Jamie Stiehm: Americans Honor Frenchmen Who Fought In Revolutionary War
Forty U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen arrived at the St. John's College campus under an autumn sky on a mission: to honor French soldiers who fought side by side with Americans during the Revolutionary War.
Like everything else in the 42nd annual Wreath Laying Ceremony at the National Monument for French Soldiers and Sailors on Thursday, midshipman Brian Chadwick's speech hit a trans-Atlantic note - delivered in both French and English.
Addressing the gathering of about 200 people by the banks of College Creek, the final resting place of an unknown number of French soldiers, Chadwick acknowledged the nation's debt to the young Marquis de Lafayette and thousands of French troops who served under General George Washington's command in the early 1780s.
About 3,000 French troops marched into Annapolis on Sept. 18, 1781, most on their way to a decisive victory against the British at Yorktown, Va. But some died - probably from disease - and they were buried at the edge of what are now the St. John's playing fields.
In his talk, in front of an audience that included senior French naval officers, Chadwick, 20, confronted the strain - or, as he put it, the political disagreements - that mark the present-day relationship between the countries.
"Something we do not remember well, however, is France's continued dedication to America. ... France remains deeply committed to our goal of eradicating terrorism," said Chadwick, president of the academy's French Club.
The granite memorial, dedicated in a 1911 ceremony that was attended by President William Howard Taft, is a testament to the centuries-old bond between the nations, Chadwick said.
"We would do well not to forget it," he concluded.
Like everything else in the 42nd annual Wreath Laying Ceremony at the National Monument for French Soldiers and Sailors on Thursday, midshipman Brian Chadwick's speech hit a trans-Atlantic note - delivered in both French and English.
Addressing the gathering of about 200 people by the banks of College Creek, the final resting place of an unknown number of French soldiers, Chadwick acknowledged the nation's debt to the young Marquis de Lafayette and thousands of French troops who served under General George Washington's command in the early 1780s.
About 3,000 French troops marched into Annapolis on Sept. 18, 1781, most on their way to a decisive victory against the British at Yorktown, Va. But some died - probably from disease - and they were buried at the edge of what are now the St. John's playing fields.
In his talk, in front of an audience that included senior French naval officers, Chadwick, 20, confronted the strain - or, as he put it, the political disagreements - that mark the present-day relationship between the countries.
"Something we do not remember well, however, is France's continued dedication to America. ... France remains deeply committed to our goal of eradicating terrorism," said Chadwick, president of the academy's French Club.
The granite memorial, dedicated in a 1911 ceremony that was attended by President William Howard Taft, is a testament to the centuries-old bond between the nations, Chadwick said.
"We would do well not to forget it," he concluded.