March Route of Rochambeau's Army: Old Canterbury Road

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March Route of Rochambeau's Army: Old Canterbury Road

PlainfieldCT MarchRoute OldCanterburyRoad.jpg

Old Canterbury Road in 2016
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Location Old Canterbury Rd: Canterbury Rd. from Jct. with Old Canterbury Rd., Plainfield, Connecticut
Coordinates 41°41′22″N71°57′4″W / 41.68944°N 71.95111°W / 41.68944; -71.95111 Coordinates: 41°41′22″N71°57′4″W / 41.68944°N 71.95111°W / 41.68944; -71.95111
Area 2 acres (0.81 ha)
MPS Rochambeau's Army in Connecticut, 1780-1782 MPS
NRHP reference # 03000310 [1]
Significant dates
Dates of significance 1781, 1782
Added to NRHP June 6, 2003

March Route of Rochambeau's Army: Old Canterbury Road is a historic site in Plainfield, Connecticut along the 1781 and/or 1782 march routes of Rochambeau's army. It includes a stretch of what is now Old Canterbury Road and a stretch of Canterbury Road (Connecticut Route 14A) whose environs evoke the period of the Rochambeau army's march. It is a 2-acre (0.81 ha) site that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. [1] [2]

Plainfield, Connecticut Town in Connecticut, United States

Plainfield is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,405 at the 2010 census. The town comprises four villages: Plainfield, Moosup, Wauregan, and Central Village. Each village has their own respective United States Post Office and fire department. The entire town is serviced by the 860 area code.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Contents

Description and history

The March Route of Rochambeau's Army: Old Canterbury Road is located in western Plainfield, along a portion of the current and historical alignment of Connecticut Route 14A. The eastern portion of the segment is part of the current alignment, extending eastward from the junction with Old Canterbury Road for about 1,300 feet (400 m). The western section of this segment consists of Old Canterbury Road, a narrow window paved road with a border of shrubs and vines and stone walls along much of its length; this was originally part of Route 14A until it was bypassed in the 1930s. A stand of mature sugar maple trees gives shade to a portion of the site. Houses along the section are more modern than the 1781-82 era, but are set back far enough so as not to interfere with the evocation of Rochambeau's marching troops. [2]

This segment of road is one of many that was traversed by Rochambeau's troops in June 1781 on their way to Virginia, and again in November 1782, on their return to Rhode Island. The passage of the French army along this route is documented by period route map drawn by French military engineer Louis-Alexandre Berthier. French chroniclers of the march noted that it had "farms sown with rye and wheat, but especially with maize. . . and with potatoes", but that they also passed through "many woods, mostly of oaks and chestnut trees" in the area between their third camp (in Plainfield) and their fourth in Windham. [2]

Fourth Camp of Rochambeaus Army

The Fourth Camp of Rochambeau's Army is a historic military camp site near Plains Road and Lovers Lane on the banks of the Shetucket River in Windham, Connecticut. It was here that the French Army under the command of Rochambeau encamped in the summer of 1781, en route from Providence, Rhode Island to the New York City area. Four divisions passed through, each one night apart, starting with the Bourbonnais on June 21, then the Royal Deux-Ponts, then the Soissonnais, and finally the Saintonge division, on successive nights. One of Rochambeau's aides described Windham at the time as "a charming market town, where, incidentally, there were many pretty women at whose homes we passed the afternoon very agreeably." Of the camp site, he wrote, "A mile away is a beautiful river with a fine wooden bridge. We camped on its banks very comfortably, though hardly militarily."

Windham, Connecticut City in Connecticut, United States

Windham is a city in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. It contains the city suburb of Willimantic as well as the boroughs of Windham Center, North Windham, and South Windham. Willimantic, an incorporated city since 1893, was consolidated with the city in 1983. The population was 25,268 at the 2010 census.

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Windham County, Connecticut Wikimedia list article

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Windham County, Connecticut.

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The Dorrance Inn, also known as the Samuel Dorrance House, is a historic former inn at 748 Plainfield Pike in Sterling, Connecticut. Built about 1722, it is notable as a place that hosted officers of the French Army in 1781 and 1782, as it was along the march route taken by French commander Rochambeau's troops en route to Yorktown, Virginia. Dorrance's Inn is one of a few places mentioned by name in multiple accounts written by French officers. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. and is a contributing building in the Sterling Hill Historic District.

Forty-Seventh Camp of Rochambeaus Army

The Forty-Seventh Camp of Rochambeau's Army is a historic military camp site in Windham, Connecticut. Located along Scotland Road a short way east of Windham Center, it was the site of a French Army camp in November 1782, when that army was en route from victory at Yorktown to Rhode Island. The camp site is considered of archaeological importance, because it can shed light on transient military camp sites, whose locations are not often known. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

March Route of Rochambeaus Army: Manship Road-Barstow Road

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March Route of Rochambeaus Army: Palmer Road

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March Route of Rochambeaus Army: Plainfield Pike

March Route of Rochambeau's Army: Plainfield Pike is a 3.6 mile-long road segment in Plainfield and Sterling, Connecticut which forms a portion of the historic march route of Comte de Rochambeau's army in June 1781 on its way to Yorktown, Virginia, and again of the returning army in November 1782. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 2003.

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March Route of Rochambeaus Army: Hutchinson Road

The March Route of Rochambeau's Army: Hutchinson Road is a 2-acre (0.81 ha) historic road section in Andover, Connecticut. The section of Hutchinson Road, laid out in the early 18th century and formerly an alignment of United States Route 6, formed part of the 1781-82 march routes of Rochambeau's army which contributed to American victory in the American Revolutionary War. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

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March Route of Rochambeaus Army: Ridgebury Road

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Josiah Bronson House

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References