Count de Rochambeau

Count de Rochambeau (1725-1807), Marshal of France, commander of the Expeditionary Corps

Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, was a French Royal Army officer who played a critical role in the American victory at the siege of Yorktown in 1781. Appointed lieutenant general in 1780, he was given command of the Expédition Particulière: 7,000 French troops sent to join Washington’s Continental Army.

  • Born: 1 July 1725, Vendôme (Orléanais)
  • Died: 10 May 1807, Thoré (Loir-et-Cher)
  • Rank: Marshal of France

Landing in July 1780 at Newport (RI), the discipline he imposed on his regiments facilitated relations with the local population. His strategic sense — preferring to target the weaker link of British forces in Virginia rather than New York — and his synergy with Washington and de Grasse would lead to the decisive victory at Yorktown in October 1781. See the Campaigns and Battles page for the detailed campaign narrative.

Returning to France at the beginning of 1783, Rochambeau would be the guest of the first Society of the Cincinnati of France. Made Marshal of France in 1791, he narrowly escaped the guillotine. A great admirer of Bonaparte’s qualities and achievements — a sentiment that was reciprocated — he died in 1807.

Comte Thierry de Seguins-Cohorn, Historian of the Society in France of the SAR

References