senate and the House sit.”

For years the statue of Pierre Charles L'Enfant was placed inside the lobby of the Wilson Building which serves as the seat of DC government.

Finally, the dedication of the statue took place on February 28, 2022 at the Memorial Door Foyer in the Capitol.

•Inscription:

• Revolutionary Soldier, 1775-1783

Public contributions to his adopted country:

• Erected by National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and The American Society of Le Souvenir Francais.

• Inscription:

Erected by The CSX Corporation.”

Freedom Plaza's inlaid stone surface depicts parts of Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's plan for the City of Washington, including the Federal Triangle, the United States Capitol, the White House and part of the National Mall, as well as the plan's legends. View from the 12th floor of the Clock Tower on the Old Post Office building, looking northwest along Pennsylvania Avenue. (2005)

Oval containing the title of L'Enfant's "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of the United States..." followed by the words "By Peter Charles L'Enfant" inlaid in Freedom Plaza. (2006)

• L'Enfant Plaza, a complex of office buildings developed in the 1960's (with the 1972 headquarters of the United States Postal Service), with an adjacent L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, now the Hilton Washington DC National Mall The Wharf.

Beneath the L'Enfant Plaza is one of the central rapid transit busy Metro subway stops in Washington, D.C., the L'Enfant Plaza station.

• In 1980, Western Plaza (subsequently renamed to "Freedom Plaza") opened in downtown Washington, D.C., adjacent to Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

A raised marble inlay in the Plaza's surface depicts parts of L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the City of Washington. The inlay contains an oval bearing the title of the plan followed by the words "By Peter Charles L'Enfant".

• In 2003, L'Enfant's 1791 Plan for Washington was commemorated on a USPS commemorative postage stamp. The diamond shape of the stamp reflects the original 100 square miles (259 km2) tract of land selected for the District. Shown is a view along the National Mall, including the Capitol, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. Also portrayed are cherry blossoms around the "Tidal Basin" and row houses from the Shaw neighborhood.

John Cogbill, chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission which oversees development in the city, said the Commission strives to fulfill L'Enfant's original vision while meeting the demands of a growing region. "We take [L'Enfant's plan] into account for virtually everything we do," he says. "I think he would be pleasantly surprised if he could see the city today. I don't think any city in the world can say that the plan has been followed so carefully as it has been in Washington."

• Cities like Detroit link their architectural models to Pierre Charles L'Enfant.

https://detroitplanninghistory.weebly.com/1700-1900.html.

Claims that L'Enfant surveyed and platted Perrysburg, Ohio on April 26, 1816 are disputed. As for Indianapolis, Indiana, its grid is clearly inspired by L'Enfant, drafted by L'Enfant's former assistant Alexander Ralston.

Our association was honored to meet with Mr. Olivier d'Agay, director of the Estate succession of Saint Exupéry d'Agay, and grand-nephew of Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince (to whom we dedicated our Bulletin last month) and Mr. Nicolas Delsalle-Mun, General Director of the Fondation Saint-Exupéry pour la Jeunesse.

Thanks to our Director Francis Dubois, they met other members of our Executive Committee at the National Arts Club, along with Patrick du Tertre, 1st Vice-President of our association, Jean-Hugues Monier, Director and Statue Committee member, and Pierre Gervois, Director and French Air Force reserve Lieutenant. Another meeting was held with the Consul General of France Mr. Jérémie Robert at his office on 5th Avenue.

From left to right: Mr. Nicolas Delsalle-Mun, Mr. Jérémie Robert, Consul General of France in New York, Mr. Olivier d'Agay, Jean-Hugues Monier.

• Présentation of the Antoine de Saint Exupéry Youth Foundation

More information : www.fasej.org

• The Little Prince at the Broadway Theater, 53rd Street & Broadway

• Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, February 17- June 26 2022

• Brussels Expo, Palais 2, Belgium until June 30, 2022

• Also at L'envol des Pionniers, Site de Légende, Toulouse, until November 6, 2022:

• Musée de l’air et de l’espace, Le Bourget:

Special exhibit honoring Saint-Exupéry, and which displays many of his literary creations. Among them are various early editions of The Little Prince. Remnants of the Free French Air Force P-38 Lightning in which he disappeared, and which were recovered from the Mediterranean in 2004, are also on view.

• Pierpont-Morgan Library in NYC:

• Parc du Petit Prince, Ungersheim (near Mulhouse) Alsace:

• We also would like to share this remarkable gem of a radio interview of Antoine de Saint Exupéry by Richard Thomas in the studios of Radio City at Rockefeller Center on August 3, 1939:

• We received valuable additional information regarding the years spent in New York by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and his wife Consuelo, which we will share in an upcoming bulletin, in view of a future "Saint Exupéry Itinerary in New York". Stay tuned!

• On the occasion of a visit in New York by the President-General of Le Souvenir Français in Paris, the Contrôleur Général des Armées (2S) Serge Barcellini, a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at Notre-Dame Church, 405 West 114th Street in Manhattan on Friday, May 6th, at 11:00AM. All are welcome to join, in order to pay respect to our Fallen soldiers.

• We will be honored to welcome as well on that occasion Madame Nathalie de Gouberville, direct descendant of the Comte de Rochambeau, with her husband Philippe de Gouberville, who will be in New York to preside over the kick-off fund raising of the Friends of Odell House - Rochambeau Headquarters the day before.

• The Odell House in Hartsdale, about 20 miles north of Manhattan, served as Rochambeau's headquarters during the French Army encampment in Phillipsburg, from July 6 to August 19, 1781. Under the dynamic leadership of Susan and David Seal, it is currently being renovated to become a museum.

For donations to the Friends of Odell House - Rochambeau Headquarters, please visit: https://www.odellrochambeau.org/donate

• FIAF presents a special screening of the documentary The Girl Who Wore Freedom, a touching tribute to D-Day and the longstanding French-American friendship. Enjoy the chance to meet “The Girl Who Wore Freedom” in person!

• Followed by a Q&A with Christian Taylor, Dany Patrix and David Chapman, VP Government and Defense Michelin North America, former Defense Attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Paris.

• In anticipation of Delta Air Lines’ historic flight in partnership with Best Defense Foundation returning 30 WWII Veterans to Normandy for the 78th Anniversary of the landings in June 2022.

The Consulate General of Belgium, Delegation of Flanders to the USA, organizes the 13th annual In Flanders Fields Memorial, to honor the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of Allied Soldiers who died in the "poppy fields", scene of the first chemical attacks in history.

• The largest Revolutionary War earthwork still standing in southern New England is Butts Hill Fort. It was started by Patriot militia in 1776, then enlarged and completed by British troops occupying Rhode (Aquidneck) Island. It served as the headquarters for General John Sullivan during the Rhode Island Campaign in 1778 and was strengthened by allied French troops under General comte de Rochambeau 1780-81. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and on the National Park Service’s Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route.

Lt Col. Louis de Tousard, another great French artillerist who volunteered under Lafayette and who served at the fort, lost an arm in an epic charge near Quaker Hill. He eventually became an important figure in the nascent US Army. We will surely devote a Bulletin to his many accomplishments in the future.

• The Fort has for years been inaccessible to the public and largely forgotten. The goal of the Restoration Committee is to return it to public use as an historical, educational, and recreational asset. 

• Historic Butts Hill Fort needs a spring cleaning. Accordingly, the Battle of Rhode Island Association and the Butts Hill Fort Restoration Committee are asking for volunteers to participate in a spring cleanup. It is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday 23 April. The rain date is Saturday, 30 April. 

Contact Nancy Crawford (redhatscrapper@cox.net) to sign up and to receive additional information. 

• The BUTTS HILL FORT RESTORATION COMMITTEE is a committee of the BATTLE OF RHODE ISLAND ASSOCIATION.

• The Lafayette Trail, Inc. is pleased to announce the upcoming dedication of a new historic marker in Georgetown, KY.

• The marker dedication ceremony will take place at the Great Crossing Baptist Church, located at 1061 Stamping Ground Road, in Georgetown, Kentucky 40324, on Sunday, May 15th, 2022 at 2 pm ET.

• There will be plenty of free parking available at the church for attendees. 

• No registration is required. If you have any questions, please email:  dedications@thelafayettetrail.org

• The Lafayette Trail, Inc. is pleased to announce the upcoming dedication of a new historic marker at the Durham Town Hall, in Durham, NH on May 20 at 10 am ET. The event will precede the 2 pm at the NH State House organized in observance of New Hampshire Lafayette Day. Durham is located a little over 45 minutes away from Concord by driving.

• The Durham marker dedication ceremony will take place on the site of the new Durham Town Hall, located at 8 Newmarket Road, Durham, NH 03824. Please, proceed to the town hall parking lot where limited parking will be available.

• 10 diagonal parking spaces will be available directly across the street at 15 Newmarket Road, located to the left of the white building. Additional parking will be available along Schoolhouse Lane and Mill Pond Road.

• No registration is required. If you have any questions, please email:

• Visit the captivating "Follow the Frenchmen" series and its latest episode in Buffalo, New York, presented by our friend Julien Icher, President of TheLafayetteTrail.org.

The registration fee for the annual meeting is $200 per person. This includes all meals (two breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners). This also includes all transportation (buses Friday and Saturday), tours, entrance fees, guides and speakers. Please see the full itinerary below. 

Rochambeau Celebration - July 9, 2022

At the Waterfront, Kings Park, Newport R.I. 02840 41.476733, -71.321555

OnSaturday, July 9, 2022 a ceremony will be held at the Statue of Rochambeau sponsored by Alliance Française of Newport, as part of a weekend of "Tribute to France", under the auspices of the Newport Historical Society, to celebrate the arrival of the French Army led by General comte de Rochambeau in 1780, coming to the rescue of the Continental Army.

• To preserve the memory of the French soldiers, sailors and airmen who gave their lives for freedom, and who are buried in the United States.

• To honor French Citizens who did great deeds in the United States, or with a strong connection with the United States, 

• To strengthen the long-standing traditional bonds of friendship between the American and French peoples, and to this end: erect or maintain memorials and monuments and encourage historical research, public presentations and publications in the media. 

We are looking to expand our geographic coverage with Regional Delegates in cities such as Austin, or Houston (SouthWest), New Orleans (Louisiana), Savannah, Jacksonville or Miami (SouthEast), Boston or Newport (New England).

Did you know that a portion of every purchase you make on Amazon can benefit American Society of Le Souvenir Francais Inc, at no cost to you?

Simply go to: smile.amazon.com, designate American Society of Le Souvenir Francais Inc. as your beneficiary, and shop away

Email: info@SouvenirFrancaisUSA.org Tel: (212) 328-0150