The replica 18th-century French frigate Hermione arrived in Yorktown, VA June 5th to begin her celebratory visit to historic ports in the United States. The ship is a replica of the 1779 vessel that transported the Marquis de Lafayette to America to aide in the Revolutionary War.

“From the moment I first heard the name, ‘America,’ I loved her.” —Marquis de Lafayette

Hermione set sail in April from the mouth of the River Charente in Port-des-Barques where Lafayette boarded on March 10, 1780. The first landfall is at Yorktown, Virginia, where the original ship engaged in the blockade that led to the British defeat at Yorktown. She then sailed up the east coast, stopping in 12 ports of the American Revolution among them Mt. Vernon/Washington, DC: Alexandria, VA: Philadelphia; New York City: Greenport, NY; Newport; Boston; Castine, ME; and Lunenburg Nova Scotia before heading back home to Rochefort, France.

The port of call schedule for the Hermione is as follows:

June 19-21 - Baltimore Maryland
June 25-28 - Philadelphia Pennsylvania
July 1-4 - New York, New York
July 6-7 - Greenport New York
July 8-9 - Newport Rhode Island
July 11-12 - Boston Massachussetts
July 14-15 - Castine Maine
July 18 - Lunenburg Nova Scotia

Visited ports as of this posting:

June 9 - Mount Vernon Virginia
June 10-11 - Alexandria Virgina
June 16-17 - Annapolis Maryland

Visit the Hermione's web page for more information about the ship.

Header Image: The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57), right, provides a warm welcome to the French tall ship replica the Hermione in the vicinity of the Battle of Virginia Capes off the East Coast of the United States. Photo courtesy U.S. Navy