How 8 French Soldiers Are Honored and Remembered

Efforts to honor the eight French soldiers who died in Van Cortlandtville during the Revolutionary War took a giant leap forward in 1999 with the dedication of a large memorial stone outside Old St. Peter’s Church. The stone, engraved with the names of the eight men, was dedicated July 3 in conjunction with the celebration of the restoration of the church.

A highlight of the ceremony was a keynote address by Richard Duque, consul general of France in New York City. The Rev. Dr. Jacques Bossiere presided over the placement of wreaths and American and French flags; retired U.S. Army Col. James Johnson, now executive director of the Hudson River Valley Institute, explained the historical background of the occasion; and Bruce Boeglin, president of the Federation of French War Veterans, presented medals to veterans of World War II. Other participating dignitaries included Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi and Peekskill Mayor Frances Gibbs. Monsignor Francis Ansbro, pastor of Assumption Church in Peekskill, offered the opening prayer while the Rev. Robert Taylor, rector of St. Peter’s Church in Peekskill, offered the benediction.

The eight honorees were among 5,000 French soldiers and sailors who died helping the infant United States win its independence from British rule. The body of one, Lt. Antoine Alexandre de Mauvis de Villars, a member of the French nobility, was returned to France; the other seven men – Jean Bonair, Joseph Duguin, Claude-Pierre Dumageot, Alexis Labrue, Georges Mochl, Philippe Mortagne and Jean-Joseph Paquay – rest in unmarked graves between Old St. Peter’s and the Little Red Schoolhouse.

French forces commanded by Gen. Rochambeau were in the Cortlandt-Peekskill area in 1781 and again in 1782 while en route to and from Yorktown, Va., where they helped compel the surrender of British forces under Gen. Charles Cornwallis. During that time, Old St. Peter’s and, possibly, the neighboring Baptist church that is now the site of the Schoolhouse were used as military hospitals. The causes of death are unknown but diseases such as dysentery and food poisoning are leading suspects, given the unsanitary and unhygienic conditions of military life and the limits of medical care at that time.

In response to a suggestion by Col. Johnson the Van Cortlandtville Historical Society began holding annual memorial services at Old St. Peter’s in July 2001. The services have ranged in scope from a handful of historians who gathered for a brief talk and a prayer to elaborate ceremonies in which officials of the French consulate in New York City offered keynote addresses. Highlights of each service have been a talk by an official of the historical society about the significance of French aid to the American revolutionaries and a bilingual (English and French) prayer composed by the Rev. Gordon Bienvenue, then pastor of Van Cortlandtville Community Church. The fleur-de-lis flags of France at the time of the war are placed by the seven memorial crosses along the side of the church.

The service, usually held on or near the July 3 anniversary of the 1999 dedication, was moved to Aug. 26 in 2006 so it could be incorporated into Patriots’ Weekend, a series of annual programs marking the 225^th anniversary of significant local events during the Revolutionary War. The focus that year was the crossing of the Hudson River from Verplanck to Stony Point by American and French troops on their way to Virginia. The French soldiers were honored twice in 2007 – once in July and again Sept. 23 during Patriots’ Weekend, this time celebrating the triumphant return of the American and French forces from Virginia.

In 2010 and again this year the service has been held inside Old St. Peter’s in conjunction with joint open houses by the church and the historical society, which is based in the Little Red Schoolhouse.