Battle of The Capes, September 5, 1781.

This month of June, as many of us are heading to the beaches, we cannot help but reflect on the crucial role of navies in the history of warfare. Whichever World Power controls the seas has a decisive strategic advantage in the outcome of a war spreading to several continents.

In this Bulletin, we would like to give an overview of the crucial role played by the French Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Although the British Royal Navy enjoyed overall superiority at sea, the French Marine Royale not only carried French troops across the Atlantic Ocean, they fought the British Navy on all oceans from the Caribbean to India, and by winning the "Battle of the Capes" on September 5, 1781, successfully sealed the fate of the British in Yorktown, the resounding victory which led to the Independence of the United States.

These last few weeks have been quite active for our association!

We celebrated Memorial Day side-by-side with the New York 7th Regiment Veterans at the Armory in Park Avenue, New York at a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument of this fabled regiment on 5th Avenue & 69th Street, on the border of Central Park.

On June 14, we inaugurated a new interpretive marker at the monument of Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant in Arlington National Cemetery, co-signed by your association and the Daughters of the American Revolution, with dozens of wreaths laid by presidents of major patriotic and fraternal organizations, in the presence of Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Sears and Deputy Ambassador of France Mme Aurélie Bonal. Dozens of distinguished guests laid a rose at the monument. The new marker will educate some of the 10,000 tourists who visit these hallowed grounds every calendar day, 365 days a year!

You will find more photos of these memorable occasions further below.

Among the many projects that are on the horizon, we are planning the restoration of a stele to the memory of explorer La Pérouse in Maui, the inauguration of a plaque to the memory of the same explorer at Glacier National Park in Alaska, our participation to the several patriotic exercises in Yorktown in October, the installation of a memorial at the future Odell House Museum (location of Rochambeau's headquarters from July 6 until August 19, 1781) in Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, the installation of the statue of The Little Prince and a bust of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Manhattan, the participation to the restoration of the frigate Hermione....

We mailed a reminder letter to all supporters and past members to renew their 2022 membership. Please help us promote the long-standing historical bonds of alliance and friendship between France and the United States of America with concrete, tangible markers and plaque to be erected coast to coast. We thank you for supporting our growing activities with your annual membership, your generous donations, and are always grateful for your suggestions and encouragements!

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

Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge, By John Ward Dunsmore - https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/91792202/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16944858

Just like the first American troops came to the aid of embattled France during some of the darkest hours of World War One in 1917, a hundred and fifty years before, the first French volunteers came to help the Insurgents and served in the Continental Army.

Many were young French aristocrats, impassioned with the ideals of Freedom and "Rights of Man" propagated by the philosophers of the "Age of Enlightenment", Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Montesquieu, d'Alembert, to name a few. The effervescence is Parisian salons was palpable. News of the struggles of the American Insurgents were the talk of the salons and dinners, and the arrival of the American envoys to the court of Versailles was met with halting expectations from the French. The popularity of Benjamin Franklin, nicknamed the "Bonhomme Franklin" was universal throughout France. Everyone was rooting for the success of the Insurgents, and the desire for revenge after the humiliating defeat of the Seven Years War (named the French & Indian War this side of the pond) was certainly a factor.

King Louis XVI and his ministers were hesitant to start a new war. Initially, they agreed to secretly help the Insurgents with the shipment of arms, ammunitions, clothing, and volunteers, a scheme masterfully organized by Beaumarchais, the immortal author of "Le mariage de Figaro", who created a fictitious Spanish trading company Hortalez & Co. to this end.

Among the young aristocrats looking to serve the cause of Liberty, and enamored with America, the likes of Lafayette, L'Enfant and many others presented themselves to the Continental Congress, asking for commissions and a rank within the Continental Army, under the command of General George Washington, and at their own expenses.

Everything seemed lost during the terrible winter of 1777-1778, when the Continental Army quartered in Valley Forge, with scant food and clothing. George Washington and his commanders, as well as the entire army, was at its depths. Short of a miracle, the implacable strength of the British troops was about to crush, once and for all, the brave insurgents.

However, Louis XVI resolved to sign the famous Treaty of Alliance, Friendship and Commerce of February 6, 1778, and agreed to openly side with the American Insurgents. When news reached Congress and George Washington on May 4, the joy was indescribable. So were their expectations. It would take another 5 long years of armed conflict to secure a final victory.

For this to happen, French troops had to cross the ocean, transported and protected by French Navy warships, numerous naval battles were to be fought. While naval supremacy couldn't be achieved universally by any of the two main protagonists, France and Britain, local dominance, even temporary, enabled one side to prevail.

This was made possible by a combination of the most advanced shipbuilding techniques of the times, daring naval officers and well-trained crews, excellent tactical operating procedures, and last but not least, the right amount of luck at precisely the right time.

This is not in the scope of this bulletin to narrate each and every turn of this long war fought on the oceans. Rather, we will illustrate the role of the French Navy by presenting a few of the most illustrious ships and their captains: the frigate Hermione, commanded by Captain Latouche, the 80-gun Duc de Bourgogne commanded by Admiral de Ternay, the three decker ship of the line "Ville de Paris", and its admiral de Grasse, the role played by Barras in transporting the heavy artillery to Yorktown, as well as the less successful, but historically noteworthy, role of Admiral d'Estaing in the siege Savanah, GA., a site that can still be visited today.

2014 September 17th, Hermione replica, built in Rochefort, comes off the Charente river, and reach open sea for the first time. Thousands of spectators attend this first departure.

• Hermione was a 32-gun Concorde-class frigate of the French Navy. Designed for speed, she was one of the first ships of the French Navy to receive a copper sheathing, a new technique pioneered in England that made ships run faster, and delayed the corrosive effect of salt water and biofouling. She became famous when she ferried General La Fayette to the United States in his return trip in 1780 in support of the rebels.

• On May 4, 1780, the Captain of Hermione, Louis-René Latouche-Tréville, received on board the principal members of the Massachusetts State Council as well as personalities such as Samuel Adams and John Hancock (future first governor of Massachusetts).

The Hermione sailed from Boston on May 14 for Penobscot Bay in search of two enemy ships, and approached the English positions at Castine. On her return, she stopped at Portsmouth (then the capital of the state of New Hampshire) on May 19 before returning to Boston two days later.

• The Hermione set sail again on May 29, 1780, this time south. In the days that followed, she captured two English merchant ships: the English brig Thomas with a cargo of butter, candles and soap on June 2 south of Nantucket, then the salt laden Rewrery on June 6 south of Long Island.

• On June 7, 1780, the French frigate fought the British frigate Iris off Long Island and suffered significant damage. During the one-and-a-half-hour fight, the Hermione fired 260 cannon shots, 140 scree shots and 1,280 rifle and blunderbuss shots.

• One of the officers wounded in this fight who died a few days later at the Newport hospital was Lt. Benjamin de la Villemarais (also spelled Lavilmarais), whom we honored this past September 10, 2021, with a grave marker alongside the one of Major Pierre du Rousseau, chevalier de Fayolle, aide-de-camp of Lafayette, also an officer of the Hermione.

• She went on to participate in the Battle of Cape Henry on 16 March 1781, and a major one in the action of 21 July 1781, when along with the frigate Astrée captained by La Pérouse, she engaged a convoy of 18 British ships and their Royal Navy escorts. The French captured two of the British escorts while the remainder of the British convoy managed to escape.

• Charles-Henri-Louis d'Arsac, chevalier de Ternay (27 January 1723 - 15 December 1780) was born in Angers (Maine & Loire) of an old noble family with origins in Brittany. He enrolled in the French Navy at the age of 15. He rose through the ranks and had a well deserved reputation for his wisdom and cautious decision-making. Ternay was the naval commander of a 1762 expedition that successfully captured St. John's Newfoundland.

• He was appointed commander of the French naval forces whose mission was to successfully transport Rochambeau's army across the ocean. On 2 May 1780, he departed Brest with a 7-ship and 3-frigate squadron, escorting 36 transports carrying troops and heavy artillery. Although fast-running frigates under his command could have captured slower British merchant ships during the crossing, he wisely restrained them and focused on his mission to land the troops to America as fast as possible. He landed in Boston on June 11, 1780.

• Admiral de Ternay died on December 15, 1780 of typhus shortly after meeting George Washington with Rochambeau in October. On December 16, 1780, a procession starting from the Hunter House on Water Street (now Washington Street) led by military men and nine Catholic chaplains, wound its way through the streets of Newport. A fifteen-gun salute was fired as soon as the casket came into sight of his flagship, the 80 gun ship of the line Duc de Bourgogne, which was anchored in Newport Harbor. A cannon was fired every half-hour for the rest of the day and flags were at half-mast. Newport residents lined the streets to watch as the French military commemorated Admiral de Ternay and lowered him into the ground.

• He was posthumously enrolled in the Society of Cincinnati for his role in the war. Port Glaud, district of Mahé, Seychelles, Baie Ternay and Cap Ternay are named after him. There is a bay Ternay in Primorsky Krai, Russia, which was discovered by La Pérouse on June 23, 1787 and named after Ternay.

“D.O.M.

Lies under this marble

Charles Louis d'Arsac de Ternay

Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, From a noble and ancient House of Brittany. Chief of the Naval Armies of His Most Christian Majesty. Citizen Soldier. As a General Officer, he deserved well from his King and his country for forty two years.

After the fatal day of Croisic, the King's ships having been dispersed in the dangerous and impassable straits of the Vilaine, animated by a happy audacity and by tireless work during the years 1760, 1761, in the very presence of the enemy who opposed his efforts, he tore them from the deep chasms of the river and returned them to the ports which were destined for them.

In 1762 he seized the Isle of Terra Nova in America.

In 1772, appointed Governor of the Isles of France and Bourbon, he devoted himself entirely to the advantages of France and the happiness of the Colonists who were entrusted to his care for seven years.

Sent in 1780 by the Most Christian King to the aid of the United States which was fighting for their freedom, he took up post in Rhode Island; while preparing for further attempts, he succumbed at Newport to a death which cost many tears and regrets to his officers, his crews, the United States, virtuous men and his loved ones on December 197 of the same year aged 58.

The very Christian King Judge and very equitable remunerative of Virtue, to consecrate to posterity the memory of such a respectable General, ordered that this Monument be erected.

M.DCCLXXXIII »

[ South side : ]

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• Admiral François Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse, Marquis of Grasse-Tilly (13 September 1722 – 11 January 1788) is best known for his command of the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781. It led directly to the British surrender at Yorktown ensuring the Independence of the United States.

• In 1779, he joined the fleet of Count d'Estaing in the Caribbean as commander of a squadron. He contributed to the capture of Grenada and took part in the Battle of Martinique (1780) against Admiral Rodney. De Grasse was promoted to lieutenant-general of the Navy (vice-admiral) in March 1781, and was successful in defeating Admiral Samuel Hood and taking Tobago.

• De Grasse responded to Washington and Rochambeau when they appealed for his aid in 1781, setting sail with 3,000 troops from Saint-Domingue. He decisively defeated the British fleet in the Battle of the Chesapeake on September 5, 1781. He drew away the British forces and blockaded the coast until Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.

• He acted decisively, had a jovial temper, hosted George Washington for dinner on board his flagship 104-cannon “Ville de Paris”, however didn’t set foot on American soil, which maybe explain while his role, although crucial, is usually overlooked and unjustly forgotten.

• This is when the famous anecdote took place: when greeting on board General George Washington, for a festive dinner, the Admiral, himself 6 feet and almost as tall as the general, embraced the general with the words of welcome: "Bienvenue, mon petit Général"!

• His statue at Cape Henry, VA, is inside a US Navy installation and difficult to visit.

The base no longer issues passes at the gate to visit the park and you cannot drive a personal vehicle onto the base unless you have official base access, i.e., military ID, retiree ID, dependent ID, etc. Visitors must now park in a designated parking spot near the gate and board a free shuttle that will take them to the park

Contact: Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story Public Affairs Office

• Inscription:

• Marker, “Battle of the Capes”, Cape Henry, VA

“On the morning of September 5, 1781, a line of 19 British warships appeared off this cape, headed for Chesapeake Bay. Surprised at anchor in the mouth of the bay, the crews of 24 French warships scrambled out to challenge them. Both fleets sailed southward together in parallel “lines of battle,” passing out of view of the cape. Then the cannonade began. For two hours, their broadsides could be heard on shore. By nightfall, the shore was quiet again; the two fleets had dueled to a stand-off.

The French blockade of the Chesapeake had held, and the British troops of General Charles Cornwallis were denied supplies and reinforcements at Yorktown. On October 19, 1781, General Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington, assuring America victory in the Revolutionary War.

Erected by U.S. Department of the Army, Fort Story, Virginia.

• Marker, “Battle of the Capes 1781”, Cape Henry, VA

• Inscription:

…"I wish it was in my power to express to Congress how much I feel myself indebted to the Count of deGrasse and his fleet…" 

"…I consider myself infinitely happy to have been of some service to the United States …reserve me a place in your memory …" 

"I wish it were within my power to express to Congress how much I feel myself indebted to the Count de Grasse and the Officers of the Fleet under his Command for the distinguished Aid and Support which have been afforded by them, between whom and the Army, the most happy concurrence of Sentiments and Views have subsisted and from whom every possible Cooperation has been experienced."

• Marker, “Battle of the Capes 1781”, Cape Henry, VA

• Inscription:

• Inscription:

37.240875, -76.521614

218 Abercorn St, Savannah, GA 31401

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Savannah

32.075100, -81.090917

• Inscription:

“This grave links Savannah with one of history's greatest naval dramas - the epic fight in 1779 between the "Bon Homme Richard" and "Serapis" in which John Paul Jones immortalized himself. Denis Nicolas Cottineau de Kerloguen received a commission in the Continental Navy during the American Revolution. Commanding the slow sailing “Pallas” during the famous naval engagement of September 23, 1779, Capt. Cottineau, by skillful seamanship, forced H.M.S. “Countess of Scarborough” to strike her colors. He was subsequently wounded in a duel with another officer, Pierre Landais, against whom Commodore Jones made serious charges after the battle.

In 1928 Ambassador Paul Claudel of France knelt in homage here at the grave of the gallant Frenchman who helped establish the prestige of the infant American Navy.

Erected 1957 by Georgia Historical Commission”

• Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, comte d'Estaing (24 November 1729 – 28 April 1794) was a French general and admiral. 

• He started his career in the French Army, and reached the rank of Brigadier General in the infantry, fought the British in India during the Seven Years War (known in America as the French & Indian War), was wounded and made prisoner, was released, transferred there to the French Navy and fought gallantly in the Indian Ocean. Back at the Court of Versailles, he managed to be promoted Lieutenant General of the Naval Forces. This promotion rattled many career Navy officers, and made him somewhat unpopular.

• Named Vice-Admiral for the Atlantic, he initially commanded the French naval forces in the first phase of the American War of Independence.

His record was inconclusive. Although he was very brave and never hesitated to lead his men in an assault, his subordinates resented his lack of strategic seamanship.

• Between the 11th and the 22nd of July 1778, he blockaded the smaller British fleet of Lord Howe at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, but didn't enter New York harbour, fearing the treacherous sand bar and unwilling to risk his ships.

• In June 1779 , after successfully taking Saint Vincent, he took Grenada from the British, and in August he sailed back to Savanah Georgia, to join forces with the Americans who wanted to recapture the British-held city.

• The siege consisted of a joint Franco-American attempt to retake Savannah from 16 September 1779 to 18 October 1779, with d'Estaing in overall command of the combined forces. After weeks of fruitless bombardment, on 9 October 1779, a major assault against the British siege works failed. During the attack, d'Estaing was twice wounded. When the assault failed, d'Estaing lifted the siege. British forces remained in control of coastal Georgia until they withdrew near the end of the war.

• It is during this siege that Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant tried to dismantle and set fire to the abatis (a barrier of sharpened tree limbs designed to slow down the attackers), was wounded and taken prisonner. He would be released later when General Rochambeau agreed to an exchange of prisoners, rejoined General Washington's staff and later designed Washington D.C.

• The admiral sailed back to France and although he was initially feted as a hero for the capture of Grenada, he eventually fell out of favor at the Court. He was guillotined during the French Revolution. The day of his sentence, he famously declared to the judges:

Map By Antoine O' Connor, engineer of Admiral d'Estaing

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107371043

• Vice-Admiral Charles-Henri d'Estaing had sailed from San Domingo in the West Indies in August; his French troops had been disembarked in September at Beaulieu Plantation on the Vernon River.

• The French troops and American militia, numbering 5,500, half-encircled the British in Savannah on September 15. Within the city, the British forces were approximately 2630. When the battle ended at Spring Hill that October 9th morning 333 British, French and American soldiers and 32 officers were dead; 377 lay wounded. 

• The dead were buried in a mass grave probably on the site of the present Savannah visitor's Center.

• Excerpts of marker

Jacques-Melchior Saint-Laurent, Comte de Barras (1719–1793 notably served in Yorktown. He was a scion of one of the most ancient (since the Crusades) and most famous noble families of Provence. He enlisted in the French Navy at the age of 15, rose through the ranks and by 1778 commanded a squadron under Admiral de Ternay. In 1781, he was named in charge of the squadron stationed in Newport, RI and commanded the three-decker ship of the line Duc de Bourgogne.

Afterwards Barras served under De Grasse in the West Indies. He led the French expedition that captured Montserrat in February 1782 then participated in the ill-fated Battle of the Saintes in the Caribbean Sea where the British prevailed and thwarted the invasion plan against Jamaica.

Portrait of Latouche-Tréville as a rear-admiral, in 1792. Louis-Philippe commissioned the painting for the History Museum of Versailles in 1835; By Georges Rouget - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17859662

Louis-René Madelaine Le Vassor, comte de La Touche-Tréville  (3 June 1745 – 19 August 1804 was a French vice-admiral. He fought in the American War of Independence and became a prominent figure of the French Revolutionary Wars and of the Napoleonic wars.

In May 1777, he was promoted to lieutenant and was given command of the 20-gun corvette Rossignol, then captain of the Hermione.

Jean François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse 23 August 1741 – 1788 became noticed during the American War of Independence and two years after the Peace Treaty of Paris in 1983, was chosen by King Louis XVI to lead a scientific expedition around the world, equaling that of Captain Cook. His ships stopped in Chile, Hawaii, Alaska, California, Macau, Japan, Russia, and Australia, before wrecking on the reefs of Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands and his death at the hands of the island natives.

At the outbreak of the war in 1778, Lapérouse was given command of the 32-gun frigate Amazone. On 7 October 1779, he captured the 20-gun HMS Ariel. La Pérouse was promoted to Captain in 1780, and served under Admiral Ternay, departing Brest on 2 May 1780. Lapérouse then transferred to Astrée, and was appointed to lead a frigate division, along with Hermione, commanded by Latouche-Tréville.

In August 1782 he captured two English forts (Prince of Wales Fort and York Fort) on the coast of Hudson Bay, but allowed the survivors, including Governor Samuel Hearne of Prince of Wales Fort, to sail off to England in exchange for a promise to release French prisoners held in England.

Naval battle off Louisbourg, July 21, 1781. On July 21, 1781, the French 32-gun frigates Astrée and Hermione, commanded respectively by La Pérouse and Latouche-Tréville, engaged a convoy of 18 British ships and their Royal Navy escorts. After a few hours of fighting, HMS Jack lowered her flag and HMS Charlestown was dismasted from her mainmast. Taking advantage of the darkness at nightfall, the latter slipped away.

This Bulletin only outlines the maritime dimension of the American Revolutionary War in American waters.

Many naval battles have been fought in other theaters of operation, such as the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean... Many exploits, many officers deserve a complete Bulletin. We will no doubt have the opportunity to do so in the future.

• Thus, the eminent role of the illustrious family of La Croix de Castries, starting with the Marquis Charles-Eugène-Gabriel de La Croix de Castries, (whom the Court called Castries) who had succeeded Minister Sartine on October 16, 1780. He is the one who convinced Prime Minister Maurepas and Foreign Minister Vergennes that the war could be won.

Two other members of this family participated in the War of Independence in Admiral de Ternay's squadron:

• Armand-Charles-Augustin de La Croix de Castries, Comte de Charlus, (known as Charlus in America) son of Charles-Eugène de La Croix de Castries, and enlisted at the age of 24, second colonel of the Saintonge regiment, who was aboard the Jason, and who wrote the "Journal of my trip to America"

• Anne-Jean-Jacques-Scipion de La Croix de Vagnas, (Scipion) Vicomte de Castries, cousin of Charles-Eugène, engaged at 23, who served on board the Neptune and the Hermione, who wrote his riveting "Maritime Memories".

We recommend that you visit the Château de Castries, in the town of Castries:

Postal address: Friends of the Château de Castries, 7 rue du château 34160 Castries

Email address: amischateaudecastries@gmail.com

Website: http://www.amischateaudecastries.fr

While there are many historical markers recounting all the different episodes of the French Army under Rochambeau, from Rhode Island to Virginia, there are very few of them paying tribute to the crucial role of the French Navy.

When there are dozens of plaques paying tribute to the memory of French soldiers who died for the cause of Liberty and who are buried in the United States, there are none paying tribute to the sailors (and soldiers) who died at sea and were unceremoniously dumped overboard, to rest at the bottom of the ocean and be eaten by fish.

The American Society of Le Souvenir Français is working on installing a bronze plaque in Yorktown, near the French Memorial, to address this sad omission. While the application is under review, we also plan to install at the River front in Yorktown an interpretive marker illustrating the crucial contribution of the French Navy to the American Independence.

We also will endeavor to join the fund raising campaign to help restore the replica of the frigate Hermione, and facilitate its return on a regular basis to the American shores.

You can click on the photos and on the links indicated in blue for more information and direct access to the references.

In the presence of his grandson, Mr. Pierre Whelan, his wife Ann, their daughter and son-in-law, and Members of the FFWV led by Alain Dupuis, we conducted a ceremony to pay tribute to Mr. Pierre Whelan, WWI Veteran and member of the French Diplomatic Corps stationed in Washington DC, from 1908 to 1923. He died on November 21, 1938, and is buried in Section 19, Range 1A, Plot T, Grave 12.

• We were honored to be invited to the dedication of a new historic marker at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY by The Lafayette Trail, Inc.

The program included the playing of both the French and American national anthems, a presentation of The Lafayette Trail framework, and greetings from Robert McDonald, Professor of History, United States Military Academy,

A guided tour of the Military Academy ensued, as well as a luncheon. The ties with France are numerous, and we will dedicate a monthly Bulletin to the history of the famed institution.

• On Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at Arlington National Cemetery, we proudly inaugurated with co-signer Denise VanBuren, President General, Daughters of the American Revolution, a new interpretive marker in front of the monument of Pierre Charles L’Enfant, the French military engineer and American Revolutionary War Patriot who designed the plans for Washington D.C.

On July 2, a very special evening will take place at the Château de Rochambeau, to celebrate the upcoming 240th anniversary of the Victory of Yorktown, and the long-standing Franco-American friendship.

This exceptional festival will open its doors to the public at 6:00PM and will end at nightfall with a pyro-musical show on the banks of the Loir river.

You are welcome to tell your friends who reside in or who are visiting Western France.

RSVP: Sophie.Dijoux@Paris.fr

For more information visit http://www.parispost1.com/

or contact:  contact@parispost1.fr

The Consul General of France in New York, Jérémie Robert & the President of the Committee of French Speaking Societies, Gérard Epelbaum, officially invite you to Bastille Day: July 14!

6 p.m. to 10 p.m. (doors open at 5 p.m.)

at Rumsey Playfield, Central Park (69th Street & 5th Avenue)

Free admission

6:00 p.m. - Opening of the Bastille Day festival

Speech by the President of the Committee of French Speaking Societies(CAFUSA) Gérard Epelbaum

French and American national anthems by Marie Viapiano:

The Marseillaise

The Star Spangled Banner

6:30 p.m. - French classical music with Virgil Boutellis, Adam Leites and Daniel Rafimayeri

As a trio, violinists Virgil Boutellis and Daniel Rafimayeri and oboist Adam Leites will introduce or rediscover pieces from the French classical repertoire to the public!

Classic meets contemporary here with a performance by New York FlexN dancer Cal Hunt and hip hop dancer Jai'Quin Coleman.

7:00 p.m. - Theater: Sganarelle, or The Imaginary Cuckold by the troupe of Molière in the Park

On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the birth of the most famous of French playwrights, the professional actors of Molière in the Park will offer an original interpretation of Sganarelle or The Imaginary Cuckold. 45 minutes of dynamic and fun show! The performance will be in English.

7:45 p.m. - Jazz with China Moses and her musicians

Then back to music with the sparkling China Moses and her musicians, who will revisit in jazz version some of the greatest classics of French song: La Vie En Rose, La Javanaise, J'ai Deux Amours,... well more !

8:30 p.m. - Electro-pop with DeLaurentis

DeLaurentis, an accomplished electro-pop artist, will also be there for a concert combining tracks from his new album Unica and adaptations of essentials by Piaf, Gainsbourg and Christophe!

We will also find the dancer Cal Hunt who will choreograph the famous Bolero by Ravel revisited by DeLaurentis for the occasion.

9:10 p.m. - DJ Set with Joachim Garraud

The evening will end with dancing to a DJ set by Joachim Garraud, a key DJ and producer on the French electronic scene!

10:00 p.m. - End of the Bastille Day festival

Laying of wreaths at the French cemetery

Wreath laying at the French Memorial

Ceremony, Victory Monument

Ceremony to commemorate the

25 soldiers from Rochambeau

buried in Providence Cemetery, Rhode Island

Ceremony in tribute to Mr. Joseph Scheinman

French resistance fighter, 1942

buried in New Bedford, Massachusetts

5th Avenue Parade

• 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