Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau

Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau (1725–1807), was a veteran French general and Marshal of France whose professional military discipline, diplomatic modesty, and operational mastery were decisive in securing American independence. Having earned distinction across decades in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War, Rochambeau was appointed commander-in-chief of the Expédition Particulière in 1780.

Landing in Rhode Island with 5,500 French troops, Rochambeau placed his seasoned professional forces entirely under General George Washington's command. Recognizing the strategic opportunity presented by Admiral De Grasse's fleet sailing to the Chesapeake, Rochambeau persuaded Washington to abandon an assault on fortified New York in favor of a 700-mile combined forced march south. At the Siege of Yorktown in October 1781, French siege engineering and regular infantry were indispensable in forcing Cornwallis's surrender.