The Hermione, a replica 32-gun French frigate, will be sailing up East Penobscot Bay from Boston to make an historic visit to Castine, July 14-16. The visit will coincide with several days of festivities as Castine celebrates a long legacy of friendship with the French, beginning in the Revolutionary War.

The Hermione carried the Marquis de Lafayette to America to help the colonists fight the British. In 1780, she sailed Down East to spy on the British garrison at Magabagaduce, now known as Castine.  

America is now honoring the ship as she arrives in various East Coast ports. Read about her visit to New York Harbor in the New York Times in the Hermione Sails Into New York Harbor, Cannons Blazing

Twenty years ago, a small group dreamed of reconstructing an exact replica of the Hermione. Today, the vessel is the largest and most authentically built Tall Ship in the last 150 years, according to the Castine Historical Society.  In 2012, the Hermione reproduction launched in France at the Rochefort Naval Yards. She set sail to the U.S. in April to commemorate Lafayette’s voyage, starting from the mouth of the River Charente, in Port des Barques, where Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette boarded on March 10, 1780. 

The Castine Historical Society opened a Hermione exhibit specifically to begin celebrating this occasion June 19. Leading up to Hermione’s arrival in Castine, there are a variety of events planned, including a reenactment July 11 at Fort St. George. See the entire schedule here.

“The visit will recognize not only that Castine (Pentagoet, then) was the first American military mission for Hermione, but also that the town’s strategic location and character were pivotal in the destiny of North Atlantic America during the long battle between England and France for dominance,” according to the Historical Society. “Today, Castine is a singular remnant of French history in the United States and long a center of military resistance and commercial success.”

There will be a Parade of Ships, 2 to 4 p.m.,  July 14, in Castine, in honor of Francis Hatch Sr. and Jr., and their vision of Penobscot Bay in history.

The Hermione’s mission, according to the group that built her, is to create a lasting educational legacy;

To symbolize and rekindle intimate ties between France and the United States, and the spirit of liberty that sustains them; 

To demonstrate the inestimable value of history, to the present and the future, and to show that it can be a living force in increasing our understanding of the world; 

To celebrate the value of impeccable craftsmanship, the firm foundation of the authentic reconstruction of the Hermione.