General Comte de Rochambeau, the leader of allied French forces during the American Revolution, returned to Philadelphia in July for a celebration of his 300th birthday month at a party hosted by the National Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association (W3R-US).
Represented by French-born reenactor Eric Dutaud, General Rochambeau was feted by elected leaders of “Victory Towns” on the 700-mile trail between New England and Yorktown, VA, where the American Revolution was won at the Siege of Yorktown in October 1781. The party was held at the Museum of the American Revolution located on the trail as it passes through the historic center of Philadelphia, PA.
“This historic trail to Yorktown passes through nearly 200 present-day towns which we are inviting to collaborate with us during the 250th anniversary in 2026,” said Larry Abell, the chairman of W3R-US. “We were thrilled that elected leaders from several of those towns joined us in Philadelphia to kick-off our Victory Town 250 program and look forward to working with them and their colleagues up and down the trail.”
A highlight of the event was the presentation of the W3R “Hall of Fame” award to Brigadier General (FR) Vincent de Kytspotter, until recently the Head of the French Defense Mission to the United Nations. General Kytspotter hold a PhD in political science and has been an enthusiastic speaker and supporter of the trail, attending and speaking at Yorktown Day and numerous other trail events. The award given was a framed bas relief of a Rochambeau bust by the sculptor, Pierre Lefebvre, who also created a three-dimensional bust of Rochambeau that is held by the Museum of the American Revolution. Also receiving a copy of the Rochambeau bas relief was First Selectman Chris Lippke of Canterbury, CT, the elected official who traveled furthest on the trail to attend the event.
W3R-US is the only nonprofit organization that promotes awareness and public engagement with the entire Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, a historic trail of the National Park Service. The organization is offering to collaborate with the leaders of towns along the trail in preparing for local celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the nation in 2026. Those preparations include providing research related to each town’s unique trail story; school curricula; banners, flags, and other merchandise.
Learn more about our Victory Towns program, how you can get involved and if your town is on the list by clicking the button below!
Photos by Erik Kent of NJParenting.com
