Cover illustration: Joan of Arc saved France--Women of America, save your country--Buy War Savings Stamps / Haskell Coffin by The United States Printing & Lithograph Co., [1918], Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Public Domain

"Why is St. Joan of Arc famous"? "How does Joan of Arc inspire us today"?

This Bulletin does not aim at writing a thesis about the hero Saint. And, full disclosure: we are admittedly slightly old-fashioned and do not use ChatGPT... We simply wish to highlight several sites in our vast nation where you can experience the radiant power of this historical figure, and hopefully get inspired, like generations of Americans before us.

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St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, 325 Park Ave, New York, NY 10022

This colorful stained-glass windows by Hildreth Meiere (1892-1961) depicts Joan of Arc on a horse. St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, commonly called St. Bart's, is a historic Episcopal parish founded in January 1835. Photo Licensed from iStock #2090645509

We will therefore take a tour of some major Joan of Arc sculptures coast-to-coast.

GPS: 40.800333,-73.971459

The sculpture aims at emphasizing “the spiritual, rather than the warlike point of view”, as explained by the artist.

• Sculptor: Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington

• Architect: John V. Van Pelt

• Description: Equestrian figure (over life-size) on integral plinth on pedestal

• Materials: Bronze, Mohegan granite

• Dimensions: Total H: 20'4" W: 6'1" D: 12'3"

• Cast: by the Gorham Manufacturing Company to one-and-a-half-times life size.

• Inscription on the pedestal:

• Inscription on the marker from the City of New York:

• "This impressive bronze equestrian sculpture of 15th century French patriot and martyr Joan of Arc (1411-1431) is one of the finest works of art in the Parks collection. Created by the eminent artist and patron Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington (1876-1973), the piece was dedicated in 1915.

The exploits of this heroine from the Middle Ages have been revisited by authors and artists ever since her death. Among the many notable works surrounding her myth are Mark Twain’s novel The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (1896), a fictionalized account of her life, playwright George Bernard Shaw’s political play Saint Joan (1923), and Carl Theodor Dreyer’s landmark silent film, The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928).

• It is the city's first monument ever dedicated to a historical woman.

• French Ambassador to the United States Jean Jules Jusserand, who spoke at its dedication on December 6, 1915, went on to win the first Pulitzer Prize in 1916 for his historical essay "With Americans of Past and Present Days"

• The $35,000 ($937,500 in 2023) needed to erect the statue was donated by numismatist J. Sanford Saltus, namesake of the American Numismatic Society's Saltus Award. 

• Sculptor Anne Huntington was catapulted into the international spotlight after the statue was unveiled with such dignitaries as Mina Edison, Thomas Edison's second wife. It earned Anna Hyatt Huntington the Legion of Honor.

Lincoln Park, 100 34th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94121

GPS: 37.784667,-122.499814 

Top and Middle: Photos Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Bottom: Photo by Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 3.0,

• The Legion of Honor, formally known as the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, is an art museum in San Francisco, California.

• The sculpture is a work by Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington, and donated by the artist and her husband, Archer Huntington, in 1926, just a few years after their marriage and the opening of the Legion of Honor.

• It is one of five full-scale casts of the statue.It was first exhibited at the Salon in Paris in 1910. The original cast from 1915 is in Riverside Park in New York City (see slide above).

Three others stand in public sites in Gloucester, Massachusetts (where Hyatt lived and maintained a studio); Québec City, Québec, and Blois in France.

• The statue won Anna the Legion of Honor from the French government in 1927.

• It was extensively restored in 2019. Click on the photos and links above to read an in-depth account of the restoration process.

GPS: 45.526301, -122.623010

The statue was donated to honor the American soldiers slain on French soil during World War I.

• It is a replica of the Gilt bronze equestrian sculpture of Joan of Arc by Emmanuel Frémiet, Place des Pyramides, Paris.

• The copy in Portland, which features a granite base designed by Margaret Goodin Fritsch (the first woman to graduate from the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture), was given to the City of Portland in 1924 by physician and Oregon US Senator Henry Waldo Coe.

• Dr. Henry Waldo Coe donated the statue to the city in 1924 in honor of the doughboys of World War I. His son unveiled her during a patriotic ceremony on Memorial Day, 1926, a day that was also the anniversary of her martyrdom (May 31, 1431).

• The statue was restored in 2005, thanks to The National Endowment for the Arts as well as Target Stores, who created made a 'Save Outdoor Sculpture' conservation award of $24,000 towards the work needed on the statue.

• It is one of 8 such replicas of this statue of Joan of Arc in the world: Paris, Nancy, Mircourt and Lille - all in France; and Melbourne, Australia; New Orleans, LA and Philadelphia, PA.

• Younger generations may not immediately recognize the historical context, albeit they admittedly possess a healthy dose of humour. In a recent blog, one may read the following: "Tell me, O wise one: What does a flambéed French saint have to do with the Rose City? I ask because recently, in Laurelhurst, I came upon the improbable statue of one Joan of Arc"...And the answer is...: "Why a French saint and not, say, a beaver with a salmon in its mouth, riding a bear? Well, I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, France was basically America’s girlfriend. For years, the two love-struck nations exchanged gooey mash notes in the form of statuary, including the Statue of Liberty..." Willamette Week news blog, Nov 22, 2022

(1916): to celebrate the friendship between France and the USA

Meridian Hill Park, Washington DC 20009

GPS: 38.9207, -77.035714

Photo: By Slowking4 - Own work, GFDL 1.2

• The piece was first proposed in May 1916 by Mme. Carlo Polifeme, president of the Society of French Women of New York, which gave the statue to the city of Washington D.C. She proposed it to the Commission of Fine Arts in order to celebrate the friendship between France and the United States.

• Joan of Arc is a 1922 cast of Paul Dubois's 1889 statue of Joan of Arc, located at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, D.C.

• Joan of Arc is an equestrian statue, with the Patron Saint of France riding a trotting horse, resting upon a three-tiered granite base (H. 52 in. x W 11. ft.). Her body is twisted slightly, and her right arm is raised behind her. She is wearing a helmet with a raised visor and she looks skywards. In her left hand she holds the reins to her horse. The sword she originally held in her right hand was stolen in 1978, and not replaced until December 2011. The pedestal was designed by American artist H.L. Davis.

• The statue was completed in 1922 in Paris; the original was cast in three copies, currently located respectively in Reims (1890), Paris (1895) and Strasbourg (1922). According to the National Park Service website (click on the photo above): ..."This statue, a copy of the original at the Rheims Cathedral, was erected in 1922. The statue was a gift from the Society of French Women in Exile [sic] in New York. Approval for the statue occurred under an act of Congress on March 20, 1922 (42 Stat. 468) and the casting of the monument was supervised by the Ministre des Beaux Arts in Paris. Cost: Unknown. Statue was erected at no cost to the United States."

• According to the National Commission of Fine Art it was described, at the time, as being "regarded by artists as the finest equestrian statue of modern times."

• It is the only equestrian statue of a woman in Washington, D.C.!

• Inscription:

(In English):

• An inscription on the back of the pedestal reads:

Harris & Ewing, photographer - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID hec.41933, Public Domain

• On 6 January 1923 when the piece was dedicated, President Harding and the French Ambassador were the guests of honor. Mrs. Harding and Mme Jusserand, who represented France, also attended. Speeches at the dedication ceremony were given by U.S. Secretary of War Weeks; Mme. Carlo Polifeme, president of the Society of French Women of New York, which gave the statue to the city; and Mrs. George Maynard Minor, president of the National Society of the D.A.R., who accepted the statue on behalf of the women of the United States. Amb. Jusserand also presented a medal from France to Mme. Polifeme for her work in getting the statue erected in Washington, D.C.

• ...“For liberty and peace, Lafayette brought you his sword; for peace and justice Jeanne d’Arc brings you her faith...” said Mrs. Carlo Polifeme, president of the Society of French Women of New York, which gave the statue to the city, in presenting the statue. She added: ...“Jeanne d’Arc will keep alive the burning flame of our love and bring blessings from her new basilique to to her new country. Nothing more sacred could be dedicated to the women of America, nothing more beautiful offered to the beautiful city of Washington than this pious work of art. Jeanne d’Arc is a living prayer, a perfect disciple of all virtues, a divine symbol for all.”

• Longtime French Ambassador to the United States (and Pulitzer Prize winner) Jules J. Jusserand, expressed in turn ... “the heartfelt thanks of his country” to President and Mrs. Harding for attending the unveiling. According to newspapers reports, he traced the history of Jeanne d’Arc and said that the success of the allied arms at Verdun when the German army was threatening to overrun continental Europe, "was due to the undying spirit of Jeanne d’Arc which prevailed in the breasts of soldiers".

• On the 500th anniversary of Joan's martyrdom, Paul Claudel, Ambassador of France in Washington, held a tribute to the Saint in 1931, in spite of the separation of Church and State.

GPS: 39.966452, -75.179150

Photo top: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/323344448216557488/

• A Bronze marker reads:

• In 1898, French sculptor, Emmanuel Fremiet fashioned his gilded bronze statue of Joan of Arc, his model was a 15 year old girl by the name of Valérie Laneau.

• Amazing but true: she too had been born in the town of Donrémy-la-Pucelle on the same day and month, January 6, as Joan had, and at the age of 77, Valérie was engulfed by flames from an oil lamp that she had been trying to light and she died on May 30, the anniversary of the death of Joan of Arc...

• This replica was originally placed on the Girard Avenue Bridge in Philadelphia. It was then relocated to a site near the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1959, next to Pennsylvania Avenue, aka Benjamin Franklin Parkway (itself modeled after the Champs-Elysées in Paris in 1917 by 2 French city planners, Paul-Philippe Cret and Jacques Grébert).

(1958-1972) “A Gift of the People of France to the Citizens of New Orleans”

GPS: 29.9613744,-90.0570621

Middle: By Youtupedia - Template:Youtupedia.org, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11624072

Bottom: Joan of Arc monument, French Quarter, New Orleans. Decatur Street to the left of the monument, South Peters Street to the right. By Infrogmation - Own work, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1652674

• "Rearing back on her steed, Joan represents the strength, power, and perseverance of New Orleans, a city that no foe may defeat." Katelyn Woodel, New Orleans Historical Society

• Inscription:

"Joan of Arc

Maid of Orleans

(1411-1431)"

• Erected in 1972, it is a copy of the 1899 statue at the Place des Pyramides in Paris by Emmanuel Frémiet.

• It was sent to New Orleans in 1958 by Robert Whyte of the World House in New York. When the statue arrived in the city, the city could not afford the $35,000 necessary to erect it. Consequently, it was stored for 8 years.

• In 1960, General Charles De Gaulle visited New Orleans and was received triumphantly. On his return to France, he asked citizens to form a Committee to start a fund-raising to finance the pedestal ($36,500) who reached their goal in 1964.

• Finally, in 1972, it was placed on a 17-foot pedestal on the Place de France at the foot of Canal Street. The statue was gilded in 1985.

• This statue was originally located in front of the International Trade Mart Building, but after the purchase of that location by Harrah’s casino, it was moved in 1999 to its present location of the 'Place De France" on Decatur Street in the French Quarter, next to the French Market on Decatur Street.

• On the first day of the Carnival Season, the parade traditionally pauses in front of the statue to pay its respect.

• "Each year on January 6th, the Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc honors St. Joan and the French heritage of New Orleans with a celebration. “As the first day of the carnival season, that date suggests renewal-the awakened sprite carrying the battle flag from the dead of winter toward the light of Spring. Joan has given us hope. Once more she is called to battle.” - Errol Laborde (editor and publisher of Louisiana Life magazine)

(1921) "a gift of the French Government to honor the the sons of Gloucester who gave their lives during the Great War"

GPS: 42.612015,-70.669479

Photos: Top: Postcard date unknown published by C.T. American Art 3.5" x 5.5" (9 x 14 cm)

Middle and bottom: Located at the traffic circle between Washington and Middle Streets, inauguration in 1921 DiscoverGloucester.com

• The World War I Memorial was presented to the City of Gloucester by the French Government in 1921 and rededicated in 2001 honoring the sons of Gloucester who gave their lives during the Great War

• The monument’s base was made of granite quarried in neighboring Cape Ann and “inscribed with the names of those who made the great sacrifice”. The statue’s base also contains stones from France: four came from the Reims Cathedral, and one came from the dungeon of a castle where Joan was held for her trial.

• Although not yet a saint (she was canonized in 1920), Joan of Arc was a popular persona during World War I—she led the French army in a momentous victory during the Hundred Years’ War.

• She was also an early feminist icon used by the women’s suffrage movement in the early 20th century in the United States and United Kingdom. This contemporary political symbolism may have appealed to Huntington who faced discrimination in the art world based on her gender.

• It is one of five full-scale casts of the statue. It was first exhibited at the Salon in Paris in 1910. The original cast from 1915 remains in Riverside Park in New York City (see slide above). Three others stand in public sites at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, CA (see slide above); Québec City, Québec, and Blois in France.

• Joan of Arc is mounted on horseback with her a sword raised in her right arm facing the Legion Memorial Building. This building was dedicated to those Gloucester residents that served in World War I.

• Gloucester’s Congressman A. Piatt Andrew founded the American Field Service (which provided ambulances to support the French Army prior to the United States’ entry into the conflict) and was instrumental in forming the National American Legion at this post. This American Legion building was once Gloucester’s City Hall. 

Longwood University, Farmville, VA

Top photo: sculpture in plaster by Antoine Chapu, (Le Mée, Seine-et-Marne 1833 - Paris 1891) Made in 1870-1872 by Maker: Caproni

Longwood Center for the Visual Arts, Longwood University, the Rotunda (formerly Ruffner Hall)

GPS: 37.302568, -78.392699

Bottom photos: the crane is used to install the sculpture, not to remove it!

• Longwood University was founded in 1839 as Farmville Female Seminary Association. From 1884 to 1949 it was the State Female Normal School or State Normal School for Women, modeled after the French Ecole Normale Supérieure.

• It is inscribed: "Caproni Casts / P P Caproni & Bro / -Makers- / Boston U S A"

" This your challenge. With the spirit of Joan as your guide, seek to grow in mental stature as you quietly contemplate the advice, the wisdom, the inspiration of your administration, your faculty, and especially of your friends—the upperclassmen, the girl next door, the roommate … Let the boundless faith of Joan permeate your life and spur you on to the highest endeavor. Dream, hope, plan with her, and with greater maturity go on to build the tangible out of your intangible dreams. To feel the spirit of Joan of Arc and to sense her vision of the ideal is to enlarge the spirit of the college and to watch it grow."

• Students after WWI were literally enamored with the sculpture and wanted more of Joan of arc. Since 1914, students like Overbey had devoted countless hours to the study and compilation of everything Joan of Arc. Hundred-page scrapbooks were filled with clippings, original poetry, photos and postcards of their heroine. They professed their devotion to her example in lengthy Rotunda columns. They dedicated page after page of the Virginian yearbook to her spirit.

• The Joan of Arc sculpture fondly known as Joanie on the Pony is a reduced version of the bronze 1915 monument Joan of Arc by Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington. Longwood’s copy, based on a casting of Huntington’s monument in New York City, was a gift from the artist in 1927 in response to a request from students.

• Rituals and myths dealing with the two statues abound. Joanie on the Stony, for example, heralds the occasion of every CHI walk with a pair of mysteriously appearing blue and white carnations. Joanie on the Stony is also said to bring good luck for tests to students who touch her clasped hands on their way to class.

• In October 2009, Joanie on the Pony was vandalized. After being restored, she was placed in The Rotunda (Longwood University) in April 2010.

• Just more than a century after the first statue arrived on campus, the Master Plan envisioned Longwood installing a new likeness of Joan of Arc in tribute to her enduring legacy on campus.

• The new cast bronze sculpture, which is at the southern end of Brock Commons, is by renowned Scottish neoclassical sculptor Alexander Stoddart, who was the Queen's Sculptor of the Ordinary, and now the King's Sculptor of the Ordinary.

• The figure of Joan of Arc is holding a flag— which she is said to have preferred to a sword—and dressed in traditional military armor of the period

• At more than 15 feet tall, the heroic figure of Joan of Arc strikes an assertive pose and captures the historic woman at the height of her military prowess, raising the Siege of Orleans in 1429. Wearing a heavy suit of armor and wielding a legendary sword, this vision of Joan of Arc stands at the southern end of Brock Commons, between Hull and Bedford halls.

Longwood President W. Taylor Reveley IV said, “This majestic statue that we dedicate today will inspire us across all our years: Joan of Arc, poised forever young, in a moment of defiant triumph.”..."Unlike the two Joans that have taken on iconic status in the last century, Stoddart’s Joan, while neoclassical in form, is intentionally of the 21st century. Her deliberate androgyny, unflinching power and forward-moving posture reflect a time when, globally, women are again staking new ground."

• “She’s not meant to be cute or sweet,” said Stoddart. “She’s meant to be a daunting figure. I wanted to make her what we Scots would call a bit gallus. There’s no real English equivalent, but it’s sort of self-confident, daring, even cheeky. Think Steve McQueen or James Cagney from those old movies. But if you think about it, she was a teenage girl in charge of 5,000 men. She’d have to be more than a bit gallus to pull that off. Look at what’s happening in the world today with gallus women taking charge of their own lives. I wanted Joan to reflect that.”

GPS: 40.568884, -80.014289

Photo: https://www.laroche.edu/About/Catholic_Identity/Sacred_Artifacts_on_Campus/Saint_Joan_of_Arc_Statue/

• John Cardinal Wright (1909-1979) was a staunch support in the early days of the University’s history. He had a life-long devotion to St. Joan of Arc.

• The statue of St. Joan of Arc in front of the John J. Wright library honors Cardinal Wright’s devotion to La Roche University.

• The sculpture, an original design, was commission for the 2010 rededication of the Library. The chief artist is Paco Reyes from Esculturas de Diseno Italiano, whose studio is located in Bogota, Columbia.

• Joan (1412-1431) clad in battle armor is depicted kneeling. The 48 inch sculpture is made of fiberglass casting with a bronze-like finish.

GPS: 37.139755, -80.551173

Photo: https://www.radford.edu/content/radfordcore/home/news/releases/2017/june/radford-joan-of-arc-statue.html

• Hailed a heroine and symbol of strength, Joan of Arc was a fitting addition to the female-dominated Commonwealth campuses, which have since sought to trace their own Joan’s journey.

• An excerpt from an article written by Mike Lay, titled “In Search of Joan,” presents a rough timeline of Radford’s Joan: “After years of moving around campus, the statue came to rest in the library during the late 1960s. There she remained until 1983 when she was relegated to storage to make room for the library’s growing book collection. In August of 1992, she was rediscovered in an attic storage room and installed on the porch of Russell Hall. She eventually made her return to the library in September of 1995 on the occasion of the inauguration of Radford University’s fifth president, Douglas Covington.”

GPS: 38.438823, -78.872016

Photo Left: Le Cercle Francais posed with Joan in the lobby of Alumnae Hall.

Photo right: 1918 Schoolma’am Miss Pauline Callender acting as Joan of Arc on a white horse for the Liberty Loan Parade. Flanked and backed by students from Augusta Military Academy.

• Joan of Arc was presented to the campus in 1917 by President and Mrs. Julian Burruss, with the couple stating that they wished for Joan’s courage, leadership, and holiness to serve as an “inspiration to all womankind.”

• The United States formally entered WWI that same year, and the gift of a larger than life-size statue of our ally’s patron saint and national hero synthesized the patriotism and industry sweeping through the campus in support of the war. Students were organized into battalions (with President Burruss himself commanding), economy was admired to provide for the war effort, and at least one student, a Miss Julia McCorkle, served heroically in the hospitals of France.

• For a view of the sculpture in 3D, click: https://skfb.ly/6zYEv

GPS: 38.303592, -77.476908

Photo: https://magazine.umw.edu/fall2016/features/joan-returns/

• When Ball Hall opened in all its grandeur in 1935, the statue took an honored place in the center of the atrium, beneath a circular skylight, ringed by a spiral staircase. Through the years, Joan held bouquets and Solo cups; she was decked out in sunglasses and scarves, commencement cloaks and Halloween costumes, mortarboards and makeup.

• “She reflects women’s ability to bring about change,” said Cedric Rucker ’81, associate vice president and dean of student life. “Think about the time of Mary Washington’s founding, when people didn’t really want women to have access to education.”..."A woman determined to fight for her country, she represents “the skills, talent, prowess, and leadership abilities in our community,” Rucker said. “She’s the perfect symbol for the University of Mary Washington.”

Marion Boyd Allen, Portrait of Anna Vaughn Hyatt, 1915. Oil on canvas, 65 x 40 in. (165.1 x 101.6 cm). Collection of Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College, Lynchburg, VA, M.1922.1

Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington (March 10, 1876 – October 4, 1973) was an American sculptor who was among New York City's most prominent sculptors in the early 20th century. At a time when very few women were successful artists, she had a thriving career. Hyatt Huntington exhibited often, traveled widely, received critical acclaim at home and abroad, and won multiple awards and commissions.

• Was Joan of Arc a feminist? (Answer from website: http://www.blueofthesky.com/publicart/works/joanofarc.htm)

"Joan has long been a feminist icon, and the suffragette movement used her image on some of their posters. She lived in the 15th century when sex was the defining characteristic, when women had little or no rights, freedom, or choice"

• How are women represented in the public art in New York?

Joan of Arc is one of a select few sculptures memorializing women in New York. While there are plenty of female figures to be found in public sculpture in the city, most of those images are allegorical or general, rather than representative of specific people.

• What does the commissioning of a statue of Joan of Arc say about the relationship between the United States and France?

During World War I, people looked to Joan of Arc as an symbol of the strong political relationship between France and the United States, and the commonalties in the countries' values as represented in the story of Joan of Arc

• How does Joan of Arc inspire us today?

Like Joan, our faith also has the power to protect us and help us do hard things. Whether Joan's accomplishments came about because of her faith in God, or faith in herself, much can be learned from her life about the power of faith and what's really possible if one is willing to believe

As the blog https://streetsofsalem.com/2013/05/30/joan-for-the-ages/ states:

Mural, Panorama of Military History in the Cadet mess 

GPS: 41.391153, -73.958739

• Thomas Loften Johnson painted the mural in 1936 as part of a Depression-era Works Progress Administration project. Called the Panorama of Military History, it depicts twenty-four military leaders and their most famous battles. 

In the painting, the soldiers are shown kneeling around Joan of Arc, and she herself seems to be lying prone upon a crimson banner embroidered with silver fleur-de-lis. 

• In an essay published in 2018 “The Maid of the Highlands: Joan of Arc Reflected in West Point Iconography” (click on the photo above to access the document), Dr. John Pendergast, Associate Professor in the Department of Foreign Languages at the United States Military Academy, West Point, makes a compelling case that the helmet on the Academy’s crest is directly inspired by Friedrich Schiller, the German Romantic Idealist poet and playwright, who wrote a play in 1801 called "Die Jungfrau von Orleans", usually rendered in English as The Maid of Orleans.

• Regarding her extraordinary military skills, being a young peasant aged 17, Dr. Pendergast notes: ..."she herself summarized her abilities quite plainly in her advice to other officers: “I used to say to them, ‘Go boldly among the English,’ and then I used to go boldly among them myself.” Army officers will recognize this approach as a fundamental aspect of leadership: ask of your soldiers only that which you are willing to do yourself. It seems safe to say that Joan epitomizes the mission statement of the USMA: “To educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation.”

• ...“She committed herself to ridding her country of English invaders so that her people could come together as a nation and live freely. George Washington—the man after whom West Point’s central academic building is named—and Thomas Jefferson—who decreed that the USMA should exist—would surely have agreed that Joan’s was a cause worth fighting and dying for. The founders and leaders of the USMA have enshrined that opinion in images of the Maid that continue to surround cadets, faculty, staff, and visitors to the Highlands of West Point to this day...”

Dr. John Pendergast, “The Maid of the Highlands: Joan of Arc Reflected in West Point Iconography”, 2018

(with Joan of Arc in the background)

Henri Laussucq (American, 1882 - 1975), Poster, 1943, Library of Congress, Public Domain

• Designed to instill patriotism, confidence, and a positive outlook, War Posters were used extensively during WWI & WWII to assist the military and persuade all Americans to help with the war effort.

• The poster “Joan of Arc,” by Haskell Coffin (1878-1941), was commissioned by the United States Treasury Department to urge people to buy war savings stamps. Stamps were low-priced and could be pasted into a booklet that when filled was traded for a war bond.

• The religious image and the intent of the poster is clear; just as God intervened through Joan to save France centuries before, He would, with America’s help, again help His people triumph in France.

• Like Joan of Arc, the name of General Lafayette, the French hero of the Revolutionary War, was also often invoked to arouse American sympathy for the plight of France during the First World War.

• For example, two popular songs of the period were “Joan of Arc, They are Calling You” and “Lafayette, We Are Here!”

You can hear songs and other memorable audio documents about Joan of Arc at: https://www.jeanne-darc.info/audio/

GPS: 43.037664, -87.931043

Photo by Leroy Skalstad - https://pixabay.com/en/architectural-marquette-university-2290483/ archive copy, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68646699

There are more Joan of Arc churches in America than in France.

For a complete list, visit: http://www.maidofheaven.com/joanofarc_churches.asp

It is beyond the scope of our monthly Bulletin to describe them and all the statues of Joan of Arc, from California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Colorado, to Montana, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Louisiana, North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire...

But there is one particular place that we chose to conclude this month's story.

It is a tale of Americans' devotions for the patron saint of France, with a mix of religious and patriotic motivations: the Joan of Arc Chapel at the Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin:

• This medieval chapel built in the early 1400 was located in a village near Lyon in the Rhone River valley. After the French Revolution it fell into decay, despite its association with the beloved saint. It was rescued in the 1920s by Jacques Couelle, an archeologist and architect who was one of France’s leading restorers of ancient buildings. In 1921 the French government was strapped for funds and was selling several historical buildings to wealthy Americans.

• According to a sign on display at the original site in France, Joan of Arc may have visited and prayed at the chapel on 9 March 1429 after meeting King Charles VII of France. Legend relates that Joan prayed to a statue of the Virgin Mary while standing on a flat stone which is now behind the altar. Afterwards, she knelt down and kissed the stone, and ever since, the temperature of the stone has been colder than those that surround it.

• When Gertrude Hill Gavin — daughter of an American railroad magnate and a devotee of St. Joan of Arc — learned of the chapel, she acquired it and had it dismantled and shipped to her property on Long Island, where, a few years earlier, she had erected a French Renaissance chateau also purchased in and shipped from France. Soon after, France enacted a law banning the export of such treasures.

• Gavin was so enamored with St. Joan that she renamed the chapel, which had been called St. Martin de Seysseul for 500 years, in honor of the young French saint. In 1933, Pope Pius XI gave Gavin written permission — the letter hangs in the chapel’s nave — to have Mass said in the building.

• Gavin also bought a 13th-century Gothic altar and “Joan of Arc Stone.” Backed by an official French endorsement of authenticity, the stone is believed to be one upon which Joan prayed for success before battle. The stone, reportedly kissed by the lips of the saint, was installed in the base of a wall niche behind the altar.

• In 1962, the castle was destroyed in a fire that raged for days, however the Chapel was miraculously left intact by the flames. The estate went to a welathy couple, Marc B. Rojtman and his wife, Lillian, who decided to donate it to Marquette University. The Cahepl was dismantled again stone by stone, rebuilt in Wisconsin and dedicated in a moving pageant ceremony on May 26, 1966.

• President James Monroe invited Lafayette, the last surviving major general of the American Revolutionary War, to tour the United States, officially to celebrate the nation's 50th anniversary but also to instill the "spirit of 1776" in the next generation of Americans at a time of great political divide. His tour drew large crowds and sparked a renewal of patriotism.

• From July 1824 to September 1825, Lafayette made a tour of all 24 States in the United States. He was received with a hero's welcome everywhere he stopped. Immense crowds, children, old veterans would come from miles away and wait hours to have a chance to see him, approach him, touch him. Many honors and monuments were presented to commemorate and memorialize the visit.

• The 24 states visited were: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine (ex-Massachusetts / North part), Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C.

• The main means of transportation were stagecoach, horseback, canal barge, and steamboat.

• Throughout the years 2024 and 2025 each city will celebrate this most illustrious Frenchman, ranked alongside the Founding Fathers, practically on a par with George Washington. If anyone harbors any doubt about it, one only needs to read some of the hundreds of local newspaper articles and the accounts or memoirs of contemporary witnesses accounts.

• Several of his stops are memorialized with markers and plaques, some decades-old, and an increasing number of brand new ones, thanks to the energy and enthusiasm deployed by Julien Icher, president of the LafayetteTrail.org, whose goal is to dedicate all 175 markers by 2024.

• These new markers from the LafayetteTrail.org are all made in the same distinctive blue and red cast metal and signed by the William C. Pomeroy Foundation which is generously funding this gigantic project.

• The American Society of Le Souvenir Français Inc. is honored to partner with these two like-minded organizations, as well as all other American patriotic associations and volunteers who are participating in these celebrations, under the umbrella of America250.

As we started with the August 2022 Bulletin, we continue our narration every month with some of the most salient episodes of this remarkable journey of the corresponding month 199 years ago, while keeping you abreast of the many celebrations planned by the local committees of the American Friends of Lafayette in 2024 and in 2025.

For this series we borrow primarily from the testimonies of a privileged close witness, Auguste Levasseur, Lafayette’s personal secretary, who traveled along with the Marquis and his son, George Washington Lafayette, and who published his extensive daily journal: “Lafayette en Amérique 1824-1825, ou Journal d'un voyage aux Etats-Unis" (Published by the Librairie Baudoin, Paris, in 1829). We also rely on other well-documented sources, such as Samuel Lorenzo Knapp. “Memoirs of General Lafayette : with an Account of His Visit to America and His Reception By the People of the United States; From His Arrival, August 15th, to the Celebration at Yorktown, October 19th, 1824”(Published in November, 1824)

GPS: 36.158867, -86.781783

Photo: Image capture Sept 2007 (c) Google 2022 

• ...“The next morning, as soon as we rose, we proceeded to the southward of the city, where we found all the militia of the adjoining counties collected in a camp, which they occupied for some days whilst waiting for the arrival of Lafayette; some of the corps we saw under arms, had come, we were told, more than fifty miles, to add by their presence to the solemnity of the reception given to the guest of the nation. The general, after having seen them manœuvre before him, went through their ranks to express his admiration of their discipline, and his gratitude for the proofs of affection they had shown him.” (Auguste Levasseur, Lafayette en Amérique 1824-1825, p. 340., Vol II)

• Inscription:

“Also called The Commons, originally 240 acres extending south to the river. Given to Davidson Academy by the State of North Carolina, famous as a mustering ground. Here 4,000 Tennessee Militia were reviewed by Andrew Jackson and Lafayette on the latter's visit to Nashville in 1825.

Erected 1928 by Division of Archives and History State of Tennessee.”

May 5, 1825

GPS: 36.214167, -86.615833

Photo top: The Hermitage near Nashville, TN: By Jim Bowen https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12652919

• ...“But it was to the pistols, that General Jackson wished more particularly to draw our attention; he handed them to General Lafayette and asked him if he recognized them. The latter, after examining them attentively for a few minutes, replied that he fully recollected them, to be a pair he had presented in 1778 to his paternal friend Washington, and that he experienced a real satisfaction in finding them in the hands of one so worthy of possessing them. At these words the face of old Hickory was covered with a modest blush, and his eye sparkled as in a day of victory. “Yes! I believe myself worthy of them,” exclaimed he, in pressing the pistols and Lafayette’s hands to his breast; “if not from what I have done, at least for what I wished to do for my country.” All the bystanders applauded this noble confidence of the patriot hero and were convinced that the weapons of Washington could not be in better hands than those of Jackson.” Auguste Levasseur. “Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825, Vol. II, page 347”

• Inscription:

GPS: 37.910400, -86.690500

GPS: 37.9104, -86.6905

Photo: https://www.steamboats.org/archive/9111-2.html

• On the 8th of May at 11 PM, the steamboat Mechanic hit a rock and sank to the bottom of the Ohio River. Lafayette fell to the river and was rescued by a deck of hands to a lifeboat. He lost a desk with $8,000 and valuable papers. He and fellow passengers were rescued on the Kentucky shore and slept overnight on mattresses. The next morning, they crossed the river to a house on the Indiana side. It was here that Lafayette held an informal reception with pioneers of the area following the shipwreck of his steamboat, the Mechanic, May 9, 1826. Early in the morning, Lafayette and his retinue crossed into Indiana to a house sheltering them from an incoming storm. A passing steamboat, the Paragon carried them to Louisville, KY. Today, a marker memorializes the event.

• Inscription:

after the steamer Mechanic sank in the Ohio river May 9,1825.

Erected by Lafayette Spring chapter, D.A.R. 1958

• “...One of them, a vessel of large size and remarkable beauty, was the Paragon; she came from Louisville and was going to New Orleans, with a heavy cargo of whiskey and tobacco. By a very lucky circumstance for us, one of our companions in misfortune, Mr. Neilson, was one of the owners of this vessel, and hastened to put it at the disposal of the Tennessee committee to transport General Lafayette, generously taking on himself all the chances of another misfortune and the loss of insurance. Immediately our whole party, abandoning our bivouac, repaired on board of the Paragon.” Excerpt From Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825, Vol. II by Auguste Levasseur

• Inscription:

on May 9, 1825, General

Lafayette survived sinking of

steamboat ”Mechanic" nearby &

continued to Louisville aboard

passing steamboat “Paragon”.

Daughters of the American Revolution

William G. Pomeroy Foundation 2023

GPS: 38.199489, -84.881133

Photo: Front view of Liberty Hall, built in 1796 in Frankfort, Kentucky. By Christopher L. Riley - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74733332

• During the ball at Weisiger’s tavern, Lafayette paid his respects to Margaretta Brown at Liberty Hall. Margaretta Brown was the wife of John Brown (one Kentucky’s first two US Senators )and ardent “gradual” abolitionist.

•…”the arrival of General Lafayette occasioned as much bustle (in proportion to the population) here as at New York, and I must relate a circumstance which I know will give you pleasure, as it was the cause of great gratification to me. There was a splendid Ball to be given in the evening, but as there were many Ladies who did not attend Balls, and yet wished to see the General, they were introduced to him at his Markee, I was one of the number and had such a hearty and long-continued shake of the hand as to occasion the envy of many an impatient expectant”… (Letter to her mother, Mrs. John Mason, of New York City, in July 12, 1825)

• Inscription:

GPS: 39.09669, -84.50502

Photo: By Samuel Finley Breese Morse - Public Domain

...“The arrival of the steam-boat in the bay, was announced by discharges of artillery from Fort Condé; and when we reached the wharf at Mobile, the general found the committee of the corporation and all the population assembled to receive him. He was conducted to the centre of the town under a triumphal arch" […] “He was then led to an immense hall, expressly constructed for his reception. He there found all the ladies, to whom he was presented by the governor” […] “In returning his thanks to the orator and the citizens of Alabama, the general took a rapid survey of the struggles for liberty in which he had borne so important a part, and concluded by expressing his deep conviction of the necessity of the closest and most intimate union among the states. The inhabitants of Mobile, hoping that the general would pass some days with them, had made great preparations for entertainments to him, but the most part were rendered useless. Limited in his time, he was obliged to yield to the solicitations of the deputation from New Orleans, who pressed him to depart the next morning. Nevertheless he accepted a public dinner, a ball and a masonic celebration; after which we went on board the vessel which was to take him to New Orleans, to obtain a few hours of that repose, which a day filled with so many pleasant emotions had rendered absolutely necessary.”

• Inscription:

“Erected 1975 by the Historic Mobile Preservation Society.”

Mural at Limestone Landing Park Trail, 25 East McDonald Parkway Maysville, KY 41056

GPS: 38.647900, -83.762300

Marker at 221 Sutton St, Maysville, KY 41056, USA

GPS: 38.648253, -83.766689

Photo: Image capture April 2018 (c) 2022 Google

• On May 21st 1825, General LaFayette, his retinue and the Governor of Ohio reached Maysville, Kentucky, on the steamer Herald.

• Inscription:

Erected 1998 by Maysville-Mason County Area Chamber of Commerce, Limestone Economic Development, Inc.

• The approach of the general was announced by the firing of cannon from the steamboat and the ringing of the church bell ...[...] The procession moved up Fish to Second street; thence up Second to Main Cross street to Capt. Langhorne’s hotel, where a large room was prepared, with suitable refreshments, and very handsomely decorated. Here the general received, individually, his revolutionary companions and the large concourse of citizens who had assembled to behold , the greater part of them for the first, and the whole, in all probability, for the last time, this venerable patriot, and early and efficient friend of American freedom...” the Maysville Eagle of May 18, 1825 

• Inscription of Lafayette Tour Marker:

GPS: 39.410417, -81.452200

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/TheLafayetteHotel/

• Inscription:

“Returning in 1824 to the young Nation he had greatly assisted during the Revolutionary War, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquess de la Fayette embarked on an unprecedented and triumphal Tour of the United States which lasted 1½ years. In early 1825 he left New Orleans by boat landing at Marietta on May 25, 1825 stopping overnight at the residence of Nahum Ward. From Marietta, Lafayette proceeded to Pittsburgh then overland to Boston where he dedicated and laid the cornerstone of Bunker Hill Monument in Boston on June 17, 1825. Lafayette arrived in France in October 1825 and was received with great honor in the Court of Charles X at Versailles. (See picture in Hotel Lafayette Lobby). Marietta was founded in 1788 and named in honor of the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette (1755-1795).

Erected 1959 by S. Durward Hoag, Innkeeper.”

GPS: 40.1050648, -80.5100469

Photo: unknown publisherPainting Malcom Parcell - Ebay auction, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30555452

Postcard depicting the 1825 visit of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette to Washington, Pennsylvania, where he dined at The Pioneer Grill located in The George Washington Hotel and stayed at the Globe Inn.

• Inscription:

“On May 25, 1825, general

Lafayette was warmly

welcomed by the citizens of

West Alexander with whom

he shared refreshments.”

William G. Pomeroy Foundation 2022

GPS: 39.901334, -79.725347

Photo: Left: Daguerreotype of Albert Gallatin, only photograph taken of him. c. 1844–1849 - By Anthony, Edwards & Co. - United States Library of Congress Prints and Photographs division, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=700448

• ...“At Uniontown, the seat of justice for the county of Lafayette, he was received with a simplicity and cordiality calculated to recall the character of the founders of Pennsylvania. “For the purpose of addressing their national guest, the inhabitants of Uniontown employed, as their organ of communication, one of his oldest and best friends, Mr. Gallatin, known in Europe from his diplomatic labours, and whom the American leaders have always reckoned among the number of their most able defenders. Placed upon a stage raised in the centre of the town, Mr. Gallatin received General Lafayette, and addressed him in the name of the surrounding people, who listened in silence.” (Auguste Levasseur. “Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825, Vol. II., p. 397)

• Albert de Gallatin (born in Geneva, Switzerland, January 29, 1761 – August 12, 1849), nicknamed “America’s Swiss Founding Father” by scholar and author Nicholas Dungan, was Secretary of the Treasury (1801-1814), and Ambassador to France (1816-1823), an ethnologist, linguist, and a longtime close friend of Lafayette.

• Inscription:

GPS: 39.786221, -79.917857

Photo: by ScottyBoy900Q at the English-language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5874893

• Friendship Hill was the home of Geneva-born Albert Gallatin (1761–1849) who was a U.S. Congressman, the longest-serving Secretary of the Treasury under two presidents, and ambassador to France and Great Britain. The house is maintained by the National Park Service.

• Gallatin and Lafayette’s friendship was renewed during Gallatin’s stay in France as Ambassador in Paris in 1816 and Gallatin invited Lafayette and his retinue to rest a couple of days in his country home. But the crowd of visitors who continuously pressed in the gardens didn’t leave much private time for the two friends.

• Inscription:

GPS: 40.272752, -79.886776

Photo: 3¢ US Post Office Stamp issued for the Bicentennial of Lafayette's birth, 1957, Public Domain

• ..."Past noon, Lafayette alighted at Major John Walker's Hotel, located at the southwestern corner of Market and Water streets. He was addressed from the footsteps of the adjacent house. He then boarded a ship and proceeded to Braddock's field (site of the French victory over the British in July 1755).

•“On the 28th of May Mr. Gallatin reconducted us to Uniontown, when we took leave of him to go to Elizabethtown, a little village situated on the banks of the Monongahela. We arrived there about twelve o’clock; when a boat, propelled by four oars, received us on board, and we descended the river to the famous Braddock’s Field, which we reached some time after sunset. ” (Auguste Levasseur. “Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825", Vol. II. p. 400)

• Inscription:

You can click on the photos throughout our bulletins and also on the links indicated in blue for more information and direct access to sources.

For the record, our association had already honored Antoine de Saint Exupéry in the year 2000, by placing a plaque at 3 East 52nd Street, but wanted to pay homage to him with a sculpture, as is the case in several countries. The idea of a sculpture was first proposed by the late Colonel Roger Cestac, president of our association in the 1990's.

Antoine de Saint Exupéry wrote The Little Prince® entirely in New York, and his name is among the 463 volunteers and conscripts from New York who “Died For France”.

Originally intended for Central Park, it couldn't be materialized for a host of reasons and the project lingered for several years. Immediately upon his election at the head of our organization in 2021, Thierry Chaunu, along with fellow Board Members Jean-Hugues Monier & Francis Dubois decided to make it a top priority.

With the unfailing and constant support of The Antoine de Saint Exupéry Youth Foundation headed by its Vice-president Mr. Olivier d'Agay (great-nephew of the author), Nicolas Delsalle-Mun, General Delegate of the Foundation, and members of the Saint-Exupéry family, a “Steering Committee” composed of MM. Nicolas Delsalle, Jean-Hugues Monier, Francis Dubois and Thierry Chaunu pursued the project from start to finish.

Thanks to Brigitte Van den Hove-Smith, Regional Delegate for the Southeast region of the USA who did the introduction, the Board of our association selected the renowned French sculptor Jean-Marc de Pas in March 2022 after a bidding process.

This project received in May 2022 the high patronage of the French Ambassador in the United States Mr. Philippe Etienne and the General Consul of France in New York, Mr. Jérémie Robert.

An Honorary Committee, co-chaired by American author Stacy Schiff (Pulitzer Prize) and Mr. Olivier d'Agay was formed in June 2022 and co-signed a fundraising campaign, to which many French and American donors, individuals and companies, responded enthusiastically.

Finally, among several possible locations, the choice of Cultural Services-Villa Albertine on Fifth Avenue was chosen in September with the active support of the Cultural Attaché Mr. Gaëtan Bruel.

We officially presented the project on October 13, 2022, at the French Cultural Services - Villa Albertine in New York.

To date, the sculpture is in the process of being examined by the Landmark Commission, after having received a very favorable opinion during a preliminary hearing (8 votes "for", 1 abstention).

The final version of the sculpture is about to be transported to the foundry, then will be transported to New York by Air France, for an installation in August and an inauguration scheduled for around September 20, 2023.

We will keep you informed in the coming Bulletins.

GPS: 40.104526, -75.437874 (Chapel)

Photos: FredFons1, Katia Graytok, Thierry Chaunu

• We are honored to attend every first Sunday of May a most special celebration service at the George Washington Memorial Chapel.

As we do every year, we placed alongside the tricolor standard a wreath with the ribbon of our association The American Society of Le Souvenir Français.

Another wreath was placed by the Association of French Reserve Officers in the United States (ACREFEU). The new Honorary Consul of France, Ms. Marine Havel, spoke during the ceremony and laid a wreath from the French Government to pay tribute to soldiers and sailors, French and American, who died in the struggle for American independence.

• According tho the instructions of General George Washington, every year, on the first Sunday in May, Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge commemorates the Treaty and its celebration at the Valley Forge encampment on May 6, 1778 with a mass to thank France and King Louis XVI. The Treaty of Alliance, Friendship and Commerce between France and the United States, signed in Paris in February 1778, turned the tide of America's struggle for independence during the American Revolution.

• We thank Rev Father Tommy Thompson, Rector, president David Lauhoff, past president Gardiner Pearson, new executive Director Mark Thompsson, and salute all the other dignitaries present, as well as all the re-enactors for their most gracious welcome and friendship.

• The Chapel is both a place of worship and a memorial to George Washington, the Founders and Patriots, and the Continental Army. It seeks to ensure that the ideals and principles of the American Revolution are understood and kept alive by contemporary and future Americans. The mission of Washington Memorial Heritage, a 501 (c ) 3, is to preserve the Chapel and support its secular mission. For more information, contact: Board@wrmheritage.org

Photos Top, clockwise: French War Veterans Paul Garabédian, Jean Legall, Henry Dubarry, Michel Dumerchat • Général de brigade Vincent de Kytspotter / PhD, Head of Military and Defense Mission, French Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Prof. Clément Mbom, Board Member, American Society of Le Souvenir Français Inc., Patrick du Tertre, president of the Association of French Reserve Officers in the United States (ACREFEU) and 1st Vice President of our Society, Lt. Col. Dionysios Dionou-Weiss, US Army • Group photo on the steps around Alain Dupuis, president of the Federation of French War Veterans, 2nd Vice President of our Society and Deputy General Delegate of Le Souvenir Français in the United States.

Messages from Julien Icher, President, The Lafayette Trail, Inc:

• The Lafayette Trail, Inc. is pleased to announce the dedication of a new Lafayette Trail historic marker near Cannelton, Perry County, IN on Monday, May 1, 2023. The marker dedication ceremony took place at Lafayette Spring. The site is located east of Cannelton, IN along Indiana Route 66 (also known as the Ohio River Scenic Byway) past the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers station.

• The Lafayette Trail, Inc. is pleased to announce the dedication of a new Lafayette Trail historic marker in Cincinnati, OH on Wednesday, May 3, 2023,

• The Lafayette Trail, Inc. is pleased to announce the dedication of a new Lafayette Trail historic marker in Richmond, VA on Saturday, May 13, 2023

• The Lafayette Trail, Inc. is pleased to announce the upcoming dedication of a new Lafayette Trail historic marker in Poughkeepsie, NY on Monday, May 15, 2023, at 10 am ET.

• The Lafayette Trail, Inc. is pleased to announce the upcoming dedication of a new Lafayette Trail historic marker in Red Hook, NY on Monday, May 15, 2023, at 2 pm ET.

• The Lafayette Trail, Inc. is pleased to announce the upcoming dedication of a new Lafayette Trail historic marker in Johnstown, NY on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at 10 am ET. This ceremony will kick off our new historic marker series focusing on Lafayette's Revolutionary War life!

If you have any questions, email: dedications@thelafayettetrail.org

We are pleased to announce the release of episode 22 of Follow The Frenchmen, our Video Series about the Lafayette Trail! The episode takes place in Southern Illinois. Click on the video player at the top of this email to check it out now!

#followthefrenchmen : EPISODE 22 | ILLINOIS

You may also view episode 22 by visiting our official YouTube Channel. The video includes Closed Captioning. To enable this feature, click on the

Yorktown Site, 99 Moseman Road, Yorktown, NY (one of five 1781 encampment locations, AKA Yorktown Grange Fairgrounds)

GPS: 41.019507, -73.816878

GPS: 41.268805, -73.770598

GPS: 41.126083, -73.694067

"Follow the French", sponsored by Friends of Odell House...

A detailed narration of the encampments of the French Army led by General Rochambeau has just been released on a the free app downloadable on your smartphone TravelStorysGPS.

The episodes Follow the French, sponsored by Friends of Odell House,

The app works on. iPhone and Android, and can be downloaded for free at

You can now visit the different sites and listen to the narrations while driving, as the episodes play automatically based on your GPS location - no need for access to Wifi or cell coverage!

• The United War Veterans Council invites you to join us on Tuesday, May 23, for its annual They Turned the Tide event, commemorating the Allied service members who won the Battle of the Atlantic and made possible the liberation of Europe during World War II.

• This year's commemoration will mark the 40th Anniversary of the Memorial, the 80th Anniversary of the battle, and the 100th Anniversary of the American Battle Monuments Commission, stewards of the East Coast Memorial and of U.S. military cemeteries around the world.

Date:  Tuesday, May 23

Time:  5:30 - 6:45pm

Location:  East Coast Memorial, Battery Park, Lower Manhattan (Map)

Keynote speaker:  Vice Admiral John Mustin, Chief of Navy Reserves, U.S. Navy

Historical spotlight:  Event plans include an offshore salute from the brand-new USCG Warren Deyampert, named for a seaman whose name is etched on the Memorial Wall.

Uniform/attire:  Summer whites or equivalent for military; Business/Dressy Business Casual (e.g. jacket & tie/ladies equivalent) for civilians.

Monday, May 22, 2023 at 6:30PM lecture on the French presence in New York and French contributions to American arts and literature by Pierre F. de Ravel d'Esclapon, lawyer, professor and historian as part of a series organized by the General Consulate. Registration required at Eventbrite.

Sunday, May 28 - Memorial Day tribute at the One Hundred Seventh Infantry Memorial at Central Park on 5th avenue and 67th Street. Meeting at 10:30AM in front of the Armory on Park Avenue at 68th Street. Departure at 10:45AM for the monument and return to the Armory (Public wreath-laying ceremony). As every year, the Federation of French War Veterans, the American Society of Le Souvenir Français, the Association of French Reserve Officer in the United States (ACREFEU) will be represented.

Monday, May 29: Memorial Day parade in Douglaston, Long Island at 11:00AM for show and speeches. Parade starts at 1:00PM

As every year, the Federation of French War Veterans will participate.

Tuesday, June 6, Belgian government ceremony at 10:00AM (Location to be announced in our next Bulletin).

Wednesday, June 7 at the French General consulate in New York, at 6:00PM fundraising for the Cadets Lafayette Marching Band. Performance by Jacques and Marie Letalon.

Call (347) 306-0157 for registration

Tuesday, June 13 : Paris-American Club dinner at the National Arts Club, 15 Grammercy Park, New York, NY.

Thierry Chaunu, president of the American Society of Le Souvenir Français, Inc. will present remarks on the sculpture of Le Petit Prince® and its author Antoine de Saint Exupéry, and the leading role of our association with this worthy endeavor.

Friday July 7: Concert by the Les Petits Chanteurs de Monaco (Monaco Boys Choir) at St. Bartholomew’s Church 325 Park Avenue (at 51st Street) Presented by Great Music at St. Bart's - MMPAF.org

This performance is free and open to the public. You can view a video of this uniquely gifted group at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nayxv-4udbs&t=268s

Friday July 13: Bastille Day celebration at Central Park in New York organized by the CAFUSA (Central Committee of French-Speaking Societies in New York), Dr. Gérard Epelbaum, president.

Details will be announced in next month's bulletin.

Saturday, July 14: annual wreath-laying ceremony at the Statue de Rochambeau and the Monument to the French Fleet, Newport, R.I. (details in our next June Bulletin) and weekend "Tribute to France" in Newport, R.I. with many activities and re-enactors, sponsored by the Newport Historical Society, the Alliance Française of Newport, the National Park Service, with the participation of the Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, the American Friends of Lafayette, the American Society of Le Souvenir Français, Inc.

Tuesday, October 3: dedication of our new historical marker "Duc de Lauzun and his Legion of hussars" at the Battle of the Hook at Gloucester, VA.

Thursday, October 19: Celebration of the combined French-American Victory at Yorktown, VA.

Support our organization! Purchase or offer this e-book which makes great reading for all ages. All royalties go to the American Society of Le Souvenir Français, Inc. Simply click on this link: Amazon.com

• The exact transcription of the inscription appearing on the pedestal or plaque

• 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. 

Françoise Cestac, Honorary President • Thierry Chaunu, President • Yves de Ternay, Treasurer • Patrick du Tertre, 1st Vice President • Henri Dubarry • Francis Dubois • Alain Dupuis, 2nd Vice President • Daniel Falgerho, General Secretary • Pierre Gervois • Caroline Lareuse • Clément Mbom, Education Advisor • Jean-Hugues Monier, Auditor • Harriet Saxon • Nicole Yancey

Jacques Baisnenou, Great Lakes and Midwest • Bruno Cateni, South

Prof. Norman Desmarais, New England • Alain Leca, Washington D.C. •

Marc Onetto, West Coast • Brigitte Van den Hove – Smith, Southeast • Nicole Yancey, Yorktown & Virginia, former Honorary Consul of France in Virginia

Email: tchaunu@SouvenirFrancaisUSA.org Tel: (212) 847-1371