[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 32 (Monday, February 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2234-S2235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Menendez, Mr. 
        Reed, Mr. Biden, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Dodd, and 
        Mr. Specter):
  S. 686. A bill to amend the National Trails System Act to designate 
the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historical 
Trail; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, 225 years ago, on October 17, 1781, a 
few thousand American and French soldiers laid siege to Yorktown, 
forced the surrender of General 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.
  I, along with my colleagues, Senators Warner, Biden, Clinton, Dodd, 
Menendez, Reed, Specter, and Whitehouse, am privileged to call for the 
commemoration of the events leading to our victory at Yorktown and the 
end of the American Revolution with the designation of the Washington-
Rochambeau Revolutionary Route as a National Historic Trail.
  The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route is 600 miles of 
history, winding from Providence, RI, to Yorktown, VA. In the opinion 
of my colleagues and me, it is 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. Let us 
celebrate the unprecedented Franco-American alliance and the superhuman 
efforts of Generals George Washington and Jean Baptiste de Rochambeau 
to preserve that alliance in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. 
Let us create a National Historic Trail along whose

[[Page S2235]]

course we can pause and remember these heroes, their travels, and 
sacrifices--from the journey's beginning when Rochambeau led the French 
army out of Newport and Providence, RI, into New York where he joined 
Washington's troops, and through a cross section of colonial America to 
its culmination at Yorktown.
  Each of the nine States on the trail makes its own unique 
contribution to the tale of the journey. In my own State of 
Connecticut--the two generals met and through a translator planned 
their strategy. In Phillipsburg, NY, 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. They moved on through Princeton and 
Trenton, New Jersey--sites of previous colonial victories against great 
odds.
  The trail goes through Philadelphia, PA--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, PA, 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, DE and Elkton, MD, 
where American troops were finally paid for some of their efforts, 
using money borrowed by the bankrupt Continental Army from General 
Rochambeau.
  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, 
VA. 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.
  The armies marched on through Williamsburg, VA until they reached 
positions outside Yorktown in late September. Washington and Rochambeau 
and their troops went on to win this battle and the war. Let us take 
the time to better remember the heroes of our past, those who 
sacrificed so much for our freedom today, deserve no less. This bill 
ensures that this history, in all its rich detail, is not forgotten.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to join the Senator from 
Connecticut, Mr. Joe Lieberman, in introducing legislation to designate 
the historic route undertaken by General George Washington and General 
Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau to trap the British army at Yorktown, VA, 
as a national historic trail.
  This proposed national historic trail traces the 600-mile route that 
French troops under the command of General Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau 
took from Newport, RI, to Yorktown, VA, during the Revolutionary War. 
American troops under the command of General George Washington joined 
the French force outside of New York City and, later that year, on 
October 17, the combined armies defeated British General Charles 
Cornwallis at Yorktown with the help of the French fleet commanded by 
Admiral Francois de Grasse.
  This historic trail would celebrate the Franco-American alliance and 
the heroic effort undertaken by these two great nations to ensure 
American independence. Led by their courageous and brilliant leaders, 
Generals Washington and Rochambeau, these two armies changed the course 
of history with their victory over the British at Yorktown. This 
national historic trail would recognize this historic route and educate 
the public at large about the contributions of these men and their 
armies.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation, and I 
thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the Washington-
Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail Designation Act.

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