PlanPhilly: Planning Philadelphia's Future

Robert A. Selig, a U.S. National Parks Service Historian and one of the few U.S. experts on the role of French troops in the American Revolutionary War, will speak at the Historical Society of Frankford at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Selig will speak about the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, which recently became the first national historic trail and which passes through Philadelphia.

The Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, frequently called the W3R, refers to the 685 miles of campsites, pathways, activities, events, and the social, military, political, and economic consequences of the French troops under General/Count Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau as they landed and wintered in Newport RI, marched to join Washington's Continental Army outside NYC, explored options for an attack there, then marched together through Philadelphia (from Bristol, along Frankford Ave, Chestnut St, out to Marcus Hook via Woodland Ave) to Yorktown VA. In Yorktown, with support from Admiral de Grasse's French fleet,  they trapped, besieged, and accepted the surrender of Cornwallis' British army. They then marched back to Boston to prepare for Caribbean battles.

The Historical Society of Frankford is located at 1507 Orthodox Street in Philadelphia, which is one block west of Frankford Avenue between the Margaret and Church El stops.

The event is sponsored by the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (W3R-PA), Gov. Edward G. Rendell, the honorary chairman; Historic St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Frankford Avenue, the Duaghters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, and Historical Society of Frankford members.