Modeler’s Name: Ralph Buckwalter

Period Ship Sailed: 1773 – 2014

Type of Model: Wooden plank on bulwark kit

Build Time: 13 months

Scale:

Description of build: This model is based on plans used in the reconstruction of a full-sized replica which was completed in 2014 in the same Rochefort Arsenal as the original. This replica visited the United States during a world tour.

Ship’s History: L’Hermione transported he Marquis de Lafayette to join the American revolution on March 21, 1780. She was built at the Rochefort Arsenal in 1778. L’Hermione was a French 32-gun light Frigate, 214.5 feet long, rated at 1,200 tons, and carried over 16,335 sq. ft. of sails on three masts. She carried 32 cannons, twenty-six 12-pounders, and six 6-pounders. L’Hermione was involved in two battles in Chesapeake Bay and at the Battle of Yorktown. She left American waters on February 2, 1782, returning to France.