In June 1781, nearly five thousand French soldiers marched through Connecticut. They wore thick wool. Under a blazing summer sun, sweat soaked their uniforms as they dragged brass cannons up Newtown's rocky ridges. Reservoir Road preserves this grueling climb. Today, it remains a narrow, unpaved dirt track. Hand-laid stone walls line the path. You can easily picture the oxen straining against their wooden yokes. They struggled. Heavy supply wagons sank axle-deep into Connecticut mud during sudden summer downpours.
This stretch wasn't just a random bypass. It connected Camp 5, where the French rested in Newtown, to the next leg of their journey toward New York. Local farmers stared in disbelief. They had never seen thousands of French Catholics marching through their quiet Protestant towns. But the alliance worked. Actually, Rochambeau chose this inland route to avoid British naval raids along the coast. The strategy succeeded. By pushing through these rugged hills, the French united with George Washington's army, eventually pinning down Cornwallis at Yorktown. So, this rough road carried the weight of the entire revolution.
What Makes March Route of Rochambeau's Army: Reservoir Road Special:
