De / From Gérard CHARPENTIER PhD., Grand-Croix, Commandeur, Président / Grand Cross, Commander, President ET LES MEMBRES DES CONSEILS D’ADMINISTRATION / AND MEMBERS OF BOARDS OF DIRECTORS « Ordre Lafayette International ORM », « Ordre Lafayette USA », « Ordre Lafayette Canada »
BEEKMANTOWN, NY CEMETERY ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2022, AT 1:00 PM
– John C Gosselin, Brief Introduction, acknowledge Benefactors Jeff Luck and Society of the Cincinnati
– Serge Pouliot, Master of Ceremonies, V.P. Assoc. Quebec – France
– Norm Davis – Beekmantown Supervisor – Gary Vancour – Beekmantown Historian – Jonathan Carman – Staff member for Rep. Elise Stefanik – Dr. Gerard Charpentier – President, Ordre Lafayette Order / USA
– Luc Desilets – Member Canadian Parliament, Riding Riviere – des – Prairies
– Jean-Claude Belanger Cyr – Author of Books, French Canadian History in North America
Trumpet, “Il Silenzio”, Matt Van Wagner
Norm Davis, John Gosselin, Unveiling
John Gosselin, salute memorial (photos)
Jean-Louis Lefebvre, President, Assoc. Quebec – France (Closing Statement)
Photos
(Left John C. GOSSELIN) center Gérard CHARPENTIER PhD. President Ordre Lafayette Order Corp./ USA – Grand-cross, Commander Ordre lafayette – Allocution before the unveiling of the plaque ( left Under the Flags )
Gérard CHARPENTIER speech
Distinguished representatives of New York State and of the Province of Quebec, Presidents of organizations, Members of the Gosselin Family, Members of the Society of the Cincinnati, Members of the Ordre Lafayette Order, Ladies, and Gentlemen.
Good afternoon.
With the unveiling today in Beekmantown of this new plaque dedicated to Clément Gosselin, it is for me a new stage in an adventure that began ten years ago. I first visited the region of Beekmantown and this cemetery in 2012 as I made my first contact with the city.
Then in 2013 in Quebec, more precisely on November 9, I met Serge Pouliot for the first time and I told him about my research relating to Clément Gosselin and the project that the Lafayette Order had in mind, to create a memorial site in Sainte-Famille to honor Clément Gosselin and his comrades in arms during the American Revolution.
After this first meeting, four activities were initiated and sponsored by the Ordre Lafayette Canada in Quebec and organized by Serge Pouliot. The most important was on July 21, 2018, with the official unveiling of the Clément Gosselin plaque in the park of the ancestors near the church of Sainte-Famille.
That said, one might still wonder what the Ordre Lafayette has in common with a native of Sainte-Famille, at the time under the French regime of New France (So French citizens), and buried here in Beekmantown, New York!
In short, the Ordre Lafayette Order is a French associative Order with independent branches – one in the United States and one in Canada. It is a non-political, non-religious, non-union organization, dedicated not only to promoting the memory of the engagements of the Marquis de Lafayette -The Hero of two worlds – during both the American and French Revolutions but also to maintaining in present times a collective memory of these historical moments which are the basis of our modern societies.
In fact, Clément Gosselin who was fighting in the Continental Army as part of the 2nd Canadian Regiment – also known as the Hazen Regiment – with the rank of Captain would have crossed paths twice with Lafayette, while he was serving as Major General in the Continental Army under the orders of George Washington. Two probable meetings which remain to be confirmed, however, would have taken place:
*For the first time in February 1778, in the region of Albany, as part of a project to reconquer Canada. Major General Lafayette had come at the request of George Washington to assess the combat capabilities of the Hazen Regiment. What he then discovered was not an army of 2,500 men as promised, but about 900 men living in very precarious conditions and above all without any equipment or supervision, and no formal military training. The project was therefore abandoned.
*And again, for the second time in October 1781, in Yorktown, Virginia, at the end of the Revolutionary War during the siege of Yorktown, where the now well-structured 2nd Canadian Regiment was placed under the command of Major General Lafayette. The regiment that Clément Gosselin was still part of was assigned to work in the trenches. He was injured on October 13 by splinters of wood projected during a bombardment, six days before the victorious final battle.
This is why today, more than two and a half centuries later, I am as President of both the Ordre Lafayette Order USA and Ordre Lafayette Canada proud to be able to honor, jointly with the towns of Beekmantown and Sainte-Famille, the memory of Clément Gosselin and all his comrades in arms.
Thank you very much
from left to right: Norm, A. Davis, John C. Gosselin, Serge Pouliot Géerard Charpentier , Luc désiletFrom left to right: Marc Juneau, Badreddine Filali-Baba, Gérarc Charpentier – Members of the Order LafayetteRecipiendaries of a commemorative diploma Ordre Lafayette from left to right: John C. Gosselin (Member Society of Cincinnati), Jean-Pierre Turcotte (Mayor of Sainte-Famille-de-l’Ile-d’Orléans, QC), Gérard Charpentier (President Ordre lafayette Order – USA), Norm Davis (Beekmantown Supervisor) , Marc Juneau (Member Ordre Lafayette), Serge Pouliot (Master of cermonies) Badreddine Filali-Baba (Member Ordre Lafayette), Jean-Louis Lefebvre (President Quebec-frace, Qubec), Representative of Elise Stefanik (Congress Woman), Luc Desilets (Member of Canadian Paliament).Plaque commemorative for Major Clement Gosselin after the unveiling EAST BEEKMANTOWN CEMETERY WHERE NOW THERE IS A PLAQUE TO COMMEMORATE THE MEMORY OF THE FRENCH-CANADIAN FIGHTING FOR THE LIBERTY OF THE 13 COLONIES
Press Release For more information contact: John C. Gosselin, Society of the Cincinnati (802) 343-6666 JohnCG4591@gmail.com Gary VanCour, Historian Town of Beekmantown 518-563-4650 grvanc@aol.com A Memorial Event in the Town of Beekmantown For immediate release:
Major Clement Gosselin Memorial Dedication Ceremony Beekmantown, New York 9/23/2022 On Saturday, October 8, 2022, at 1:00 PM, the Town of Beekmantown, in collaboration with the Association des Familles Gosselin, and the Quebec France Foundation, will conduct a memorial ceremony to honor Revolutionary War hero Major Clement Gosselin. The unveiling of the monument will take place at the East Beekmantown Cemetery, 26 Ashley Road, Plattsburgh, NY 12901. The plaque will be unveiled in the presence of Town Supervisor Mr. Norm Davis, Mr. John C. Gosselin, a direct descendant of the Major, and U.S. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (or her Representative) along with other dignitaries and honored guests. Major Gosselin, who was born in Ste-Famille, Isle d’Orleans, Quebec, served in the 2nd Canadian Regiment of the Continental Army. According to John Gosselin, “Major Gosselin worked primarily as a spy and reported directly to General-in-Chief George Washington. He survived a serious leg wound at the Battle of Yorktown, the decisive battle of the Revolutionary War. This victory enabled the 13 Original Colonies to gain independence from Great Britain and soon became the United States of America.” For his service, Major Gosselin received a large land grant in what is now Beekmantown, where he lived after the war, died, and was buried.
The Town of Beekmantown acknowledges the Ordre Lafayette of Quebec, which initiated the project in 2013 to recognize the virtues of Major Clement Gosselin,
along with the participation of L’Association des Families Gosselin and l’Association France – Quebec, Jean-Pierre Turcotte, Mayor of Ste.-Famille, and the generous benefactors, Mr. Jeff Luck of Luck Brothers Inc. in Plattsburgh, NY, and the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati, for funding the monument.
In another testimony to the Franco-American alliance (1778) that led to victory during the Revolutionary War, a fourth statue was unveiled Monday, October 18, 2021. The public was invited to witness this addition to the waterfront in a historic step toward fulfilling York County’s original intent to honor the four great leaders of the Yorktown campaign: Lafayette, Grasse, Washington, and now Rochambeau.
De / From Gérard CHARPENTIER PhD., Grand-Croix, Commandeur, Président / Grand Cross, Commander, President ET LES MEMBRES DES CONSEILS D’ADMINISTRATION / AND MEMBERS OF BOARDS OF DIRECTORS « Ordre Lafayette International ORM », « Ordre Lafayette USA », « Ordre Lafayette Canada »
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grvanc@aol.com A Memorial Event in the Town of Beekmantown For immediate release:
Ordre Lafayette - USA 