The American Society of the Le Souvenir Français Inc. dedicated a granite memorial honoring the French soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice at the 1781 Battle of the Hook, on Friday afternoon at Abingdon Elementary School.
The 1781 Battle of the Hook, the largest cavalry battle of the American Revolution, occurred in and around the land that currently houses the elementary school in Hayes.
“I want to thank you for taking the tine out of your day to spend it here in the site of the 1781 Battle of the Hook,” said Historic Resource Officer and the vice president of the American Friends of Lafayette Robert Kelly in his opening remarks.
“We look across, we see cones, a school, soccer field: Peace, Serenity. You can hear birds chirping and children playing. 243 years ago, on Oct. 3. 1781, the scene was very different. This was a battle, a crucial French and American victory that paved the way to surrender at Yorktown on Oct. 19, 1781. The day we gather to remember and honor the French so...