The Newport Historical Society is pleased to host Dr. Iris de Rode for the first of two virtual talks that feature the French presence in Newport. This first lecture, The French Arrival in the “Deserted Town of Newport”, takes place on Thursday March 10, 2022 at 5pm. Attendance is free, but registration is required. To register, please email esulock@newporthistorical.org

On July 11th 1780, in the midst of the American Revolution, the French soldiers and officers of General Rochambeau’s Expédition Particulière finally set foot on American soil in Newport, Rhode Island, after their exhausting and particularly long transatlantic voyage. Their first weeks in America were marked by many complications. The French had to care for sick soldiers, buy provisions “for exorbitant prices”, and they built a well fortified camp for their troops because of the constant threat of British attacks. Furthermore, during the first meetings with their American allies and Newporters, it quickly became clear that the French-American relations were marked by mistrust and hostility. This was based on The Seven Years’ War, where they had fought against each other, and on sharp cultural and religious differences. It also became apparent that both armies lacked men, money, ships, and provisions to fight the mighty British Army and Fleet, their common enemy.

Based on unpublished source material, this virtual lecture will show that the French panicked, and even considered leaving North America. But this situation changed. Dr. Iris de Rode will illustrate how, during the first months of the French stay in Newport, the mistrust between the French and Americans evolved into trust, and “deep friendships” started to develop. These friendships led to an evolution from fear of losing against the British, to hope for success in their joint military campaign. A few understudied French individuals shaped the conditions for this improvement of Franco-American relations. This special bond, born in Newport, would ultimately lead to the Victory of Yorktown, and to American Independence.

Dr. Iris de Rode specializes in the French participation in the American Revolution, and more broadly the history of the Atlantic Revolutions. In particular, she studied the unpublished private papers of François-Jean de Chastellux, major general in the expeditionary army of Rochambeau. Iris earned her doctoral degree in November 2019 for her PhD dissertation entitled “François-Jean de Chastellux (1734-1788), un soldat-philosophe dans le monde atlantique à l’époque des Lumières” at the University of Paris 8. She has earned thirteen international fellowships and presented her research at more than 30 international conferences. Her dissertation will be published in French in March 2022 (Paris, Honoré Champion). Iris is currently working on the publication of an adaptation of this dissertation in English to be published in 2023 with the University of Virginia Press, entitled “Military Enlightenment on the ground, French-American cooperation during the American Revolution”, focusing on the Military Enlightenment during the American War of Independence, and on the specifics of the French American alliance based new source material.