ROCHAMBEAU, JEAN BAPTISTE DONATIEN DE VIMEUR, COMTE DE (1725-1807), French soldier, was born at Vendome (Loir-et-Cher) on July 1, 1725. He was brought up at the Jesuit college at Blois, but entered a cavalry regiment. He served in Bohemia and Bavaria and on the Rhine, and in 1747 had attained the rank of colonel. He became governor of Vendome in and after distinguishing himself in 1756 in the Minorca expedition was promoted brigadier of infantry. In 1757 and 1758 he fought in Germany, notably at Crefeld, re ceived several wounds in the battle of Clostercamp (176o), and was appointed marechal de camp in 1761 and inspector of cavalry. In 178o he was sent, with the rank of lieutenant general, in command of 6,000 French troops to help the Ameri can colonists under Washington against the English. He landed at Newport, Rhode Island, on July io, but was held here in active for a year, owing to his reluctance to abandon the French fleet, blockaded by the British in Narragansett Bay. At last, in July 1781, Rochambeau's force was able to leave Rhode Island and joined Washington on the Hudson. Then followed the cele brated march of the combined forces to Yorktown, where on Sept. 22, they joined the troops of Lafayette; Cornwallis was forced to surrender on Oct. 19. Congress voted Rochambeau and his troops the thanks of the nation and presented him with two cannon taken from the English. These guns, which Rocham beau took back to Vendome, were requisitioned in 1792. On his
return to France he was loaded with favours by Louis XVI. and was made governor of Picardy. During the Revolution he com manded the Army of the North in 179o, but resigned in 1792. He was arrested during the Terror, and narrowly escaped the guillotine. He was subsequently pensioned by Bonaparte, and died at Thore (Loir-et-Cher) on May 1 o, 1807.
A statue of Rochambeau by Ferdinand Hamar, the gift of France to the United States, was unveiled in Lafayette square, Washington, by President Roosevelt on May 26, 1902.