As we approach the 4th of July weekend it seems appropriate to reflect on the vital role this area played in the creation of our nation. Not only was it the home to several key Revolutionary leaders, it also provided the backdrop to one of the greatest logistical feats of the American Revolutionary War.
Two hundred and thirty years have passed since the American Revolutionaries and their French allies embarked on a “long march” that would turn the tide of war and set the stage for our true independence from Great Britain. It was during the latter part of June 1781 that General George Washington and his French counterpart, the Comte de Rochambeau, began an incredible march that would end at Yorktown, the scene of what proved to be the decisive battle of the Revolution.
They had received intelligence indicating the British might be vulnerable in their position there, so they decided to undertake an over 600-mile march to seize the advantage.
The march began in Rhode Island and wound its way down the eastern seaboard. The British thought the Americans and French would attack the British stronghold of New York. But the allied generals had other plans. They were on their way to Yorktown, where Lord Cornwallis of Great Britain was awaiting sea transport to take his Army back to New York.
The American and French armies reached Northern Virginia by early September of that year. After resting at Mount Vernon, Washington and Rochambeau headed south, mostly along our present-day Route 1, making a left turn at the Pohick Church and continuing on to cross the Occoquan River by ferry at what is now known as Woodbridge. The marchers and their supplies would pass through Woodbridge, Dumfries and Stafford on their way to meet Cornwallis.
Today we can see part of the route the marchers took by following markers that delineate the “Washington-Rochambeau Route” along one of our heavily travelled commuter arteries. But those commutes and our modern “busy-ness” make it hard to picture the route as Washington’s and Rochambeau’s troops found it.
This year, though, we will get a chance to see history as it unfolded at that time. I recently discovered a team of historical re-enactors that is making that same march from Rhode Island to Yorktown just like those first Patriots did. They call themselves “The Marchers” and their vision is to “motivate others to develop a passion for American history… and (to be) stewards of this nation’s historical resources.” They plan to commemorate this achievement by re-living it along America’s newest Historic Trail, which just happens to be the Washington-Rochambeau Route.
We will have a chance to see them and march along with them right in our backyard as they bring this critical piece of American History back to life. Right now folks in Connecticut are seeing with their own eyes what it took to be an 18th Century American soldier.
They’ll be in Mount KIsco, New York on July 4th and we’ll get a chance to witness that by-gone era this September. I will pass on exact dates once they are known.
Seeing this re-enactment of such a momentous march will make those long-ago events seem more real and more worthy of even more celebration. Happy 4th!
Cedric Leighton is the Founder and President of Cedric Leighton Associates, a Washington area strategic risk and management consultancy.
