In 1781, French and U.S. troops under Rochambeau and Washington trekked 650 miles from Newport, Rhode Island to Yorktown, Virginia for what became the final major conflict of the Revolutionary War. A new National Heritage trail, the Washington-Rochambeau-Revolutionary-Route (or W3R for short), is in the making to commemorate this historic event. Please join us and our partner, the Fell’s Point Preservation Society, for a talk by Dr. Robert Selig, trail consultant for the National Park Service, on the trail and its history, including the contributions of Baltimore and Maryland.
Tour Information
December 10, 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Fell’s Point Visitor’s Center, 1724 Thames Street, 21231
$10 per person
RSVP for the tour today!
In 1781, General Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau, America’s great ally in the Revolutionary War, embarked with his contingent of French troops from Newport to confront the British at Yorktown. General Washington and U.S. forces joined him at White Plains, New York. When they arrived in Maryland, troops from Baltimore and elsewhere boarded boats to sail down the Chesapeake Bay and rendezvous at Yorktown. The American victory at Yorktown was decisive: it resulted in a surrender by British General Cornwallis and forced the British to negotiate peace. To commemorate the historic march and battle, Congress recently designated the new W3R National Historic Trail to tell the story of the Allied forces in the Revolutionary War, their journey to Yorktown, and what they learned about the colonies they passed through. Maryland, in particular, played a critically important role and has many sites and stories associated with this journey. Please join us for a talk by Dr. Robert Selig, the National Park Service’s consultant on the trail, to learn about new information gleaned from French, German and American sources both here and abroad. Please linger a little after the talk for a tour of the Robert Long House, Baltimore’s oldest residence (ca. 1765) and currently home to the Preservation Society, and in the spirit of the season and Baltimore hospitality, share a glass of eggnog made from an 18th century recipe. We also invite you to stay in Fell’s Point for dinner, with a 10% discount at the seafood restaurant John Steven around the corner.
What a difference a year makes. Last year was the first year Baltimore Heritage participated in the tree decorations at Orianda House on the Crimea estate in Leakin Park. While Executive Director Johns Hopkins and I were decorating the tree, a Baltimore Heritage board member and friend of the House came in — Bill Eberhart. One year later we find ourselves dedicating the tree in his memory. Baltimore lost a tireless advocate of its historic sites and green spaces when Bill passed away in October.
The decorated trees will debut on Saturday, December 10th at 5:00 pm at Orianda House. Guest speaker, Edward Heinmiller, will take the podium at 6:45 pm An art exhibit of pen and ink drawings by Elaine Ackerman of the Ross Winans house on St. Paul Street will be shown for the first time in almost 30 years. Entertainment will be provided by the Whirlitzers, a book signing and sale of Monuments to Heaven by Lois Zanow & Sally Johnston will take place as well as tours of the house and displays. Refreshments will be served.
