The village at Christiana Bridge on the Christina River was a major colonial shipping port. It had been the landing site of the Marquis de Lafayette and 1500 troops in March of 1781.
In 1775, the Continental Congress considered whether or not to declare independence so as to achieve the liberty and opportunity they were denied as British colonies. After a secret mission by Benjamin Franklin to France, that country almost immediately sent armaments and experienced senior officers to aid the colonies. Among them was Lafayette, who at the age of 29, volunteered his service to Rochambeau's French contingent.
Judith Jennings has posted this historic marker in Christiana as one of her contributions to the historic character of Christiana. She and her husband have done cultural heritage research, and have also restored this Victorian home in the village.
Jennings is a member of the W3R(Washington, Rochambeau Revolutionary Route) committee, which commemorates the landing of Gen. Rochambeau in Newport RI in 1780 and his army's subsequent sailing to Yorktown VA, and thence marching through Virginia and Maryland, and through Christiana Delaware, as noted above in the Lafayette connection.
See http://www.w3r-us.org/history/hist-all.htm about W3R. Rochambeau's visit wa
s commemorated in a visit in September 2006 to Delaware. I took this picture of local committee members (Kim Burdick, the Delaware W3R chair is in the black suit) and a Rochambeau re-enactor and 2 representatives of the Robinson House museum in Claymont, Delaware at the dedication of a historic marker.
Carolyn Roland, GRI CRS Patterson-Schwartz & Assoc. Inc.
Selling historic properties in Delaware
and Chester County, Pennsylvania since 1987. Office located in Hockessin, DE, on the Delaware/Pennsylvania line.
Search for properties and learn about the historic scene, past and present
The DE and PA Historic Real Estate blog Call: Direct 800-771-2332 Office 302-239-3000
Hi Carolyn ~ When I was an archivist, pre-real estate, one of my coworkers was processing some Rochambeau papers. First time I've thought of that in years. At the time my project was some Audubon family papers - it was pretty amazing to pause and think that each of us was working on papers of someone you knew or I should say, knew of.
Liz
Actually, I do know Rochanbeau, or the man who re-enacted him in the picture. This gentleman lives in New Castle and is a big time Francophile.