By Jorja K. Jean From The Virginian-Pilot

Come early in the Morning. In View of the Fleet – a grand Sight! 32 Ships of the Line in Lynn Haven Bay just under the point of Cape Henry….

— Jonathan Trumbull, governor of Connecticut and secretary to Gen. George Washington

TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, the sight must have seemed his salvation.

On Sept. 18, 1781, Washington, commander-in-chief of the combined American and French forces, and the Comte de Rochambeau, commander-in-chief of the French Expeditionary Army, sailed into Lynnhaven Bay.

After their long march to Virginia to join Lafayette, they desperately wanted to confer with Admiral de Grasse, commander-in-chief of the French fleet.

On board his massive flagship, the three commanders finalized their strategic vision that would lead to the stunning Franco-American victory at Yorktown. It was the first time all three had met face to face.

They surely celebrated the outcome of de Grasse’s recent naval battle off the Virginia Capes (which had cost the lives of 209 French sailors).

The British fleet had retreated to New York. By engaging it at sea, de Grasse made it possible for a much smaller French fleet stationed at Rhode Island to slip into the Chesapeake. It bore more troops, provisions and heavy siege artillery.

As Washington, Rochambeau and their entourage left at sunset, they were honored with a spectacular salute. Sailors cheered them from every possible perch on the towering masts of the fleet’s ships. Each held a musket upright, successively discharging them in the running fire known as a feu de joie. The flagship fired its cannons.

Their trap was now set. With de Grasse blockading the Chesapeake, Cornwallis could not be reinforced or evacuated. His surrender led to peace and our independence.

Soon, the city of Virginia Beach, in cooperation with the National Parks Service, will erect a marker recognizing the momentous meeting of Washington, Rochambeau and de Grasse in the colonial-era Lynnhaven Bay.

Now known as Lynnhaven Roads, our waters are the southernmost point of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, a new national historic trail.

The Beach’s inclusion should be a game-changer in the ongoing debate about the Lesner Bridge, named for a Norfolk state senator. In 2017, a new $116 million replacement structure will open.

The new bridge offers the opportunity to create a place name that promotes our Revolutionary War heritage more effectively and forges a tie to the historic triangle tourism market.

It’s not without precedent on Shore Drive. Seashore State Park was renamed to commemorate the first landing of the Jamestown colonists.

Let’s honor Admiral de Grasse.

Few Americans know the extraordinary efforts and risks that de Grasse undertook to ensure our liberty.

Stationed in the Caribbean, de Grasse negotiated with the Spanish and borrowed 2,500 French troops assigned to them for joint operations.

He refused to split his fleet to accompany the annual trading convoy to France, although he would have been ruined if those ships were captured.

He raised the equivalent of nearly $6 million to provide desperately needed cash for our cause.

De Grasse personally paid for 15 merchant ships to accompany his fleet and transport troops.

To avoid British lookouts, he took an extremely dangerous and little used route through the Caribbean.

Under orders to leave the Chesapeake by Oct. 15, on his own, he extended the fleet’s stay.

The French were among us. De Grasse arrived in the Chesapeake and disembarked his troops to reinforce Lafayette.

He then anchored his vessels in Lynnhaven Bay as close to shore as their drafts would permit. When the British fleet appeared, he fought the Battle of the Capes badly undermanned. About 1,900 men and 90 officers were ashore replenishing the ships’ water supplies.

Ten years from now, America will celebrate the Revolutionary War’s 250th anniversary.

Let’s make “de Grasse” a household name at the Beach.

IMAGE: Jorja Jean, Virginia Beach art teacher
The new bridge over the Lynnhaven Inlet offers an opportunity to create a place name that promotes our Revolutionary War heritage and forges a tie to the historic triangle tourism market.

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