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For several weeks, an 18th century replica ship has traveled across the Atlantic Ocean from France to the U.S. L'Hermione is an exact copy of the vessel sailed by the Marquis de Lafayette in 1780 to notify his friend, General George Washington, that the French king had agreed to provide troops and resources to the flailing Continental Army. This week, the boat is docked in the Washington, D.C. area, fittingly near Mount Vernon, and various French and American entities are feting the occasion. They have good reason. America's first and longest ally is France, despite occasional variances in political dispositions....

The replica ship called the Hermione and its crew made the trans-Atlantic trip from Rochefort, France; the same place where Lafayette left on his journey to America back in 1780. (Courtesy of York County, Virginia) WASHINGTON — It was a battle a young America was losing  —  the battle for  independence.  That was until the French stepped in, providing the edge America so desperately needed in its revolution against the British.A young Frenchman played a pivotal role in helping secure independence from Great Britain.   His name was Marquis de Lafayette, and he was on board a French warship in 1780 that...

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