BREAKNECK CAMP 9

Inscription

BREAKNECK CAMP 9
THE FRENCH ARMY OF GENERAL
ROCHAMBEAU ENCAMPED ATOP
THIS HILL IN LATE JUNE 1781
ENROUTE TO THE BATTLE OF
YORKTOWN SEPT. & OCT. 1781.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2026

In the summer of 1780, the tide of the American Revolution began to turn with the arrival of General Comte de Rochambeau and over 5,300 French troops in Newport, Rhode Island. For nearly a year, they waited for the strategic moment to strike, finally beginning their historic march south in June 1781.

The French Army departed from their first encampment at Providence and proceeded westward along the coast to link up with George Washington’s Continental Army in New York. The trek was a feat of engineering and endurance, meticulously documented by Louis-Alexandre Berthier, a topographical engineer whose journals and maps provide a detailed record of the colonial landscape. Berthier would later become a Marshal of France under Napoleon Bonaparte.

By late June, the French reached the rugged terrain of present-day Middlebury, Connecticut. From June 27th to June 30th, they established Camp 9 at Breakneck Hill, a name that reflected the steep, grueling climb for the army’s heavy wagon trains and artillery.

After joining forces with Washington in Westchester County, New York, the allied armies executed a swift, deceptive march toward Virginia. By September 27th, they had reached Yorktown, successfully trapping British General Lord Cornwallis and his troops against the sea.

The ensuing Siege of Yorktown lasted three intense weeks. On October 19th, 1781, the British forces officially surrendered. This decisive victory forced the British to negotiate, ultimately leading to the Treaty of Paris in 1783 and the birth of a new nation.

For more information:

https://www.nps.gov/waro/learn/historyculture/washington-rochambeau-revolutionary-route.htm

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/louis-alexandre-berthier

https://w3r.stqry.app/2/list/21879#list-map

*Link to March to Yorktown marker