One
of the strongest images I have of my schooldays’ history was of a dashing young
Frenchmen named Marquis de La Fayette. I was forever peeking ahead to see what
pictures were coming up and never paid much attention to the text in
between. Here was a painting of
two men on feisty horses, one was the easily recognizable George Washington and
the other was a gallant young man, buttons glowing on his beautiful suite and a
red plume swishing out of his tri-corner hat. All that stuck in my head about
this young soldier was that he was French and that somehow we couldn’t have won
the war without him.
And
then soon after we moved to Bourdeilles there started to be headlines in the
local paper about a ship being built, a very special ship. Rising from the
ancient boatworks of Rochefort was the Hermione.
Since 1997, craftsman have been building an exact replica of the ship the
carried the 21 year old La Fayette from Rochefort, France to Boston in 1780. La
Fayette brought more than one man’s dash and daring—he was bringing news that King
Louis XVI was ready to commit 5,500 men and five frigates to aid in the fight
against the British.
So
off we went for an overnight adventure to see if we could place ourselves back
in time and a feeling of the height of the sailing days.
And
what a success it was. Before one even sees the boat there is the acrid smell of
tar and coils and coils of various sized ropes all about. One can hear the
clang of the anvil before turning the corner and seeing the smithy at work on
large thick hooks for some unknown purpose. The smell of tar is now mingled
with the smell of coal cinders. Smells that evoke another time. Along the way
there are oiled linen canvases stretched out on the floor and one can see the
endless miles of hand stitching in the stiff fabric. As much as possible this
replica boat has been made of materials that would have been used in the 11
months of construction in 1778. It is being carved and hammered into life with
a smaller crew, 17 years of work, and an odd mix of modern tools and technology
with nearly-forgotten hand craftsmanship and muscle power.
One
looks in awe at all of this effort and thinks back to the times when these
ships, the product of vast natural resources and man hours, would sail for
weeks across the ocean with urgent purpose. And that, once engaged in battle, all
of this could be blown to bits in a matter of hours, even minutes. The image of
a sinking ship takes on a different perspective when one can experience its
bulk, materials, the human sweat that made it, and the life that was aboard it.
It
turns out that there are varying ideas about how important the charismatic La Fayette
was to winning the American war for independence. But the Hermione and her young Major General Marquis de La Fayette did
carry the historic news that a monarchy had decided to side with a rebellious group
of colonies that was attempting to form a nation where democracy would rule.
The Hermione did contribute to the
American fleet victories in the Chesapeake Bay and Yorktown.
There
are years of work yet to be done. The Hermione
is scheduled to make the voyage from Rochefort to Boston in 2015. This time she
will have 70 privileged passengers in her hold instead of 400 war-ready sailors.
70
or 400, cramped or privileged you might as well take me out and shoot me as put
me on that ocean going vessel, but Tom would sign on anytime.
1 comment:
When I was in Rochefort with the VYO , I went down to the boatworks, and I think it was closed....but I knew it was in there, and wanted to go see it. I remember the smell and the rope....lots of rope! Thanks for that memory, and perhaps we have a date or two: for 2015 bon voyage &/or welcoming party. :) K
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