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French Troop Arrival in Newport

When
1780–1781
Where
Narragansett Bay off Newport, Rhode Island; Newport, Rhode Island
Episodes
2

In July 1780 a French expedition sent by King Louis XVI and commanded by Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, arrived in Narragansett Bay off Newport, Rhode Island, with 450 officers and 5,300 men to reinforce the American cause. Newport then served as the base of the French forces in the United States for the remainder of the war.

Episodes

  1. July 1780 – July 1781 · Newport, Rhode IslandNewport becomes the French base

    For the remainder of the war, Newport served as the base of the French forces in the United States.

  2. July 10, 1780 · Narragansett Bay off Newport, Rhode IslandFrench expedition arrives off Newport

    A French army of 450 officers and 5,300 men under Rochambeau reached Narragansett Bay off Newport on July 10, 1780.

Background and detail

Background. Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island. In the summer of 1778, the Americans began the campaign known as the Battle of Rhode Island. The French expedition of 1780 arrived in Narragansett Bay off this city, sent by King Louis XVI to reinforce the colonists.

Arrival of the French Force. On July 10, 1780, the French expedition reached Narragansett Bay off Newport with an army of 450 officers and 5,300 men. The force was sent by King Louis XVI and commanded by Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, arriving to reinforce the American colonists.

Aftermath. For the rest of the war, Newport served as the base of the French forces in the United States. In July 1781, Rochambeau was finally able to leave Newport for Providence to begin the decisive march to Yorktown, Virginia, along with General George Washington.

People involved

Sources

  1. Newport, Rhode Island Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-28

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.