Announcing the posting of my new website:
Jinijonesvail.com
Created by my son, Rusty Dyer, Digidyer Productions.
It looks great!
Other news today: I am on my umpteenth edit on my new book:
SUMMERING IN THE LOIRE VALLEY
A decade of Art, Cuisine, History, and Music in France
(Keep posted for an outline of the book and publishing date)
My third book, already written:
CONVERSATIONS WITH QUEEN ALIENOR OF AQUITAINE
A three-act play with 6 scenes.
Dear Friends, Family, Colleagues, and Associates,
I am pleased to announce that my book, Rochambeau, Washington’s Ideal Lieutenant is now available as an audiobook directly online through Amazon.com and Audible.com (see links below). It will soon be available on iTunes. Please use the links below to access the book and listen to a sample. I hope you will purchase the book for your audio library. I think you will enjoy it very much. If you are new to Audible, please sign up for a free trial membership and make my book your first purchase! I would love to hear what you think of it.
Tell your friends and family, especially those with an interest in Rochambeau, the Revolutionary War, George Washington, and The National Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association Inc. (W3R) and it’s National Historic Trail (see: http://w3r-us.org)
Best wishes and happy listening!
Jini Jones Vail
Click here if you’re not familiar with Audible
ROCHAMBEAU, WASHINGTON’S IDEAL LIEUTENANT, A FRENCH GENERAL’S ROLE IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Step back in time and travel with Rochambeau as he rides through the night to the Palace of Versailles, answering a summons from King Louis XVI.
Sail with Rochambeau as he and his 42-ship convoy cross the Atlantic on an exhausting 70-day voyage to America.
Sit by his side as his carriage travels to meet with George Washington for their first face-to-face conference in Hartford, Connecticut. Enjoy the tension between the two generals as their strategy emerges.
Stand beside Rochambeau as he proudly watches his handsome French troops depart from Newport, Rhode Island, to begin their 200-mile march to join forces with Washington’s army above the Hudson.
Stand near him in Chester, Pennsylvania, as he watches an overjoyed Washington twirl his hat in the air on hearing that the long-awaited French navy under Admiral De Grasse had arrived in the Chesapeake. Ride at his side in the sweltering sun during the grueling trek from New York to Williamsburg, Virginia.
Listen in as he rallies his troops at the Battle of Yorktown. And observe how Cornwallis grudgingly surrenders his sword at the final battle of the American Revolution.
©2011 Jini Jones Vail (P)2018 Jini Jones Vail
HUZZAH! HUZZAH!
“Allons enfants de la patrie……”
The Alliance Francaise of NW CT is hosting our annual Bastille Day summer picnic today, July 14th, 2018.
The flowers, from a francophile friend, Mary Conseur, are an inspiration!
Many thanks to our new members and followers on this blog. More to come…
Feast your eyes on this gorgeous necklace designed and assembled by my husband, John.
Portrait by Rusty Dyer, Digidyer Productions
The story is that over the past several years, I received as gifts from John and Amy, my daughter, a few vintage fitted boxes of Rochambeau buttons, each with a set of 6 or so buttons of two sizes. I set them aside since they represent the hero of my book and the bicentennial of the battle of Yorktown. The buttons were made in Waterbury, CT, close to home.
Then last summer I got them out and said to John,”I would love to have a necklace fashioned of these buttons, but how?” I went to a jeweler who told me it would cost me well over one thousand to have them made up with gold chains etc. I said “No thanks”. I returned home with them. When John had time we found some gold parts ourselves. In a matter of hours, he put it together like the real ‘Can Do’ Sea Bee that he is. Et voila! I plan to wear it to a fancy dress 18th-century ball or maybe the grocery store.
N.B. May I remind you that when you read the blog you will see a request to enter your email address so my blog master can send you a notice once a month of my blog post. I know you are out there and that you love American and French history as much as I do. So kindly leave your email address today. It will give me a great big boost to know you are following my blog that and want me to continue.
I am posting a very tender photo of my dear deceased friend, Dr. Jacques Bossiere, Founder and First Chair of the W3R Washington – Rochambeau Revolutionary Route.
Dr. Jacques Bossiere
Can you guess what we are doing so intently working? Jacques is recovering from a miserable accident as a
pedestrian in New York City hit by a car. My husband, John, and I visited him in Greenwich, CT to cheer him.
At that time I had just completed the writing of my 5th draft on the Rochambeau book. Jacques, who had plenty
of time on his hands, offered to annotate the manuscript. I was so very pleased to accept his kind offer!
So here we are working together while following up on his annotations. I shall forever be grateful for the
moral support he granted me on the publication of this most important book.
And Holiday Wishes to Everyone!
The image above is special as it represents a turning point and a verification of battle plans of the principal generals near the close of the American Fight for Independence 1781. It is the result of unity between America and France.
Lest we forget! This is the setting:
In this painting by David R. Wagner, Connecticut’s own painter of the Rev War, we see General Rochambeau on the left and his American counterpart General Washington, on the right examining the map of the eastern United States.
Rochambeau has just received a message from Admiral De Grasse saying that he is on his way north from the French West Indies with the much needed cash, ships and soldier/marines to meet the combined Franco/American Army at the Chesapeake. Once they are all assembled near Yorktown, Virginia, they, along with Lafayette and his army, will force Lord General Cornwallis to back up to the bluff of Yorktown from which there is no exit!
The die is cast at this meeting in Phillipsburg, NY.
Their Christmas celebration that year would be one to celebrate! Raise a glass to King Louis XVI !!
Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!
See you again in in January 2018!
Great news for all of us who love our American history.
The new Museum of the American Revolution (M*AR) opened its doors in April 2017
My son, Rusty Dyer, and I joined a DARR/CAR trip to Philadelphia, PA to pay it a visit October 14-15, 2017.
Here we are outside the entrance with the cannon (no ’s) and the Redcoats!!!
They look friendly enough. In fact, they were downright affable!
It was Rusty’s birthday on the 15th, and he was born not far from this spot at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). What a great way to CELEBRATE!
FLASH Tune in next month for more on our trip ~
Rochambeau receives 18 – 20 American Indians near the end of August 1780. They were mostly representatives of the Oneida and the Tuscarora tribes. French diarist, Verger, wrote: “The deputies of the Four Nations had come to make sure of our arrival and to offer us their alliance.” By tradition, the Iroquois Nation, to which these tribes belonged, favored the British during the American Revolution.
However, many of them had fought on their side of the French during the French and Indian War, only three decades earlier. The Iroquois Confederacy was composed of six nations: the Seneca, Cayuga, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, and Tuscarora. These tribes formed an alliance for military and political reasons, with the Oneida and the Tuscarora openly siding with the British.
By the time Rochambeau arrived in Newport in mid August 1780, the Oneida and Tuscarora, breaking tradition, were eager to meet with the French general to determine where his interest stood and to confirm their allegiance to King Louis XVI Rochambeau received them with great pomp and circumstance offering them gifts with which they were well pleased. He regaled them with a military and then a naval drill that they enjoyed by all accounts.
Indian Emissaries Meet with General Rochambeau – Painting by David R. Wagner
(The above is excerpted from Rochambeau, Washington’s Ideal Lieutenant)
Very little in the way of LABOR here!
Our family recipe for what we now call ‘Angeled Eggs”:
Our good friend, Vicki, suggested we change the name to ‘Angeled’ We are all for it!.
The trick in preparing ‘Angeled Eggs’ is to eliminate extra ingredients. I simply add lots of Mayonnaise (or Veganaise) with a large squeeze plain old French’s mustard. The ‘piece de resistance’ that I have been adding for decades is a dab of Sun-dried Tomato on top! Et Voila!
Bring on the picnickers!
I have just learned about the story of a true American patriot.
PRUDENCE CUMMINGS WRIGHT
(1740 – 1823)
Prudence was born in Dunstable, Massachusetts, and in 1761 she married David Wright. They made their home in Pepperell, MA. Over the years they raised a family of seven while Prudence became known in Pepperell as a leader. Her family favored the patriots as did the others of her town although, in surrounding communities, there were many who remained loyal to the King of England, George III.
By 1773 at the age of 33, the American Revolution saw the first sparks of rebellion burst into flame. The Boston Tea Party aroused fervor around Boston. In Pepperell, the women reacted swiftly by burning their tea in front of the meeting house. Two years later her husband, David and the men of their town were organized as Minute Men and ready to be called up at any time to support the rebel cause.
The women of Pepperell were no less prepared should their men have to leave their homes and their farms to answer the call to arms. It must have been a shock to Prudence and David to discover that two of their daughters were Tories.
Early in the morning of April 19, 1775, word was spread that the British were marching toward Lexington. The Minute Men were roused to answer the call. Prudence learned that there was a direct line of Loyalist messengers through Pepperell to Boston. Prudence marshaled the women of her town to do all they could to impede these important messages from going through to the British.
The men had left, and 30-40 women elected Prudence to be their leader. They would dress as men, take what they could find as weapons and meet at Jewett’s Bridge over the Nashua River between Pepperell and Groton, the only crossing for miles. The women knew that the messengers would have to pass this way, so the women vowed to protect the bridge with their lives.
It was necessary for the women to remain hidden so incomers from the north would not see them until the last minute before crossing the bridge. The women hid silently throughout the night until some men were seen approaching. At the last moment, Prudence leaped up with her lantern to demand they halt and state their business. Two men rode up.
One was recognized as a Tory, and the other man, hearing a familiar voice, said: “Wait, that is my sister, Prudence, and she would wade through blood for the rebel cause!” It was Samuel Cummings, Prudence’s brother. The two men were surrounded and led to a nearby house under guard for the night.
The next day they were marched to the town of Groton and eventually given their freedom if they left the colonies. Prudence never saw her brother again. He had been her favorite sibling. Incriminating messages were found on Leonard Whiting. He was taken to the Committee of Safety at Cambridge. There remains a plaque on the famous bridge to this day reminding us of Prudence’s brave role in the Revolution.
Revolutionary Rochambeau 