Old State House To Mark Historic Revolutionary War Event

HARTFORD, CT — A commemoration of the historic meeting between Gen. George Washington and French Gen. Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, has been rescheduled for Saturday at Connecticut's Old State House.

Rochambeau Day will begin at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, on the Old State House lawn at 800 Main St. in Hartford. The event had been postponed because of an earlier forecast for inclement weather.

The family-friendly program commemorates the 1780 meeting between Gen. George Washington and Rochambeau in Hartford during the American Revolution.

Rochambeau was a French general sent by King Louis XVI to command thousands of French troops in North America.

He worked with Washington during the Revolutionary War, with their combined American and French forces later playing a central role in the British defeat at Yorktown in 1781.

Saturday's program will feature the First Company Governor's Foot Guard and Foot Guard Band marching from the State Capitol, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony.

Visitors will also be able to meet reenactors portraying Washington and Rochambeau and watch a musket and cannon volley.

Organizers cautioned that the program will include musket and cannon fire and encouraged people who are sensitive to loud noises to bring ear protection.

The event is being presented by Connecticut's Old State House and the Connecticut Democracy Center.