Essayons— “Let Us Try”

Essayons— “Let Us Try”. . , The US Army Corps of Engineers' motto Essayons is French for "Let us try." It is with this same spirit that French military engineers volunteered and served in the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War. One of them was Louis Le Bègue de Presle du Portail. He arrived in America in 1777, and quickly gained Washington's trust and respect. By 1779, he was assisting with the planning of West Point and working as the senior chief engineer for the army. , Du Portail's importance grew. By 1781, he was serving as Washington's interpreter for his meeting with Rochambeau while the two commanders planned campaign strategy. Later that year, the generals showed their trust of du Portail by sending him to Virginia ahead of their armies to plan the siege of Yorktown, a turning point in the Revolutionary War. There, du Portail met with French Admiral François-Joseph Paul, comte de Grasse, to gain the crucial support of his navy for the attack. , ( photo captions ) , , The Army Corps of Engineers historic motto Essayons shows on the Corps’ uniform. It remains a tribute to the contributions of french engineers to the amre War of Independence. , , Given the lack of engineering expertise in the ContinentalArmy.French engineer du Portail (1743-1801) played an important role in the Revolutionary War. He became the chief of the Army Corps of Engineers and successfully planned the critical siege of Yorktown, Virginia, as shown here in this American map. , Washington escorted Rochambeau on a side trip to visit the fortress at West Point during the allies march to Virginia in 1781.