Rochambeau: The French Military Presence in Boston

In July 1780, the French troop transport Île de France sailed into Boston Harbor. Thus began 30 months of uninterrupted French military presence in Boston as the city became the most important French base in North America until Christmas Day 1782, when a fleet under Admiral Vaudreuil sailed from Boston for the West Indies carrying the comte de Rochambeau’s infantry. Robert Selig of the Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail will provide an in-depth look at this little-known episode in Massachusetts and Boston history.