Commemoration of the Battle of Yorktown: Past Updates
PAST PREPARATIONS
UPDATE 2 April 2006 The Charlottesville/Central Virginia Planning Committee met Friday, March 24 at the ACHS. In attendance were Michaela Barrett, UVa Foreign Affairs student [and colleague]; Dennis Bigelow; Brian Broadus;
Christelle Goutarot; Jay Harrison; Nat Howell; Andrée King; Andy Stamp; and Sarah Weisiger, representing the interests of New Kent and Hannover Counties.
The discussion was guided by a handout of projected projects and events based on the AFC PowerPoint presentation. The Committee reviewed planned events [posted elsewhere on this page] in detail and agreed on a number of refinements. Some concerns were expressed regarding the very full schedule in September/October and particularly the feasibility of sponsoring both the Peace Ball and the "Return of Lafayette" dinner during 2006.
The following points were highlighted:
- The Media Subcommittee was formally constituted on March 20 & is preparing the initial press release, as well as explanatory background notes keyed to individual events;
- Coordination with other organizations and institutions will be further expanded:
- Jay Harrison’s proposal that the State Coordinator for "Virginia 2007" be invited to meet with the Committee was accepted;
- The President of the local chapter of SAR was unable to attend but sent word that he had informed and invited the Jack Jouett Chapter, DAR to participate. Andy Stamp’s suggestion that the Committee offer a presentation to the SAR was approved;
- Nat Howell reported that he had accepted an invitation to talk about regional W3R activities at a Rotary meeting in May;
- Andrée King described the growing partnership with the Senior Center, Inc. and plans to highlight related lectures and tours it is sponsoring and to establish a link with their web site (www.seniorcenterinc.org) to help publicize them;
- She also introduced Michaela Barrett who is coordinating events at Montpelier on May 6;
- Jay Harrison confirmed that his group of re-enactors will provide six persons for the Dogwood Festival parade on April 22, three as American soldiers and 3 as French Royalist soldiers. AFC will have them fitted for French uniform coats;
- Sarah Weisiger, Senior Planner from New Kent County, said the county is interested in cooperating in the promotion of historical tourism. The Committee welcomed the proposal, agreed to establish a link with the County and to coordinate in establishing a historical itinerary.
- The meeting concluded with an extended discussion of the educational component of the Committee’s program. Special emphasis was given to the need to prepare lesson plans and supporting materials for teachers and to arranging reenactments, contests and other events for students at various levels. The development of themes giving the events of 1781 relevance to contemporary students was considered and Andy Stamp was charged with organizing an initial meeting of the Education Subcommittee as soon as possible.
15 March 2006: The Committee met March 3 at the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society [ACHS]. Present were Dennis Bigelow; Jackie Bright, Senior Center; Rick Britton, author and lecturer; Brian Broadus; Rick Burgess, VDOT; Douglas Day, Director of ACHS; Christelle Goutarot; Linda Hahn, the Senior Center; Nat Howell; James Johnston; Andrée King; Claudette Midgley, AFC; Dr. Henry Phil William, Sons of the American Revolution [SAR]; and Gaye Wilson.
The Committee endorsed its Mission Statement and reviewed AFC’s PowerPoint presentation of the evolving program for the coming months. It was decided to meet again in plenary session before the end of March and to activate subcommittees on Media, Education, Events, and Fundraising to carry on work in the meantime.
15 February 2006: The Committee met February 8 at the Albemarle/Charlottesville Historical Society [ACHS] to continuing planning. Present were Dennis Bigelow; Douglas Day, Director of ACHS,; James Johnston; Jay Harrison, Nat Howell, Andrée King, Andy Stamp, UVa; and Christelle Goutarot, AFC intern/cultural attaché from Lyon, France. Several members indicated that prior commitments made it impossible for them to be present.
Nat Howell opened the meeting reporting that he had heard from Gaye Wilson who will be at our next meeting. She reported that Monticello has already selected the speaker and theme for the Jefferson graveside services. Although it will not be possible to focus there on Yorktown and the events of 1781, she does have approval to write an article for the April, 2006 issue of the Monticello Newsletter on Jefferson's involvement with Trumbull's painting, "The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown." (see the painting) She pointed out that this article will reach a significantly larger audience and can contain an internal reference to the anniversary of the Battle or a sidebar dealing with the commemoration. Nat also pointed out that the AFC will be among organizations laying a wreath at Jefferson's grave.
Dennis Bigelow recalled a recent article on Trumbull's monumental paintings of Revolutionary battles which Jefferson had strongly supported. He then suggested that, in the context of the committee's commitment to legacy, that the 2006 events can be viewed as a "kickoff" to the 2007 celebration of the quadicentennial of the birth of Virginia. He opined that there would be mutual benefits to both efforts in terms of publicity and awareness. There was general agreement and Jay Harrison proposed inviting Amy Ritchie, who is managing the statewide program from Jamestown/Yorktown, to the Committee's next meeting. Andrée King said that, if Ms. Ritchie can join us, she will invite Ms. Nicole Yancey, the French Honorary Consul in Norfolk, who is coordinating French-related projects for the W3R celebrations.
Ms. King conducted a review the calendar of events:
- Series of lectures at the Senior Center by Rick Britton;
- Mr. Day added that the ACHS will be scheduling a series of lectures, some of which will bear on Yorktown;
- Mr. Howell reported time is passing for preparations for the Dogwood Festival parade on April 23 and he has not yet had a response from the Organizers. In view of the short time, he said that, rather than building a float, he was thinking terms of a horse-drawn carriage escorted by military re-enactors. We have American militia courtesy of Jay Harrison and are looking for French Royal regimental re-enactors or uniforms that could be borrowed. He has found several internet sites of groups that portray French regiments that fought at Yorktown. To bring several of them to Charlottesville, we will need funds to pay their travel and lodging, as well as ideas about other appearances. He also proposed that Ms. Goutarot ride in the carriage with a UVa student to symbolize the U.S.-French alliance.
- Mr. Howell then pointed out that the 116th Regt., 29th Division which is headquartered in Central Virginia lists Yorktown among its battle honors. This lead to a brief discussion of the role of Lafayette in encouraging the development of the U.S. militia/National Guard system.
- Finally, Mr. Howell reported that he has broached the proposal for a "Return of Lafayette" dinner in the Rotunda with a senior UVa official, including suggestions on how it could fit into University planning and be funded. This event should be scheduled in the Fall when the French descendants are in the region. He said he is awaiting a considered response.
- Andy Stamp, AF member and Associate Executive Director of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents [VASS], said he is acquainted with Phil Williams, President of the local chapter of the SAR, and he will invite him to join our March meeting;
- Mr. Bigelow stressed the importance of formalizing our plans as soon as possible. Ms. King responded that the process should speed now that AFC has Christelle Goutarot, our intern specializing in management of cultural Affairs, to devote time and effort. She explained that her intention is to pair Christelle with a Foreign Affairs student from UVA to assist planning and contacts with potential donors. There was agreement that the Committee adopt the end of March as the goal for producing its brochure.
- The brochure produced for the educational module should be ready for distribution to teachers by mid-August. Mr. Stamp volunteered to promote any instructional materials/products/resources produced by the Curry School of Education in association with Stephanie Van Hover. He will recommend that the Virginia School-University Partnership provide $1,000 for their promotion subject to Board approval. He added that he would also promote Curry's products to the members of the Virginia Education Coalition, which comprises 12 leading state education associations, the members of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, and the members of the Virginia School-University Partnership, which is a professional development consortium comprising Central Virginia School divisions and the Curry School of Education.
Mr. Howell noted that. in light of the need to expedite planning, we should now move to a parallel series of subcommittees keyed to individual projects [e.g., preparation of materials for the schools]. Ms. King endorsed concept stressed the need to prepare provisional budgets. Individual meetings are to be scheduled before the full Committee re-convenes at the ACHS at noon on Friday, March 3, 2006.
19 January 2006: The Charlottesville/Central Virginia Planning Committee met at 12 noon on January 11, 2006 at the Albemarle Historical Society [ACHS]. Present were Jim Barrett, VDOT; Dennis Bigelow, Monroe re-enactor; Brian Broadus, AFC; Nancy Brockman, Piedmont Council of the Arts; James Harrison, Orange Downtown Alliance; Nat Howell, AFC; Jim Johnston, Virginia Film Foundation; Andrée King, Pres. AFC; Ed McCue, AFC and Chairman, 1981 Jack Jouett Commemoration; Stephanie Van Hover, Curry School of Education, UVa; and Gaye Wilson, The Thomas Jefferson Foundation.
The Committee will reconvene at 12 noon on Wednesday, February 8, 2006 at the ACHS, at which time the Committee will begin refining budgets and lists of potential cosponsors.
Nat Howell opened the session by distributing a draft timeline of the events of 1981 with a parallel column for projects during 2006. He summarized central decisions taken to date regarding the Charlottesville/Central Virginia observation. Andrée King suggested that, based on the summary, the Committee should prepare a written statement of its mission based on the key concepts of Education, Historical Tourism and Enduring Legacy.
Education: The committee reaffirmed its commitment idea to offer educational materials and programs to school area systems. The Curry School of Education at UVa will work with researchers and the committee to define and produce products compatible with the rigors of "Standards of Learning" curriculum. Emphasis will be placed on the context and meaning of the events of 1781 and their significance for students today and will include in-school programs by period re-enactors, essay competitions in upper grades, and proposed research projects. James Johnston suggested that we contact the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and the New York Historical Society for ideas and possible collaboration.
The committee endorsed the concept of an effort to increase awareness as well among the general public as well. This will be achieved through local media, publicizing events and opportunities for involvement; a possible brochure; entry of an AFC float in the Dogwood Festival parade in April; as well as lectures, re-enactments and other events or ceremonies.
Re-enactments: The centerpiece of will be the Jack Jouett Ride, details of which are being researched. The committee is fortunate to enjoy the participation of Edward McCue who chaired the 1981 committee commemorating the bicentennial of Jouett’s ride. Mr. McCue has donated the research materials from that event to the ACHS and will share his expertise and experience with us. The committee concurred in the goal of making the ride, the Tarleton raid, and their impact on the Virginia Government an enduring feature of historical tourism in Charlottesville and surrounding counties. The discussion concluded with a consideration of related details, including cooperation with VDOT, the nature of temporary and permanent signage, and the need to enhance coordination with Mike Steen in Richmond, who is planning re-enactment of the Tarleton raid, as well as establishing contact with an appropriate partner in Staunton.
Andrée King stressed that as the Committee plans the calendar of events it should bear in mind the need to create a concentrated program in the Fall when we expect guests from France and Besançon, our sister city, to attend the celebrations at Yorktown. Consistent with the imperative to deconflict events in Central Virginia from those at the battle site, the Committee agreed it should plan a program here to include French guests during their limited stay (8 to 10 days).
James Harrison of Orange County offered to help coordinate with other re-enactments in which he will participate. He said that the re-enactments and encampments scheduled at Montpelier in May will include cavalry and infantry. He agreed in response to the Committee’s request to investigate the availability of re-enactors of French royal regiments or uniforms. He added that he hopes to re-enact all or part of a march towards Richmond and the Committee accepted his invitation to support the project. Nat Howell asked if several Orange County re-enactors could assist us in the Dogwood Festival parade and Mr. Harrison responded positively.
The Committee also discussed re-enactors portraying period figures such as Jefferson, Monroe, Madison, and Lafayette to dramatize the context and historical significance of the events of 1781. Dennis Bigelow, who is the definitive interpreter of James Monroe, will take the lead in contacting counterparts in Williamsburg and elsewhere regarding availability and work with other Committee members in preparing vignettes that can be presented in Charlottesville [possibly in Court Square] and offered to schools and other localities in Central Virginia. Presentations could include individual performances as well as combinations [i.e., conversations] among two or more re-enactors. Nat Howell has discussed with Mr. Bigelow the concept of a colloquy among them stressing what the victory at Yorktown and the success of the Revolution meant for them. The venue and time portrayed remain to be determined and could, for example, be a retrospective among them later in their lives. One option discussed was a reprise of Lafayette’s visit in 1824-25, when Jefferson entertained in the uncompleted Rotunda of the University. Nat Howell will contact President Casteen to discuss a restaging of this historic event in the Fall when our French guests might attend.
Lectures: Gaye Wilson will investigate the prospects for related lectures at Monticello, including reference to the events of 1781 by the speaker at the annual commemoration of Jefferson’s birthday [April 13]. Ed McCue recalled the role of the Marquis de la Rouerie -- known as "Colonel Armand" -- who spent the winter of 1781 in Charlottesville before and after the Battle of Yorktown. Ms. King said that AFC had honored the Marquis, with the participation of the Order of Cincinnatus and will contact the Order as well as make the archives available. She reported that she is also seeking appropriate lecturers from France.
Brian Broadus stressed that we should also make sure that we highlight French participation in the our commemorations. Ms. King noted that she is looking into to inviting descendants of Lafayette and Rochambeau, as well as some officers of the Cincinnati Order, persons from Besançon, the French Cultural Attaché and the French Ambassador.
30 November 2005: The Charlottesville/Central Virginia Planning Group held its first formal meeting at the Alliance Française de Charlottesville. Attendees were Dennis Bigelow [Monroe re-enactor, Ashlawn-Highlands]; Brian Broadus [AFC]; James "Jay" G. Harrison III [Orange Downtown Alliance]; W. Nathaniel "Nat" Howell [AFC]; Andrée
King [AFC]; Mauris Mackenzie [VDOT]; Barbara Schulman [AFC]; and Gaye Wilson [Monticello]. Representatives of other institutions and jurisdictions who have agreed to be partners in this endeavor were not able to be present. These include the Albemarle Historical Society; the French and History Departments of the University of Virginia; the City of Charlottesville; Gordonsville; and Montpelier among others.
Discussion was based on a menu of suggested events and activities and reached consensus on three broad themes: stress on historical events in the Central Virginia region related to the Battle of Yorktown with a view toward the development of historical tourism; maximum educational content for students and the general public regarding these events, including the critical importance of French military and financial support; and scheduling re-enactments, lectures, exhibits and other commemorations to coincide with developments unfolding during 1781, culminating in the Battle of Yorktown in October of that year.
The Central Virginia planning group will hold its next meeting at noon, Wednesday, January 11, 2006 at the Albemarle Historical Society in Charlottesville. AFC will prepare a suggested timeline for activities as a basis for discussion and decision.
11 September 2005: Within Virginia, a group of representatives from all regions began work on this project in May. Mrs. Nicole Yancey, Honorary Consul of France in Virginia, and Andrée Madec-King de l'Alliance Française de Charlottesville participated in the organizational meeting in Richmond. The Virginia coordinator is Mr. Kevin Vincent of Fairfax County.
The next step here in Charlottesville is to gather as many partners as possible and coordinate with the neighboring counties to conduct historical research on the role of these localities in the events surrounding the Battle of Yorktown. Several means of commemorating these events are envisaged, local markings of key sites and routes, re-enactments, lectures, book signings, a ball, etc... This is a unique opportunity to enhance historical tourism in the area and promote awareness of our the historic Franco-American heritage.
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Last updated March 2008