For Immediate Release
June 6, 2007
From Contact, Dept. Historic Resources:Randy Jones, 804-367-2323, ext. 139
12 Localities to Identify Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary War Route --
Effort supports designation of a National Historic Trail from New England to Yorktown
Public Meeting June 11 in Hanover and June 14 in Old Manassas
RICHMOND - With matching funds provided by the Department of Historic Resources, 10 counties and two cities in Virginia will identify and document the various land and water routes taken by soldiers commanded by General George Washington and French allied troops under General Rochambeau during final campaign of the American Revolution that led to the defeat of the British at Yorktown in 1781.
Officially known as the "Revolutionary War Road and Transportation Survey," the project is divided between two multi-jurisdictional groups. Arlington County is heading a partnership with the counties of Fairfax, Prince William, Spotsylvania, and Stafford, and the cities of Alexandria and Fredericksburg that will focus on identifying the Washington--Rochambeau routes in northern Virginia. To survey the central part of the state, New Kent County is leading a group consisting of the counties of Hanover, Caroline, King and Queen, and King William.
The war road project will kick off in central Virginia with a public meeting and lecture on Monday, June 11, at 7 p.m., at the Hanover County Administration Building, 7497 County Complex Road, in Hanover. Officials encourage citizens of Caroline, Hanover, New Kent, King and Queen, and King William counties to attend the meeting to learn more about the survey project. The meeting is sponsored by the Hanover County Board of Supervisors, the Historic Commission of New Kent County, and the Department of Historic Resources.
The northern Virginia group will launch its survey with a public meeting and lecture on Thursday, June 14, at 4 p.m., at the Old Manassas Courthouse, located at the intersection of Grant and Lee avenues in Old Town Manassas. Residents of Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William,
Spotsylvania, and Stafford counties and Alexandria and Fredericksburg are encouraged to participate. The Prince William County Historic Preservation Division is hosting the meeting.
At both public meetings military historian Dr. Robert A. Selig, who is overseeing the surveys in Virginia, will lecture about "The Days After Yorktown." Dr. Selig has completed statewide inventories of Revolutionary War routes and historic resources in Connecticut, New
York, Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania.
Last year the Department of Historic Resources awarded matching grants to Arlington and to New Kent to work with regional partners and organizations to identify, photograph, map, and interpret the present condition and significance of historic places and traces-including the
existing and vanished roads, waterways, houses, taverns, ordinaries, towns, camps and bivouacs-along the routes that were followed by all armed forces during the Yorktown Campaign, when the forces of Washington and Rochambeau trapped British forces under General Cornwallis during the Siege of Yorktown. The project will also identify the routes
homeward armies used after the battle.
"Although much of our region's Revolutionary War heritage in Northern Virginia has been lost to modern development, many important sites still remain but are little known to the public. The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary War Route is a great opportunity for
our communities to preserve and interpret these important sites for
future generations, and Arlington County is pleased to help support this project," said Kevin Vincent, chair of the Arlington Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board.
The grants awarded by Department of Historic Resources are through its "Virginia Planning and Cost Share Program," which was created by the department in 1991 to assist localities in meeting a state mandate that they update their comprehensive planning every five
years. Funding for the program is allocated each year by the General Assembly.
The survey work also is being supported with funding from Arlington, Caroline, and King William counties, Fredericksburg, Fairfax County Park Authority, Hanover Tavern Foundation, Historic Polegreen Church Foundation, King and Queen Historical Society, New Kent Historical Commission, Office of Historical Alexandria, Prince William County Historical Commission, Spotsylvania Department of Economic Development, Stafford County Tourism Office, and The Sons of the American Revolution-Richmond Chapter.
It is hoped by state and local officials that the Revolutionary War Road and Transportation Survey will encourage the identification, recognition, and protection of a wide range of historic resources within the study areas and serve as a model for similar projects that could be expanded statewide.
The surveys conducted in Virginia also will support the National Park Service's efforts to develop a multi-state National Historic Trail for the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route. "The trail would run between Newport, Rhode Island, and Yorktown, Virginia, returning to Boston, Massachusetts, along the specific land- and water-based routes known to have been used by the French and Continental armies," according to the National Park Service's draft proposal.
Additional details about the Cost Share Program are provided on the website of the Department of Historic Resources at http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/survey/Survey1.htm.
Randall Jones
Public Relations, Publications & Highway Marker Program
Dept. of Historic Resources
(804) 367-2323, ext. 117
2801 Kensington Ave. Richmond, VA 23221