[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 130 (Tuesday, October 17, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10619-S10624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DASCHLE (for Mr. Lieberman (for himself, Mr. Dodd, Mr. 
        Kerry, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Biden, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. 
        Roth, and Mr. L. Chafee)):
  S. 3209. A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to carry out 
a resource study of the approximately 600-mile route through the States 
of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New 
York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia, used by George 
Washington and General Rochambeau during the Revolutionary War; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  (At the request of Mr. Daschle, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)


washington-rochambeau revolutionary route national heritage act of 2000

 Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, 219 years ago this month, a 
small army camped at the gates of a small port in Virginia. And turned 
the world upside down. This collection of often poorly fed, poorly 
paid, and poorly armed men made a sacrifice from which we all benefit 
today. In October 1781, a few thousand American and French soldiers 
laid siege to Yorktown, forced the surrender of Cornwallis and his 
British regulars, and won American independence.
  Although we often remember the victory at Yorktown, too often we lose 
sight of the heroic efforts that made it possible. Too often we forget 
that this victory was the culmination of a miraculous campaign--when 
two nations, two armies, and two great men put aside their differences 
and worked together for a common purpose.
  It is my opinion that no single monument or battlefield would do 
justice to the scope of this event. That is why I, along with my 
colleagues, Senators Dodd, Kerry, Biden, Roth, Schumer, Moynihan, 
Sarbanes, and Chafee, am privileged to call for a national 
commemoration of the events leading to our victory at Yorktown and the 
end of the American Revolution. We have been strongly supported in this 
effort by the work of dedicated volunteers across the country--members 
of the Sons of the American Revolution in all of our states. I would 
especially like to acknowledge the help of Albert McJoynt and Win 
Carroll, for their work with my staff on this important project.
  The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Road is 600 miles of history, 
winding from Providence, Rhode Island to Yorktown, Virginia. In the 
opinion of my colleagues and I, it is well worthy of designation as a 
National Historic Trail. Let us document the events in the cities and 
towns all along the road to Yorktown and the birth of this great nation 
of ours. Let us celebrate the unprecedented Franco-American alliance 
and the superhuman efforts of Generals George Washington and Jean 
Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau to preserve that 
alliance in the face of seemingly unsurmountable odds. Let us create a 
National Historic Trail along whose course we can pause and remember 
these men and women, their travels, and sacrifices--from the journey's 
beginning when Rochambeau led the French army out of Newport and 
Providence, Rhode Island, into New York where he joined Washington's 
troops, and through a cross section of colonial America to its 
culmination at the gates of Yorktown.
  The story of the alliance and the march is like many in our history--
full of heroic characters, brave deeds, and political intrigue. 
Hollywood should take note: it would make for a blockbuster--and 
uplifting--adventure. The story unfolds through seven states and 
countless towns and stars the men and women of the march who left their 
mark wherever they went.
  Each of the towns on the trail makes its own unique contribution to 
the tale of the journey. Hartford and Wethersfield, in my own state of 
Connecticut--where the two generals met and through a translator 
planned their

[[Page S10624]]

strategy. In Phillipsburg, New York, the French and American armies 
first joined together and faced off against the British in New York 
City. Here, Washington and Rochambeau planned their high risk 
strategy--abandoning established positions in the north and racing 
hundreds of miles south to surprise and trap an unsuspecting British 
army. In Chatham, New Jersey, the French made a show of storing 
supplies and building bread ovens in order to disguise their march 
towards Cornwallis in Virginia, to confuse the British. They moved on 
through Princeton and Trenton, New Jersey--sites of previous colonial 
victories against great odds.
  But the march itself is only part of the story. The unprecedented 
alliance between France and America was cemented during this journey. 
Elite troops from one of the great European powers stood with the 
ragtag but spirited Continental Army to face and defeat the British 
Empire. Men who shared no common language and had in many cases been 
enemies in previous wars, shared clothing and food and cultures in 
order to achieve their goal. And as a proud member of the Armed 
Services Committee I am pleased to say this was a successful Joint and 
Coalition operation.
  The trail goes through Philadelphia, Pennsylvania--then capital of 
the colonies. Here Washington and Rochambeau stopped their men outside 
town, had them clean off the dirt of the trail and marched them through 
town with drums beating and flags unfurled before the Continental 
Congress and the people of Philadelphia. The grandeur of their new 
European ally helped restore the spirit of America during this very 
uncertain time.
  A few days later in Chester, Pennsylvania, Washington, the normally 
reserved commander-in-chief, literally danced on the dock when he 
learned the French fleet had arrived in the Chesapeake and trapped the 
British at Yorktown. For the first time, it seemed that victory for the 
colonies was possible. The armies marched on to Wilmington, Delaware 
and Elkton, Maryland, where American troops were finally paid for some 
of their efforts, using money borrowed by the bankrupt Continental Army 
from General Rochambeau.
  There are two central characters to this drama, without whom the 
march, siege, and victory would have never happened--Rochambeau and 
Washington. French ministers hand-selected the celebrated and 
experienced Rochambeau for the unique ``Expedition Particuliere'' 
because of his patience and professionalism. Lieutenant General 
Rochambeau had a distinguished military career. More importantly, he 
understood the need for America to play the leading role in the war. 
With dignity and respect, he subordinated himself and his men to 
Washington and his patchwork forces. While avoiding intrigue and 
scandal, he overlooked improprieties and affronts, and provided needed 
counsel, supplies, and money to Washington and his men. He is 
undoubtedly one of the key forces helping Washington to victory at 
Yorktown, and has rightly been called ``America's Neglected Founding 
Father.''
  Our nation's capital region also played its part in this story. 
Troops camped in Baltimore near the site of today's Camden Yards. Some 
crossed the Potomac near Georgetown, while others camped in Alexandria, 
Virginia. Along the way, General Washington made a triumphal return to 
Mount Vernon, and hosted a celebration for his French allies. All along 
the route, towns were touched and thrilled by the passage of the army 
and events swirling around them. Within this national commemoration, we 
should let each tell its own story in its own way.

  The force that held it all together throughout the march and on to 
victory was General Washington. This was not a new role for him. Before 
the war, Washington was one of the wealthiest men in the colonies and 
one of its few military heroes. Only he, with his public standing and 
incredible resolve, could have held together the fledgling Continental 
Army, the divided loyalties of the American people, a meddling 
Congress, disloyal generals, and an international alliance, for the six 
years leading up to the Yorktown Campaign. He overcame his own distrust 
and doubt and invited his old enemies, the French--who had held him 
prisoner in an earlier war--to field a European army in the colonies 
while he was working with all his energy to evict another one. Over the 
years, he had used his own money and credit to pay and feed his men. 
And he carefully balanced the need to combine his new nation's 
independence with delicate European sensibilities to forge a winning 
alliance. In these months in 1781, he took a grand risk and won the 
war. Although the march is not his most famous hour, in many ways it is 
his finest.
  The armies marched on through Williamsburg, Virginia until they 
reached positions outside Yorktown in late September. Washington and 
Rochambeau and their troops went on to win this battle and the war. The 
rest is history. We should work today to ensure that this history, in 
all its rich detail, is not forgotten. We have the support of many 
state and local and private and public historic preservation groups in 
our efforts to establish this trail. We should use their momentum and 
enthusiasm to make it a reality. This bill begins that process, by 
directing the Secretary of the Interior to perform a resource study on 
the establishment of this trail, in coordination with their activities 
and other Congressionally mandated programs. In a time when it seems we 
have few heroes, let us take the time to better remember the heroes of 
our past. Those who sacificed so much for our freedom today deserve no 
less.
                                 ______