If HMS Hermione, commissioned in 1783, became a symbol of Royal Navy cruelty and bloody mutiny, the French light frigate l’ Hermione, commissioned in 1779, would become a symbol of American independence. On March 21, 1780, the 23 year old Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette, stepped aboard l’ Hermione to sail back to America with the then secret news that France was committing 5,500 men and five frigates to help George Washington and his forces. With this new French aid and the assistance of the young Major General Lafayette, the Continental forces under General Washington would defeat the British General Cornwallis at Yorktown eighteen months later, effectively winning independence from Great Britain.
Now l’ Hermione, “freedom’s frigate,” has been reborn in the Charente-Maritime in Rochefort, France where the original ship was built. The new frigate has been under construction since 1997 and preparations are now being made for its launch. More than three million visitors have watched the construction of the replica frigate. When completed, there are plans to sail the ship to Boston, reenacting the fateful voyage carrying the Marquis de Lafayette. The video below is a light-hearted tour and inspection of the new frigate nearing completion.
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Thanks to Frank Hanavan and Alaric Bond for pointing out l’ Hermione.
What a fantastic tribute to the skill and craft of the shipwrights both of today and in late 18th century.
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Learned yesterday the Frigate is being launched today, what a great day and although our alumni group who went to Rochefort American High School 1953-1958 will not be there when it water hits the bow, we will be in Boston when it arrives with our name on a sail.
Thanks for the update.
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Looking forward to its “maiden” voyage. My great, great, great grandfather was the second in command of the Hermione during 1780-1784.
As an American Army Brat, I attended the American High School in Rochefort 1953-55. At the time, I had no idea of the significance of Rochefort, l’Hermione and the Marquis de Lafayette, but I remember seeing the dock which was located alongside of the building that housed our school. When our alumni group of 50 returned to Rochefort in 1998 for a school reunion, we toured the beginnings of the reconstruction of l’Hermione and made a donation to this Franco-American effort. We have been very interested in the progress and several of us are making plans to greet the frigate when she docks on the American Eastern seaboard with our name on one of the sails.
Jorge,
How interestingf that you’re aware of your great, great, great grandfather was second in command! Perhaps we will meet when the frigate docks in the US in May 2015.
Pat:
Our family has been fortunate, as our family tree dates back to the 1400’s. My great,great, great grandfather, Pierre Claude Marquis Du Quesne met La Touche Treville, the captain of the Hermione, while they were both living in French Martinique. He later served as second in command to him on the Hermione and was injured in a combat engagement with the British vessel The Iris shortly after having delivered Lafayette on that voyage. He went on to serve with La Touche Treville on the Hermione on other engagements off the Maryland/Virginia coast. Ended up commanding the French Cutter, The Triomphe, which delivered the preliminaries of the Treaty of Paris to G. Washington. Looking forward to meeting you on the dock in 2015. Best Regards, Jorge