The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-05-25

should here make lasting acknowl ledg.. ment one which will stand uncnaneeo beneath the sunshine and the rain Lonk after the words we speak shall nave Deen
 fhis statue is the counterfeit present. ment of a gallant gentleman. porn in lsss of noble fsmiiy. native of vendome, Jean Bapfiste Donatien de Vimsur Comte de Rochambeau had just passed his b6th birthday when he landed at Newport. His Career had been long ana als.in. .1. guished. His honors and his rank m tne ths antechambers of Versailles. In an age when the greatest nobfcman 9I France thought 1t no shame to seek aa- from royal mistresseS pS whose whims ministers rose and sad Idh T,tu Rm, ehambeau in time of peace turned ron the court to his regiment and his estates; He had shared in all the campaigns oi France from the time when hls eipes ahs church in which he. was about 70 pc ue come priest and placed him in tne army. At the siege of Namur he earned the rank of colonel by the surprise ot an town. He was twice wounded at the head of his regiment at the battle aue He captured the enemy's magazines a. the siege of Naestricht and won .ne nnon poSs the M forts of Ninorea. He fought the Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick ana captured the fortress of Rsgenstein In i757. At Crefeld he sustained Tor a ione time the attack of the Prnssian sa,s ary ns min- % den and was again wounded at Eloster- camp. After the peace Rochamoeau was often consufted by ministers but heysr ysa would take of1ice. At 1est Tn Mafcn; lA.sy A he was made Lieutenant General ana sent with the French army to America.
 He reached the United States at Q dark hour for the American cause. The first fervor of resistance had cooled. ine Congress had grown feeble and inert. gov ernffient and finance both dragged heay- fly and it seemed as nsthe revolution. go successful in the field would founder up- on the rocks Of pontscai snn eayruv'sn a.re, q,
 the mifsst of almost unparaueied oimcui- ties alone kept the cause aliye- The com ing of Rochambeau and his army was q
 great good fortune and yet its nrst re, effort on the part of Congress Wasn- ington realizing all the event meant opened correspondence at once VII. N,tA.l ho. v chambeau but it was not until SepfeRner commander in person. at Hartfold if was a great relief to the heavily burdened General to meet such 2 man as Rocnam,. beau and yet even. then as he turneSS ussS hopes the news of Arnoid's treason srnote him on his arrival at West Point. The summer had gone and nothing had been done. When Rochanbeau was unwilling and Washington was struggling despeT- atelv to wiring from hesitating con gress and from reluctant States the men; money and supplies absolutely essential if the great opportunity which had nov come vas not to pass away unused. 5? the winter wore on and spring came ana in May Washington and Rochambeau were again in consultation. Washington was determined to strike fatal blow He considered Florida and the scheme of taking the British under Rawdon in the rear: he thought of Vir. einia where Cornwallis, forced northward by Greens strategem was established looked at New York. the chief seat of British power. Rochambeau showed his military intelligence by leaning strongly to Virginia but the one vital condition was stll lacking. Washington knew that he must command the sea if only for. month at the point where he was to de- liver the decisive blow. So the days slip ped by, the summer waned and then or a sudden the great condition sprang mt, into as great as to Rochambeau, appeared In the Chesapeake with his fleet. No longer was there room for doubt Cornwallis in Virginia was clearly now the quarry for the allied forces.
 Time forbids me to tell the brilliant story of that campaign; of the manner in which De Barras was induced to bring his squadron from the North; of the adroitness with which Clinton was de- ceived in New York; of the skill and rapidity with which the French and American armies were hurried from New York to the Chesapeake and thence to Yorktown. The great golden moment so longed for by Washington when he could unite both land and sea-power had at last arrived. De Grasse was master of the bay. The English fleet was scattered
 lf,rsl tr,x4 Gta in York and Cornwallfs with some 5000 men was in Yorktown with the united French and American armies drawn close about him. Fast followed the siege. nearer came the enclosing lines, Lauzun dashed back Tarlton's cavalry at the very. be- ginning and every British sortie from that moment was repulsed. Day by day the parallels were pushed forward and British redoubts practical for assault. The French under iVomenil. the grena- olers of Gatinois, the regiment Of Au- vergne and DeuX-Ponts stormed one and here the most famous of the French reg iments recovered from their King the proud motto of "Auvergne sans tache."
 The other redoubt was assigned to the
 Americans under Lafayette, led by AL
 Both assaults. brilliantly delivered. were
 successful and the American lines in-
 cluded the ground which had been so gallantly won. A desperate sortie under Crdnam COmpleIely TSpulSeu d
 vain attempt to escape by water and then
 all was over. On the 18th of October Corn
 wallis surrendered and on the following
 day the British filed out and laid down
 their arms. passing between the ordered
 lines of the French drawn up under the
 lilies and the ranks of the Americans
 standing beneath the thirteen stars fixed
 on that day in the Armament of nations
 The American Revolution had been fought
 out and the new people had won.
 Through all these events, through all the months of weary waiting. through the
 weeks of rapid march and the hurrying
 days of siege and battle there shine out
 very brightly the fine qualities of the
 than the management In war of allied forces. Here there was never a jar. Ro-
 chambeau was large minded enough
 to understand the greatness of
 of mind and the power of char
 acter which invested the Ameri-
 can leader with dignity beyond aught
 that royal birth or kingly title could con-
 tercourse. They wrought together for a
 common cause and the long experience
 the thorough training. the keen military
 intelligence. the, wisdom and honest pur-
 pose of Rochambeau were all freely giv-
 en to the Americans and their comman nd CT. Honor and gratitude then to Ro-
 chaurbeau for what he did for us and gra- titude and honor likewise to De Grasse
 and De Barras for the sea power with
 which they uphelde and sustained both
 Washington and Rochambeau.
 . But there is something more in the
 story than this; something of deeper meaning than the plans of statesmen to
 humble a successful foe and take a tardy
 profound than the grasping of a young people at friendly hand to draw them
 forth from the stormy waters of a des-
 perate war for liberty. Look again on h0 vshit doa