In 1781, American and French allied armies under General George Washington and French General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur comte de Rochambeau joined forces at a pivotal turning point in the Revolutionary War, marched south, laid siege to Yorktown, Virginia, and captured the British Army under General Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, in a decisive victory that assured American independence. Between 1781 and 1783, allied American and French forces traveled to and from the successful siege of Yorktown along routes that now form the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail, a network of roads and water trails stretching over 700 miles through nine states and the District of Columbia. George Washington, born in 1732, was chosen by Congress to command the Continental Army in 1775, led it with strategic insight to American independence, resigned after the war, and became the first President of the United States in 1789. Rochambeau, born in 1725, was a French nobleman and distinguished officer appointed to command the French Army sent to America in 1780 to fight the British; after success there, he continued his military career until 1792, was arrested during the French Revolution in 1794, released that year, and retired to his estates.

Photo: Duane and Tracy Marsteller