Lafayette’s L’Hermione to visit Newport, RI
A French frigate is coming to Newport on July 8th & 9th. Tall Ships America, the national sail training organization who brought the tall ships to Newport for the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE Atlantic Coast Race Series in 2012, are in Virginia to greet L’Hermione on her historic arrival to Yorktown, the first US port of call during “Lafayette’s HERMIONE Voyage 2015 in partnership with TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE Atlantic Coast 2015.”
The 212’ vessel is an authentic replica of the first L’Hermione, the French frigate that carried the young Marquis de Lafayette to General Washington during the American Revolution to pledge full French support for America’s cause. This authentic replica and her celebrated second voyage to America was first imagined over twenty years ago. Friends of Hermione-Lafayette in America, the organization who has supported and promoted the realization of this significant undertaking since its conception, and Tall Ships America, the North American hub for tall ships activity, expertise, and information, whose annual TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE Race Series celebrates America’s rich maritime heritage and traditions and informs the general public about the transformative power of Adventure and Education Under Sail, have jointly organized “Lafayette’s HERMIONE Voyage 2015 in partnership with TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE Atlantic Coast 2015.” This series of maritime port festivals and Tall Ships Races will bring to life the journey made by Marquis de Lafayette in the late eighteenth century and will celebrate the enduring relationship forged between the United States and France during our revolution.
After Yorktown, L’Hermione will sail north towards New England. The tall ship will be berthed at Fort Adams on July 8th and 9th. An arrival ceremony to welcome the captain and crew will take place pier-side at Fort Adams State Park at 1:30 PM on July 8th. This event will be open to the public. Downtown Newport walking tours and exhibits with Hermione partners will be scheduled throughout the city.
The ship will be open for free, public tours on July 9th from 10 AM to 4 PM. Visitors will be able to engage with L’Hermione crew about their voyage across the Atlantic on an eighteenth century frigate and there will be ship building and colonial crafts demonstrations. In addition, local historians and authors will lecture on Rhode Island’s eighteenth century history.
The Newport visit of L’Hermione was made possible with the support of the Newport Historical Society, Fort Adams Trust, W3R-RI, RI Masons, Providence’s Alliance Française, Newport’s Alliance Française, and Salve Regina University. More information about L’Hermione as well as a complete schedule of the events in Newport is available at https://www.thenewportbuzz.com/events-set-for-layfettes-lhermione-visit-to-newport-ri/2224.
