The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) received the honor of steaming alongside the replica Concorde-class frigate L’Hermione of the French Navy.
The morning of June 2, Mitscher and L’Hermione sailed together in a photograph exercise to represent and reaffirm the historic relationship between the United States and France. L’Hermione is a replica of the same-named vessel that was one of four fast-frigates constructed in the Rochefort Naval Dockyard by order of the French Crown in 1778.
L’Hermione has a history intertwined with the birth of the United States as an independent nation. The L’Hermione sailed across the Atlantic in 1780 with Gilbert Motier, also known as Marquis de Lafayette, hailing the news that the French would support the American colonists in the Revolutionary War, ultimately leading to our freedom.
After the news of the French support, L’Hermione supported the American colonists in several distinguished naval battles.
L’Hermione participated in the blockade in the famous battle of Yorktown. Now in 2015, her replica will pull into that same port.
Image: US Navy