Twitter cspanhistory. For a schedule of upcoming programs, and to keep up with the latest history news. Each week American History tvs american artifacts takes you to museums and historic places. Next, we travel to yorktown virginia, to witness the arrival from france of the tall sailing ship hermione. The ship is a replica of a military frigate that carried general marquis de lafayette in 1780 with a message of king louis xvi. The original hermione participated in the siege of yorktown in 1781. The journey was the beginning of a trip up the east coast of the u. S. With stops in major cities along the way. Over the next hour, we will see remarks from american and french government representatives, interviews with crew members, and we will observe scenes and music from the arrival ceremony. When we arrived on june 5th hermione was just emerging from the fog. [cannon fire] [cheering] [le marseilleus playing] us playing] s playing] as playing] s playing] as playing] is playing] [ applause ] [american National Anthem playing] [ applause ] right turn, march left left, left right. Left, left, left right. Forward, march, left, left, left, right. Left, left, left, right. Left, left, left, right. I am tom shepherd, chairman of the york county board of supervisors. On behalf of my fellow board members, it is an honor to welcome you to the beautiful waterfront as we celebrate the is the arrival of the hermione, a replica of a ship that brought the marquis de lafayette to america to assist us in our fight for independence in 1780. We are all here today to welcome the captain and the crew of the hermione and also to celebrate the human spirit and the drive to achieve, which is evident when you look at the pier and see the hermione docked. However, we are also here to celebrate a man of spirit, determination, and vision. Im speaking of marquis de lafayette. [ applause ] when he sailed on the hermione in 1780, the marquis was no stranger to american shores. He had fought as a member of the Continental Army in the early years of our struggle for independence. On his return, in april of 1780, the marquis brought with him not only the promise from the king of france of Additional Support in the form of 6,000 troops and seven ships, but also enduring friendship that has lasted centuries. The marquis resumed his place alongside general washington and the Continental Army and was among troops setting siege on the battle headquarters in yorktown in 1781. As you walk through yorktown you are walking in the footsteps of our nations first president. And many frenchman who we owe our thanks for example, the marquis de lafayette, the comte de rochambeau and so many others. Not only were they fighting in yorktown, but the hermione participated in the naval blockade and assault on the British Forces from the york river. Today we celebrate the french who gave so much during the forming of our nation. The original hermione and their combined legacies. But we also celebrate the small group of individuals who first raised the possibility of reconstructing a replica of that ship called the frigate of freedom. And sailing her across the atlantic, we celebrate the people across the globe who have raised the necessary funds for building her. And we celebrate the cafeteriamen who toiled to construct the magnificent sailing vessel. Finally, we celebrate the captain and crew of the hermione for a successful ocean crossing. Together you have made history, and you deserve to be recognized. [ applause ] while we know that the ship was built in modern times, to us and to yorktown it feels as though we are welcoming home an old friend. At this time, i would like to introduce our governor. It is my pleasure to his excellency, the honorable terrance r. Mcauliffe the 72nd governor of the commonwealth of virginia. [ applause ] thank you. Great to be here. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning, everybody all our folks here who have come from france, madam, minister, ambassador, admiral and everybody else, congressmen, welcome to the greatest state in the United States of america, the commonwealth of virginia. And if some of you poor souls are from one of those other 49 states use this as an opportunity to find a home and move here. Because we truly are the greatest. And if youre not at least spend all the money while youre here. Welcome to yorktown. Welcome to virginia. Captain, its great to be with you. Dorothy and i just had an opportunity to tour the ship. She is spectacular. There are about 79 crew that came over. The original crew is about 250. Its amazing what you can do with a little modern technology. But it was a crew of about 79. And there are about 50 volunteers on that ship that came over. So i know we gave the captain a great round of applause. But theyre all up on that ship sitting there. Lets hear it for the crew that came over here. [ applause ] and captain, we thank your wisdom and forethought for obviously coming to yorktown first to the commonwealth. You will be heading off to mt. Vernon and those tiny little states in maryland and pennsylvania and massachusetts, those irrelevant states. So captain, we commend you on your brilliant choice of states to come to first. As we know, the original frigate that carried marquis de lafayette to america was built in 1779 and bragged a 32gun artillery. It did not, as i just toured have two 400 horsepower italian engines that the frigate is now packing today. But at the time that ship could outsail and outgun any ship on the seas when it was on the sea. It was the pride of the french navy and the british navy was jealous of that ship. [ applause ] remember, im irish heritage. For americans, the arrival of this fantastic ship came with a promise of more ships and more frenchmen to fight alongside us on our cause and fight for liberty. Those men and ships were essential to our victory at yorktown. This was great news for general George Washington particularly because the pledge of assistance was brought by one of his closest friends. The marquis first came to america in 1777 when he was just 19 years old. He was orphaned as a toddler. The marquis soon developed an affectionate bond with general washington, who at the time was 25 years his senior and did not have any children of his own. During the revolution, the marquis wore the blue uniform of Major General in the Continental Army. It was more than just a young flashy aristocrat making a statement as washington quickly recognized. Washington shared with the marquis even the most Sensitive Information that was withheld from other military officers, and the marquis kept a very close eye on the troops. In one case warning the general that a particular officer was being extremely obnoxious in virginia. The letters and their friendship continued long after the revolution was over. Indeed, general washington confided that he typically answered the marquis letters as soon as they arrived. The marquis worried about the struggles of a new nation trying to define itself. Washington worried about the young frenchmans safety in the turmoil that was going on in europe. The marquis pestered washington to please accept the presidency while washington insisted that the office of the presidency, quote, has no enticing charms. If they only knew. There were letters welcoming the marquis new son who was named George Washington lafayette. In another letter washington admitted that he was reluctant to visit his friend in paris because he did not speak the language and feared that the french women would find him awkward. The two men even corresponded over their experience and in subjects of the famous french sculptor udon. And today both of those priceless works as you know, are in our rotunda in the capitol in richmond. The two men also debated profoundly serious issues confronting our nation. The marquis tried to persuade washington to free his own slaves in an effort to encourage a national emancipation. Washington agreed with the goal but did not believe the country would accept it, and he let this crucial opportunity pass without acting. The marquis was brave enough and wise enough to see in his friend and in this new nation a greater good that we were able to willing to see in ourselves. We settled for less. The marquis Great Sadness and our own regret for far too many years. Id like to think today that washington and his good friend would be pleased at the progress since this ship first arrived in america. But they would also urge us to continue our work, folks to make this commonwealth and this nation the place where all virginians and all americans have equal opportunities to success. Six months before the marquis set sail on his return to america, washington wrote your forward zeal in the cause of liberty, your singular attachment to this infant world and your strict and uniform friendship for me has ripened the first impregtss of esteem into such perfect love and gratitude that neither time nor absence can ever impair. The ship we welcome here today to virginia is the product of 17 years of dedication to the cause of liberty by so many individuals on both sides of the atlantic. It is also a tribute to a friendship between two men and two countries. That has lasted for centuries. We celebrate this day with the assurance that we are both stronger and better because of that friendship. Thank you for being here today and to the french thank you for all that you have done for the United States of america. Thank you. [ applause ] now, ladies and gentlemen, i would like to introduce mr. Miles young. He is president of the friends of the Hermione Lafayette in america. He lives in new york, his adopted home. And when he speaks, you will understand what i mean by adopted. And is chairman and ceo of ogilvie and mater, one of the most historic advertising and Communication Companies in the world. Mr. Young . [ applause ] your excellency the governor and chairman shepherd, madam the story of the hermione operates at many levels. On one level, it symbolizes a Tipping Point in history. The journey which brought the news to general washington of wholehearted french support to the american insurgents. How appropriate it is that the hermione has arrived here in yorktown because that news led to the decisive presence of the expedition here at the end game of the revolutionary war where the hermione on the seaside and lafayette on the landside were reunited. But at another level, it is the story of modern day audacity. Lafayettes motto why not . Describes this well. Why not build a completely authentic replica of a french 18th century frig gate and sail her to the United States . That was the question even a little bit crazy that a few visionaries asked almost 20 years ago. You know, im a historian by academic background. I read history. I suppose i could be called a businessman right now. I profoundly believe in the value of the humanities and the importance of history. So people who say we only need science graduates in my view are very, very wrong. History is a living thing, but it has to be worked at and it has to be taught. There is a great danger that this story was being forgotten. If you speak to most americans, they do not remember that there were more french people here fighting in yorktown that there were americans in 1781. They dont remember that it was that support of louis xvi who entrusted a message through lafayette to washington to a war that other was going to be lost. Bringing those things back to peoples memory, public history public memory is to me something fascinating. So when the project was originally conceived it was always imagined that she would sail to america to repeat the voyage in a sense that the original hermione made, to come here and to fight here. The ship took a long time to build. But at some stage in the last third of the period, an American Group started to go here. And then i was asked to come in. I came in two years ago. And since then, weve set up committees in 11 ports. So our job is to raise money. Weve had to raise about 3 million to pull it off. Weve had to arrange the port visits. Weve had to liaise with the ports, the governments. Weve had to create an educational and Cultural Program around it. Weve had to create a website, a social media program, and all the things that make into it a genuine public history project. It started in peoples minds in the late 90s. Because the original hermione had fought here. It went back to france. It then went to the indian ocean and it fought in the battles of costa madras returned to france fought in the revolutionary wars, and then it founded on a reef off the coast of brittanie. In the late 90s the remains were found again. But they werent sufficiently extent to permit some sort of raising. But it was enough to provoke an idea, well, what is this ship . And why couldnt we reconstruct it . Then it was taken up. Roche fort was the original french naval docks. The first hermione was built in roquefort. The mayor of rochefort saw this as an economic regeneration project. The idea developed from there. It got some backers outside of rochefort and a erik orsenna, the famous author became the figurehead. Actually, the man was right. 400 million came in to rochefort and put the town back on the map again. Its an interesting example of how heritage can pay. It was very difficult to build because some of these skills are not very obvious. And the decision had always been made that this should be a very authentic replica. So there are some concessions to modernity. There is an engine there is some radar. There is a force by security guards and health and safety. There are some metal bolts in the substructure of the hull but otherwise very, very little compromise. You to find thousands of french oak trees. And they have to be shaped like this so they could form the hull. Well, in the old french naval forests, they were trained to grow the right way. They were grown along water courses so they would naturally bend. Then you need a joint. You need a tree that grows like that but has a joint like that. You only use the seconds. So how do you find those . In todays world . It took ten years to find the oak, the french oak that made the ship what it is. There are some other skills that have disappeared. Some of them came from sweden because sweden does have a tradition of creating authentic tour ships. Goatburg, for instance. But otherwise a lot of skills around rochefort, the sail making the rigging, for instance, the cannons were founded in the original cannon foundry. So it took time because the decision was made not to compromise. How can you crystallize the importance of lafayette for American History . At one level he was an american founding father. But it doesnt really tell you the guts of the thing. He was a youth, a crazy youth who had the idea that the american war was a good, just war. Came across as a teenager befriended washington. He then fought gallantly. He became something of a confidante of washington. Washington trusted him. Used him a little bit as a spy within the camp to tell him if other people were being defeatist or gossiping or whatever. And then washington entrusted him to go in a sense on a lobbying mission back to france. You know lafayettes motto was why not . So he had this sense of nothing is impossible. An enormous sense of selfconfidence. That spirit, that cando spirit is Something Like in my view of the american spirit, the american dream. So he operates at a number of Different Levels at the kind of more normal level but also something a little bit spiritual about what sort of person he was that he could defy all odds in a way. He had a checkered life after that. He was a personality in the revolution. And in some senses, he was quite famous and admirable. He is the one who was present at the bastille. He sent George Washington a key which is still in the hallway in mt. Vernon. But another point in the revolution, he kind of bottled out, i would say a little bit and he trimmed and he wasnt quite sure where he was. He more or less lost the king and queen their lives. He could have protected them. They had protected him actually in the past. So he didnt come out so well in the revolution. But then he went of course to prison. He was captured by the austrians, sent to prison, terrible conditions. His amazing wife adrienne went and joined him with their two daughters, one named virginie after virginia. She got ill as a result of, that eventually died. They all went back to france. Napoleon shuffled them off to the countryside. Didnt want to have anything to do with them. Just wanted to keep him quiet. Had no love for the restored monarchy. But when phillipe came to power, lafayette had a Second Period of greatness. He was instrumental certainly in the early phases of the july monarchy as a liberal. And of course he came back to the states in 182425. He had a heroic suit here. Im in the advertising business. And that is one of the great Marketing Programs in history, the marketing, the branding of lafayette on his return to the United States. You could buy everything from a shoe brush to a comb with his name on it. I think there are other 40 towns or cities named after lafayette, streets, squares, blah blah blah. So he became i think at that point an American Icon and america recognized this amazing role that he played. In every nation, the sailors had different songs for different tasks. So there are songs to put the sails, songs to arrive songs to start and departures and songs for arrivals. And so we choose between hundreds, we choose five, which was the one we preferred. And with a lot of pleasure to sing it. We sing it when we are running out in parties you know, because the advantage of a sailor song is you can sing it very loud. You can yell it. And if you sing not very well, its okay, its okay. [ applause ] how did you find yourself here doing this . I visited the ship once and they told well, we are looking for a crew. And for me that was kind of a dream, a kids dream because i grow up in city in brittany and this is a city of france. So its just a stone city with ramparts. And i spent hours and hours playing with that kind of ship in mind, you know, looking at the sea and dreaming to see one coming.