Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route
The combined American and French armies headed south in August, marching through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, a route that allowed them to evade British troops.
They reached Williamsburg, Virginia, in late September, several weeks after the French royal fleet had won the Battle of the Chesapeake, preventing the British from reinforcing or evacuating General Charles Cornwallis's army.
The route is a designated National Historic Trail with interpretive literature, signs, and exhibits that describe the key role of French diplomatic, military, and economic aid to the United States during the American Revolutionary War.
[1] In 1780, French King Louis XVI dispatched Rochambeau, 450 officers, and 5,300 men to help Washington and the American forces.
In June 1781, Rochambeau prepared to march from Rhode Island to join the Continental Army under George Washington on the Hudson River at Dobbs Ferry, New York.
This final unit remained in Providence where it guarded the baggage and munitions stored in the Old Market House and supported the surgeons and attendants at the hospital in University Hall.
His Lauzun's Legion would march ahead of the main army and stay 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 km) to the south, protecting the exposed flank from the British.
Its 2002 NRHP nomination document records "the road retains its narrow, hilly, winding character, and for most of its length, the characteristic borders of stone walls remain in place.
"[4][5]: 8 The French found this particular segment to be difficult for marching, resulting in the late arrival of some artillery and supply wagons at the Plainfield camp.
The road is now mostly modern in appearance, but the expansive views of the surrounding landscape contribute to the visual historical significance of the site, in addition to the preserved stone walls.
The camp was located in Bolton Center, but the original road leading there has been unused since the late 19th century and has been overgrown by forest.
Rochambeau's force left Philipsburg Camp in Hartsdale in late August, crossing the Hudson River at King's Ferry and headed south into New Jersey following several paths southward.
Washington's route starts at the New York border in Mahwah and winds through Bergen, Passiac, Essex, Union, Middlesex and Mercer counties.
Rochambeau's route is similar but goes further west, passing through Morris and Somerset counties before ending up, like Washington's, in Trenton for the crossing the of Delaware River into Pennsylvania.
[9] They camped at the William Trent House in Trenton on September 2, also known as Bloomsbury and owned by an assistant quartermaster general of the Continental Army.
The Freeman's Journal reported "the appearance of these troops far exceeds any thing of the kind seen on this continent, and presages the happiest success to the cause of America.
Washington traveled overland, roughly continuing on modern U.S. Route 13,[14][15] while Rochambeau embarked on the Delaware River.
[16] Washington pressed ahead to Head of Elk, the beginning of navigable Chesapeake waters, to procure transport.
About 1,000 American and French troops embarked for Jamestown, Virginia, while the remainder continued their march through Baltimore and Annapolis, Maryland.
Across the harbor to the east, a German regiment under French leadership camped along Harford Run (Central Avenue) in Jonestown.
[18] Washington and a small group of aides rode ahead and reached his estate at Mount Vernon on September 9, after a six-year absence; Rochambeau and his staff arrived the following day.
[19] The allied supply wagon train arrived in Alexandria, Virginia, after a two-day march from Georgetown in late September, including crossing the Potomac River.
[20] Washington ordered construction of a wagon road to Wolf Run Shoals on the Occoquan River near Woodbridge, Virginia.
[24][25] By the end of September, the wagon train was at Trebell's Landing on the James River and was then conveyed overland about six miles (now Route 238) to the siege lines at Yorktown.
