Exactly 245 years ago today, French warships entered Narragansett Bay, bringing with them a powerful new ally in the American struggle for independence. On July 11, 1780, General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, landed in Newport with nearly 6,000 French soldiers, sailors, and marines—marking a pivotal moment in the Revolutionary War.
Though France had been quietly supporting the American cause with money, equipment, and military advisors since early in the war, the arrival of this full expeditionary force fulfilled the promise of the 1778 treaty of alliance. Earlier joint campaigns in Newport (1778) and Savannah (1779) had faltered, but this time, King Louis XVI sent a fleet under Admiral Ternay on a ten-week transatlantic voyage, delivering Rochambeau’s forces directly to the shores of Rhode Island.
But the landing was fraught with risk. Washington, stationed outside New York City, feared a British counterattack on the loyalist-heavy port. He reactivated the Culper Spy Ring, which confirmed that British commander Sir Henry Clinton was preparing to strike—dispatching ground forces and nine warships toward Newport.
In response, Washington launched a deception campaign, leaking false plans to attack New York. The ruse worked. Clinton delayed, and the French—forewarned by Washington’s intelligence—rushed to fortify their position in Newport with help from Maj. Gen. William Heath and Rhode Island militia.
Rochambeau’s safe landing reinvigorated a weary Continental Army. Washington had lamented that spring, “We are at the end of our tether…” But with France’s military now fully committed on American soil, the tide began to turn—culminating in the decisive victory at Yorktown just over a year later.
Today, Newport honors that moment of alliance, resilience, and revolutionary resolve.
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