SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
SOCIÉTÉ DES FILS DE LA RÉVOLUTION AMÉRICAINE

BRANCHE FRANÇAISE

 

 

 

 

Hélie de Noailles, duc d'Ayen,
President Society in France of the Sons of the American Revolution,

and the Members of the Organization Committee
have great pleasure in requesting your presence at the

 

 

ALLIANCE DAY 2003

225th anniversary of the Treaties signed in Paris on February 6, 1778.

February 4th to 8th, 2003 in Paris

Program

for the commemoration in Paris, February 4th-8 th, 2003.

TUESDAY, FEB. 4th : Welcome - Arrival at the Hotel
Guided visits : Musée d'Orsay, or Grande Chancellerie de la Légion d'honneur 
Welcome party at the Residence of the United States Ambassador to France 
Free time for dinner; possible private receptions by French SAR families

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 5th : The co-operation before the Alliance (1775-1777)
Lafayette and the volunteers : visit at Lafayette's grave (Picpus Cemetery) and statue. 
Beaumarchais, Franklin in 18th Century Paris. Optional visits : Musée Carnavalet, 
Musée de la Chasse, Bibliothèque Nationale, Musée des Arts et Métiers.
Lunch and haute couture presentation at the Galeries Lafayette department store
Flame ceremony at the Arch of Triumph
Dinner at the Paris City Hall

THURSDAY, FEB. 6th : Alliance Day
Parade under arms, hymns, wreath laying in front of Hôtel de Coislin, Place de la
Concorde
Reception by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Quai d'Orsay
Wine tasting and buffet lunch 
Reception at Christofle Museum : goldsmith's trade and craft
Wreath laying at Benjamin Franklin's statue 
Private guided visit and buffet dinner at Musée de la Marine

FRIDAY, FEB. 7th: After the Alliance
Optional visits : Hôtel des Invalides (Army Museum, Napoleon's tomb), 
Désert de Retz (Franklin's and Jefferson's favorite park)
Private visit and reception at the Senate (to be confirmed)
Optional visits : Rodin Museum; Château de la Malmaison, 
(evocation of Napoléon Bonaparte making decision on Louisiana purchase)
Private presentation of War of Independence documents, 
dinner and dancing at the Pavillon du Roi in the Château de Vincennes

SATURDAY, FEB. 8th : Further Franco-American friendship
Château de Compiègne (18th century apartments) and Château de Blérancourt 
(Museum of Franco-American friendship) Buffet lunch and visit of the
Château de Chantilly 
Gala dinner at the Palace of Versailles in the Galerie des Batailles (black tie, long dress)

SUNDAY, FEB. 9th : Departure to the U.S.A., or continuing optional program
Optional: Religious offices at the American Cathedral in Paris
D-day visit in Normandy (including Sainte-Mère Église, Omaha Beach), 
documents will be sent upon request.

REGISTRATION FORM

If possible, please register before Dec. 13 so we can make the best arrangements. Most of the optional tours limit the number of visitors, so the slots will be filled with those who are first to register (using your postmark as the date).

Name : _____________________________________________________ 
Address : ___________________________________________________ 
Tel :________________________________________________________ 
Fax : _______________________________________________________
Email:_______________________________@______________________ 
Accompanied by : _____________________________________________

Fees per person (do not include accommodation, insurance or air transportation)
n Registration and administration fees: 100 € per person.
n Receptions, ceremonies, guided visits, ground transportation by bus and administrative expenses : 1.200 € per person.

Accommodation : Special arrangements have been made with :
Hotel Sofitel : Porte de Sevres (close to Aquaboulevard, a nautical sports resort)
Double room, tax included: 168 € + Breakfast 15 € Tel: 011 (33) 1 40 60 30 00
Hotel Novotel : Paris Tour Eiffel (close to a shopping center; on the river side)
Double room, tax and breakfast included : 206 € (single 194 €) Tel: 011 (33) 1 40 58 20 00

Book directly your hotel as soon as possible, under the reference "Alliance Day" Special coaches will assure all transportation to and from these two hotels and the various locations to be visited.


For more information, please contact
Le Protocole, Michel Soyer
95, rue de la Faisanderie - 75116 Paris - France 
Tel: 011 (33) 1 45 04 84 51 Fax: 011 (33) 1 40 72 86 25
Email: leprotocole1@aol.com

Insurance : It is the responsibility of each participant to verify that he is covered by health, accident and travel insurance. The French Society of the Sons of the American Revolution cannot reimburse participants who cancel their voyage or are repatriated early, whatever the cause.
Any dispute over the interpretation of the agreement for this voyage will be resolved by French courts.

The easiest way to pay is by credit card, although a check in euros payable to "Alliance Day" is acceptable.

Credit card : Visa MasterCard American Express

I hereby authorize to debit
my credit card in the amount of __________________ e

Card N° :___________________________________ 

Exp. date : ____________ /_____________________ 

Signature :

An invoice will be sent upon request in accordance with French Tax law. There will be no pay-desk.

Send completed registration form to : Le Protocole 95, rue de la Faisanderie - 75116 Paris - France.

Questions? E-mail: leprotocole1@aol.com / Tel: 011 (33) 1 45 04 84 51 / Fax: 011 (33) 1 40 72 86 25

Why celebrate February 6th, 2003

Through common sacrifices for shared goals, the friendship between France and America has remained vibrant though the years. Commemorations and monuments serve as cherished reminders of our past. The State Society in France of the Sons of the American Revolution brings together all direct descendants of officers and soldiers who fought side by side to bring Liberty and Justice to the Thirteen Colonies from which the United States of America was formed. >From February 4th thru 8th we will celebrate the 225th anniversary of the fateful decision that has bonded these two great Nations.

The decisive moment came on February 6th, 1778, on Rue Royale in Paris, in an apartment in the Hotel de Coislin where Silas Deane, the "agent of the United Colonies," lived. Benjamin Franklin had arrived in France a year earlier as the plenipotentiary minister of the rebellious colonies, and on that day his efforts were crowned with success. The representative of Louis XVI and commissioners representing the Continental Congress signed two treaties: An official treaty of friendship and commerce, which made France the first nation to recognize the United States of America as an independent nation. A second secret alliance, in which France agreed to fight at the side of the American colonies, assuring the success of their revolution against England.

Before these treaties, French aid to America had been unofficial, although considerable : French arms permitted the victory of Saratoga (October 1777) against the English and German soldiers under General Burgoyne. Talented volunteers were secretly encouraged to go to America. They included the military engineers that General Washington needed like Du Portail, who created the first unit of Army engineers on the continent, officers like the young La Fayette and his mentor Jean de Kalb, and many others from all over Europe who were transported by ships from Beaumarchais. None-the-less, as he wintered in Valley Forge after a series of defeats from the British General Howe, Washington knew that the time would soon arrive when he could no longer continue.

Why did France intervene ?

She had an objective: The colonies' fight for freedom paralleled the French desire to re-establish freedom on the high seas that the British navy had denied them. Freedom of the sea would restore a balance of power and encourage balanced economic development, and therefore peace.
She had the means: Thanks to Choiseul's efforts, supported by the King, to give the Marine Royale the support it needed to face England's 66 ships of the line, the French fleet rebuilt itself rapidly. The 50,000 sailors of the Marine Royale had the job of fighting the British, protecting merchant convoys and their provisions for troops, and transporting 20,000 infantry to the Antilles, North America and other hot spots in Europe, Africa and Asia. More than 5,000 sailors and soldiers would die in American territory. She had the leader: As opposed to the other monarchs of Europe, young Louis XVI (he was 23) was concerned with ordinary people. He brought new liberties to the Jews and Protestants of France, and his concern for improving the conditions of life is evident in his insistence on proper hygiene of his ships. And he knew how to take the risk of supporting a newborn democracy. She had the values : More than any other nation, France had been moved by the philosophy of enlightenment. Franklin "conquered the Parisian intelligentsia" by his familiarity with French philosophers like Montesquieu, Helvétius, Voltaire, Rousseau, l'abbé Raynal and Diderot. The fundamental texts of the two great republics of the 18th Century - the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizens of France - spring from the same roots. 

Consequences of the treaties of February 6th, 1778.

Six months later the two great powers, King George III and his 11 million subjects and Louis XVI of France with its 28 million habitants, were at war.
However, for the first time in four centuries, the British found themselves alone in front of their traditional enemy. Clever diplomacy of Vergennes and Louis
XVI had persuaded some countries to neutrality, and some concessions to a reluctant Spain kept her out of the picture.

The end of the story is well known : 

· An indecisive naval war for two years, was followed, in 1780, by the arrival of the 6,000-man French Expeditionary Corps of Rochambeau, transported in a convoy of 47 ships.
· The allies mounted the formidable operation of Yorktown and Chesapeake. On October 19, 1781, the 8,000 English and Hessians soldiers of General Cornwallis surrendered to 9,000 well-trained and -equipped soldiers of Rochambeau and Saint-Simon, backed by a powerful artillery, the 8,000 American infantrymen, and the 28,000 sailors of Admiral de Grasse and Admiral de Barras on 36 ships. French soldiers and sailors landed in the Antilles, Guyana, and Hudson Bay, laid siege to Gibralter and captured Minorca in the Mediterranean, won the sea battle of Suffren and besieged Britain's commercial ports in India. English commerce declined.

Together, these elements led the British to conclude that their government was incapable of continuing to support the costly and unpopular war. They entered into genuine negotiations, which culminated Sept. 3, 1783, with the two Treaties signed on the same day: In Paris at the Hotel d'York, between Britain and the insurgents at the Ministry of Foreign Affaires in Versailles, between all the warring parties.

Twice, in the 20th Century, the United States of America have abundantly reciprocated through heavy sacrifices for the liberty of the World.

 

 

 

High Patronage

Monsieur Jacques Chirac,
Président de la République Française.
Monsieur Christian Poncelet,
Président du Sénat.
Monsieur Dominique de Villepin,
Ministre des Affaires Étrangères.
His Excellency Howard H. Leach,
Ambassador of the United States of America, Honorary President
of the French State Society, Sons of the American Revolution.

Honorary Committee

Madame Jean-Paul Anglès,
Présidente des American Friends of Blérancourt.
Mr B. Rice Aston,
President General, National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Monsieur Jean-René Bernard,
Président de France-Amériques.
Madame Bertrand Chatel de Brancion,
Regent of the Rochambeau Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.
Son Excellence François Bujon de l'Estang,
Ambassadeur de France aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique.
Madame Robert Chatin,
Présidente des Amis de Blérancourt.
Monsieur le sénateur Paul Girod,
Président du groupe d'amitié France-USA du Sénat.
Mr Douglas S. Glucroft,
President, Democrats Abroad France.
Mr Jay Wayne Jackson,
President General, The Society of the Cincinnati.
Monsieur Hervé de La Choüé de la Mettrie,
Président, Association des Descendants de Capitaines Corsaires.
La comtesse de Pusy-Lafayette,
French State Regent, Daughters of the American Revolution.
Le marquis de Roquefeuil,
Président de la Société des Cincinnati de France.
Mr Anthony A. Smith,
President, French-American Foundation.
Monsieur Claude Teboul,
Président de France-Louisiane Franco-Americanie.
Ms. Linda Tinker Watkins,
President General, Daughters of the American Revolution.
Monsieur Guy Wildenstein,
President, American Society of the Legion of Honour,
Délégué pour les Etats-Unis au Conseil Supérieur des Français de l'Etranger.