When Expédition Particulière arrived at Newport, RI, in summer of 1780, the French were received at first with some trepidation by many of the American colonials. However, the expedition's exceptional discipline and professionalism, as well as their colorful uniforms and regimental flags, quickly became popular. In September 1781, the French, with Washington's main army, conducted a swift strategic movement from the New York area to Virginia. There they were joined by other French expeditionay forces under the command of the marquis de Saint-Simon. The additional regiments were: Agenois, Touraine, Gâtinais, which had been off loaded from the ships of the French Admiral, comte de Grasse.

The overall commander of the French land army was Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau (1725-1807). He was undoubtedly the main reason for the great success of this force. He held the rank of lieutenant general and had many years of campaigning experience. His skillful leadership and professional wisdom were vital in advising General Washington and in guiding the 'end-game' strategy that implemented the Yorktown Campaign.

The AmericanRevolution.org web site's 'Scholar's Showcase' has some fine narratives. One addressing the French participation in the American Revolution is: 'France in the Revolution' -- a 26 chapter work by James Breck Perkins.

A misleading clich� frequently repeated in much of the popular literature on the American Revolution is that the French participation was mainly for �revenge'. For the most part the authors of such statements are journalists or popular history writers. Support for revenge being the principal motive behind French aid to the American War for Independence is usually based upon hearsay and quotes from journals of secondary players, and not from documents that record the decision making that directed the French military and diplomatic actions in 1775-1783. Fortunately there are a few authoritative examinations of writings and directives by French decision makers at the time. While print publishers find no financial benefit to make such scholarly studies available, the Internet has modestly filled the gap. Highly recommended is the webpage essay titled: "Rochambeau and the French in America" is at: http://www.bartleby.com/238/ This webpage is one of seven masterful essays from With Americans of Past and Present Days by Jean Jules Jusserand. Published in 1916 by Charles Scribner's Sons (New York), the work was awarded the first Pulitzer Prize for History in 1917. M. Jusserand was the 1902-25 French Ambassador to the U.S.. His seven essays trace French and American relations from the American Revolution to the beginning of the twentieth century.

The diplomatic background surrounding the French assistance to the American Revolution is well provided by Dr. Jonathan R. Dull, research professor at Yale University. His scholarship provides a rare bulwark against the flood of legendary and clich� infested assertions floating in so many of the general articles and books as to what were the European intentions and responses to the American rebellion. Professor Dull's principal work on the topic is A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution (1985). The bibliography provided for this website [link given above] lists some of his other fine works on the French navy of the era. In 1980, Professor Dull gave a particularly fine presentation to the Washington Association of New Jersey , New Jersey at Morristown; this is posted at "Lafayette, Franklin, And The Coming of Rochambeau's Army" In 1974, Professor Dull delivered a valuable talk on "France and the American Revolution: Questioning the Myths" at the First Annual Meeting of the Western Society for French History (held at Las Cruces, New Mexico). This is now posted at: "Challenging Historical Clich�s about the French Participation in the American Revolutionary War".

The Hudson River Valley History site contains a wealth of detail on American Revolution events in that region. The site also provides links to access and download pdf format files of Dr. Robert A. Selig's historical and architectural surveys of the "Washington - Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (1781-1782)" for various states such as New York, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania: American Revolution Themes: The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route