The Grand Parade

Cannon smoke clouded the fields below and a roar of muskets crisscrossed the Grand Parade as thousands of double-ranked troops performed a feu de joie, or fire of joy, on May 6, 1778. To celebrate the signing of the French Treaty of Alliance, General Washington reviewed the troops of the entire encampment, and the Grand Parade became a showplace for the newly trained and disciplined Continental Army, a tribute to Baron von Steuben’s intensive drilling. The signing of the Treaties of Commerce and Alliance with France was a crucial step toward victory, because for the first time a major power officially recognized the independence of the United States, assuring a steady flow of foreign aid, and France soon became Great Britain’s open enemy.

Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania · United States