12S BULLETIN 16 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



The owner of this sword was born in Vendome, France, in 1725. 

 He entered the French Army as cornet in 1742 and rose rapidly in 

 rank. He was made lieutenant general in 1780 and appointed to the 

 command of an army destined to assist the American patriots. In 

 command of 6,000 men he embarked at Brest, May 2, 1780, and sailed 

 for America under the escort of Chevalier de Terney with five ships 

 of the line. The French fleet w^as attacked by a British fleet off the 

 Bermudas but escaped capture, and Rochambeau landed on the 

 coast of Rhode Island on July 12 and established his headquarters at 

 Newport. Here he instituted a severe system of discipline among 

 his troops and sent his son to Paris to urge the forwarding of money, 

 supplies, and reinforcements. In June, 1781, he marched toward the 

 Hudson River. He defeated a detachment of Clinton's army on 

 JNIanhattan Island and then joined Washington's forces at Philips- 

 burg, 9 miles from Kingsbridge. The united armies of Washing- 

 ton and Rochambeau then crossed the Delaware River at Trenton 

 and were reviewed by Congress at Philadelphia. They then marched 

 south into Virginia and began the siege of Yorktown. 



After the capture of the army of Cornwallis at Yorktown, 

 Rochambeau, in April, marched to attack the city of New York, 

 but this plan was abandoned, and he then arranged for the embar- 

 kation of his army at Boston. Before returning to France he 

 received the thanks of Congress for his services and was recom- 

 mended by that body to the favor of Louis XVI. During the French 

 Revolution he was imprisoned in Paris and narrowly escaped death 

 on the scaffold. He was more fortunate during the Napoleonic 

 regime and then received the Order of the Legion of Honor and was 

 granted a pension. Rochambeau was one of the most noted of the 

 foreign generals who aided the American cause during the War of 

 the Revolution. He died in his castle at Thore in 1807. His sword 

 was presented by Gov. Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York, to 

 Brig. Gen. Peter Gansevoort, United States Army, and was worn 

 by the latter on special occasions until his death in 1812. A century 

 later it was presented to the National Museum by General Ganse- 

 voort's granddaughter, Mrs. Catherine Gansevoort Lansing. 



SWORD OWNED BY MARSHAL MOREAU 



A second sword in the National Museum collection owned by a 

 famous French general is one ^^ that was the property of Marshal 

 Jean Victor Moreau. It is a very fine example of the French 

 officer's sword of the early part of the nineteenth century. The 

 blade, which is long and heav}-, with a fleep curve, is engraved on 

 both sides the entire length w^ith small individual floral designs. 



■■>'- Length, 102.7 cm. Blade, 88.3 cm. long, 3.8 cm. wide. PI. 37, fig. 1. 



