4 thoughts on “City Commission Invites Public to Explore Preserving History of “America’s Cape””
Very nicely written and documented, JMH! We look forward to the day when the statue is on the bridge, the historical museum is nearby, and tourists, students, and historians can benefit from the coordinated collection of documents and artifacts now being assembled to interpret the events that advanced the cause of U.S. liberty so decisively in the autumn of 1781. Each great event depends on many smaller events that vie for being deemed the most significant factor in the great outcome. Only by taking the time to learn about many of the small events can we gain a true appreciation of the value of the many as well as the few.
To the Virginia Beach Commission for Historic Preservation:
I am so happy to learn that the Commission will allow the public to participate in a project that is long overdue. As a founding member of the Alliance Francaise in Norfolk, I had the honor to work with the Baron de Lustrac who worked so hard to promote the French American friendship. He did so not only in his conferences, but by negotiating with the French government to procure the canons at Yorktown and the statue of De Grasse at Cape Henry. He was called Mr. Yorktown by members of the SAR in that city and the Alliance Francaise named our chapter after De Grasse.
The AF celebrated the Battle of the Capes every October with a guest speaker and the City of Virginia Beach participated with the Laying of the Wreath. We ended our celebration at the Officers’ Club with the full view of the ocean where the battle took place. Thanks to the devotion and the efforts of Dr. Matt Hogendobler during this past decade, the importance of the Cape will be recognized by the City of Virginia Beach as a site of an historical treasure and of great significance to the nation.
Please be assured that I would be happy to join the city of Virginia Beach in any effort that they might have to preserve the place that honors French and Americans who contributed to the American Revolution and to the Birth of our Nation.
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Very nicely written and documented, JMH! We look forward to the day when the statue is on the bridge, the historical museum is nearby, and tourists, students, and historians can benefit from the coordinated collection of documents and artifacts now being assembled to interpret the events that advanced the cause of U.S. liberty so decisively in the autumn of 1781. Each great event depends on many smaller events that vie for being deemed the most significant factor in the great outcome. Only by taking the time to learn about many of the small events can we gain a true appreciation of the value of the many as well as the few.
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Thank you, Ralph, especially for your thoughtful proposal, “An Alternative Location for a Grand Battle History Center for Lynnhaven Bay and the Chesapeake Bay.”
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To the Virginia Beach Commission for Historic Preservation:
I am so happy to learn that the Commission will allow the public to participate in a project that is long overdue. As a founding member of the Alliance Francaise in Norfolk, I had the honor to work with the Baron de Lustrac who worked so hard to promote the French American friendship. He did so not only in his conferences, but by negotiating with the French government to procure the canons at Yorktown and the statue of De Grasse at Cape Henry. He was called Mr. Yorktown by members of the SAR in that city and the Alliance Francaise named our chapter after De Grasse.
The AF celebrated the Battle of the Capes every October with a guest speaker and the City of Virginia Beach participated with the Laying of the Wreath. We ended our celebration at the Officers’ Club with the full view of the ocean where the battle took place. Thanks to the devotion and the efforts of Dr. Matt Hogendobler during this past decade, the importance of the Cape will be recognized by the City of Virginia Beach as a site of an historical treasure and of great significance to the nation.
Please be assured that I would be happy to join the city of Virginia Beach in any effort that they might have to preserve the place that honors French and Americans who contributed to the American Revolution and to the Birth of our Nation.
Yours truly,
Richard Cobb
Director of the AF Institut
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