The W3R of Virginia

General information contact: Nicole Yancey at nyancey@erols.com
To join the W3R-VA contact: Nicole Yancey at nyancey@erols.com

W3R-VA Board of Directors

Companion Organizations

The following groups have supported the W3R by providing participating members, consultants, speakers, funding, publicity, meeting space, and many other resources.

History of W3R in VA | Events and Reports for 2006 | 2007 | 2008

Major Historic Events in Virginia 

  1. George Washington saw Mt. Vernon for the first time in six years, and he entertained the allied general staff at his home.

  2. The allied armies and navies converged on Yorktown, isolating Cornwallis from supplies or military support. The allies besieged the British camp, and gained victory at a cost of only 250 dead (30 American, 60 French, and 160 British) among the 29,000 participants (11,000 American, 8,800 French, and 10,000 British) directly involved in the siege. This does not count the sailors and marines from the 24 French and 19 British ships-of-the-line that fought for control of the Chesapeake Bay.

  3. The French Expeditionary Force remained for eight months in various cities to guard captured prisoners and supplies while the U.S. Continental units left immediately after Cornwallis' surrender to return to guarding the area around New York City.

  4. On the great march going south the French baggage train and hussars used two other camps in VA overnight. The whole French Expeditionary Force used another 16 camps overnight only going north (total nineteen plus an as-yet unknown [to the page manager] number of winter-over sites).

Events and Reports for W3R-VA

2006 Mar 27 Report on the Status of the W3R in Virginia  

by Kevin Vincent, Virginia Coordinator for the W3R

Virginia has an array of geographically and institutionally separate commemorative initiatives now underway related to the W3R. Several established institutions such as Yorktown National Park, Colonial Williamsburg, Mount Vernon, and Gunston Hall have formulated 225th Anniversary plans outside of the W3R framework, although we have been coordinating with them to include their programs in the W3R schedule. In addition, the following W3R projects are now underway:

(1) Ms. Andree King and Ambassador Nathaniel Howell of the Alliance Française de Charlottesville and the Albemarle/Charlottesville Historical Society, Mr. Jay Harrison of Orange County and others have formed a committee to plan W3R-related activities in Central Virginia. Among other events, they are planning a reenactment for the 225th anniversary of the ride of Virginia's "Paul Revere" -- Jack Jouett's ride in 1781 to warn Governor Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of the approach of British raiders. Updates on the events underway by this very active group can be found at avenue.org/afc/Yorktown.htm

(2) Todd Post is organizing reenactors for several events including a reenactment on July 15-16 of the battle of Green Spring, the final engagement in Virginia near Williamsburg that preceded the Siege of Yorktown. . Proceeds from this event will help to preserve the Green Springs battlefield, which we hope to have as one of the key sites on the W3R. Don Troiani of Historical Art Prints has graciously donated one of his limited edition Revolutionary War prints to the Battle of Green Spring event to be raffled as a fund raiser for preservation of a portion of the original Green Spring battlefield. More information about the print and raffle are available at the Green Springs website.

(3) Joe Chudzik has reported development of a site on Old Colchester Road in Fairfax County for a proposed wayside historic marker and interpretive signage to commemorate the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route through Fairfax County."

(4) The Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) are following up on their success in placing a W3R "Route to Victory" display at Mount Vernon, by working with the National Park Service to have a "sister" display erected at Yorktown. The VA Daughters will again pay for it. Carol Howerton [capope4@aol.com] is the point of contact for this outstanding project.

(5) The Virginia Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) is interested in sponsoring W3R events including a program to commemorate the visit by Washington and Rochambeau on 10-11 September 1781 to Mount Vernon. The vice president, and future president, of the Virginia SAR, Mr. Joe Dooley [joexyz@verizon.net] is the point of contact for the SAR.

(6) On April 1 and 2, Gunston Hall is hosting "Crisis on the Potomac: Revolutionary Reenactment & Battle." This event is a reenactment of the British naval raids all along the Potomac River, and other major waterways that occurred in early 1781, that plundered Virginia plantations, tobacco warehouses, and slaves, and caused George Mason to evacuate his family and belongings to Maryland. This is the first event in Virginia to commemorate the 225th anniversary of military events that occurred in 1781, and opens the exciting year of reenactments throughout 2006 until the surrender at Yorktown in October. Everyone is encouraged to attend.

2006 September: America's March to Yorktown

America's March to Yorktown (AMtY) Activities:

  • Sep. 22: Arlington, Fort C.F. Smith Park, reenact Georgetown encampment
  • Sep. 23: Arlington, ceremony to welcome AMtY and to commemorate crossing of the Potomac River by French wagon train
  • Sep. 23: Alexandria, reenact encampment in Old Town Alexandria
  • Sep. 23-Oct. 6: reenact march from Arlington to Williamsburg.
  • Sep. 23: Fredericksburg, reenactment with Generals Washington and Joe Weedon answering questions from the public.
  • Sep. 24: visit to Mount Vernon
  • Sep. 24: Fairfax County, Pohick Bay Regional Park, reenact Colchester encampment
  • Sep. 25, Dumfries, reenact encampment at Weems-Botts Museum
  • Sep. 26, Stafford County, reenact encampment at Aquia Episcopal Church
  • Sep. 27-28, reenact encampment at Fredericksburg [at George Washington’s Boyhood Home in Stafford County]
  • Sep. 28, Fredericksburg, welcoming ceremony for March to Yorktown at the Chatham Bridge followed by reception at the Lewis Store.
  • Sep. 29, Fredericksburg area, reenact encampment at Belvedere Plantation
  • Sep. 30: Caroline County, reenact encampment at Chase’s End Farm near Bowling Green
  • Oct. 2: Hanover County, reenact encampment at Hanover Courthouse Park -- this is not the courthouse complex, but instead a county park one-half mile south
  • Oct. 4, Talleysville, New Kent County, reenact encampment at Crump’s Mill
  • Oct. 5, Toano, James City County, reenact encampment at Upper County Park
  • Oct. 6, Williamsburg, reenact arrival in Williamsburg
  • Oct. 7: Endview Plantation, reenact final approach to Yorktown and encampment for siege of Yorktown.
  • Oct. 13-15: "Prelude to Victory" at Colonial Williamsburg represented September 26, 27, and 28 of 1781 – the last three days of the period when General Washington and Le Compte de Rochambeau, commander of French forces, were headquartered in Williamsburg prior to the siege at Yorktown.
Oct. 4: Arlington, ARRT program on the Siege of Yorktown by Glenn Williams from the U.S. Army Center of Military History.

Oct. 14-15: Washington, D.C., Wreath-laying ceremony at Rochambeau statue at Lafayette Square.

Oct. 16: Charlottesville lecture by Katherine Woltz on “The Surrender at Yorktown” with the Alliance Française de Charlottesville

Oct. 17: Charlottesville lecture by Lionel Estavoyer regarding Besancon, France, and the Revolutionary War, with the Alliance Française de Charlottesville

Oct. 18: Petersburg lecture by Delane Ward on Lafayette, sponsored by the Alliance Française de Charlottesville

Oct 19-22: Yorktown Day Celebrations -- multiple ceremonies and reenactments at Yorktown and other Tidewater locations

Oct 2006 to Aug. 2007: Mount Vernon exhibition on the close "father-son" relationship between George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. The exhibition will be the principal celebratory event in America to mark the 250th anniversary of Lafayette's birth.

Nov. 10-12, 2006 -- “Brothers in Arms” at Colonial Williamsburg. This is not specifically related to the W3R but focusing on African-Americans who served in the Patriot forces, including the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment.

2006 October: Exhibit on Lafayette and Washington

Tthe Mount Vernon Ladies' Association is organizing a traveling exhibition devoted to the close "father-son" relationship between George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. The exhibition will be the principal celebratory event in America to mark the 250th anniversary of Lafayette's birth. The exhibition will open at Mount Vernon in October 2006 and be on view through early August 2007. It will then travel to Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania (late August through October 2007) and the New York Historical Society in Manhattan (early November 2007 through early February 2008). Following its American tour, the show will, in all likelihood, travel to a venue in France.

2007: Commonwealth of Virginia Funds that State's W3R Study 

June 21 - The Virginia's Commonwealth Transportation Board gave final approval for the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (W3R) Historic Wayside project on Old Colchester Road. The Board awarded $70,000 in Fiscal Year 2008 funds for the W3R project. With matching funds provided by Virrginia's Department of Historic Resources, ten counties and two cities in Virginia will identify and document the route taken by the U.S. and French troops marching to Yorktown.

W3R-VA Events in 2008 

2008 June: Commemorative Medallion to Support the W3R

The Virginia Association of the W3R has arranged with the York County Historical Museum to produce a 1.5" diameter medallion to commemorate the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route. Available in bronze or silver, it depicts Washington, Rochambeau, and the historic trail that they followed in 1781 and we are developing . Proceeds beyond cost from the sale will benefit the York County Historical Museum and the W3R.

front-side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . back-side

To purchase a medallion contact your state W3R organization.

2008 Oct 25: W3R Director Honored 

Nicole Yancey, a Director of the W3R-USA, was inducted into the French Legion of Honor in recognition for her decades-long service to France -- strengthening relations with the United States through her twenty-two years working with the French Consulate, coordinating the effort to provide at Yorktown, Virginia, a memorial listing the French soldiers and sailors killed in action as allies during the American Revolution, and making many contributions to the U.S. National Park Service, such as the American Revolution Bicentennial Committee.

At right French Senator André Maman presents Nicole Yancey with the membership insignia of the French Legion of Honor. Nicole is the Honorary French Consul for Virginia, chair of the W3R's Atlantic Committee, and former recording secretary of the W3R-USA.