A replica of the warship that carried France 's Marquis de Lafayette to help American colonists in their war of independence sets sail for the United States on Saturday , symbolic of a historic moment that binds the two nations . Lafayette crossed the Atlantic on the original Hermione in 1780 to tell his friend George Washington , commander of the American insurgents against British imperial rule , that France was sending a strong military force to help them . The replica fired its cannons as it sailed up the French river Charente on Saturday to the military shipyards of Rochefort , where both vessels were built . French President Francois Hollande paid a brief visit to the warship , which was due to set sail later in the day . Scroll down for video . The replica of an 18th Century French navy frigate L'Hermione , set sail on its maiden voyage to the United States off the coast of Fouras , southwestern France on Saturday . The ship will leave towards the United States with several stopovers , including Philadelphia , New York and Boston . The real version carried France 's Marquis de Lafayette to help American colonists in their war of independence . Lafayette crossed the Atlantic on the original Hermione in 1780 to tell his friend George Washington , commander of the American insurgents against British imperial rule . The replica is pictured on Saturday leaving Southwestern France . The new Hermione has been under construction since 1997 and cost 25 million euros ( $ 27 million ) to build . It will head for Yorktown , Virginia , where Lafayette and his forces played a critical part in a decisive battle against the British . ' I feel it 's important that this boat is remembered as more than just a modern recreation , that it represents the historical boat as well , ' said Adam Hodges-LeClaire , a U.S. citizen , history student and one of the 80-strong crew aboard the 1.2 tonne warship . Hodges-LeClaire had made his own period costume to wear during the voyage . The frigate is due to arrive in Yorktown on June 5 for a two-month tour of key locations in the American Revolution , including Annapolis , Boston , Philadelphia and New York City . A number of smaller boards surround the replica near Fouras , southwest France . French President Francois Hollande ( right ) and the captain of the Hermione , Yann Cariou attend the ceremony of departure of the frigate ' L'Hermione ' . The French helped the Red Coats during the War of Independence . Hollande took a short trip on the boat before it left on it 's voyage across the Atlantic . To the American independence movement of the time , Lafayette - whose full name was Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert de Motier de Lafayette - was 'our Marquis ' . Although an aristocrat who persuaded King Louis XVI into sending military help to Washington 's men , Lafayette also maintained a civic role after the king and much of the French nobility had been executed in France 's own revolution , which began in 1789 , less than a decade after his voyage . The two countries sealed their friendship almost a century after Lafayette 's voyage with the 1876 inauguration of the Statue of Liberty at the entrance to New York harbour , a gift from the French people to commemorate the centenary of the declaration of independence . Since then , Franco-U.S. military and diplomatic relations have ebbed and flowed , hitting a recent low point when France opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 . More recently , France resisted , then gave in to pressure from the United States , its NATO ally , to delay the delivery of a helicopter-carrying warship to Russia due to the Ukraine crisis . Fireworks crackle around the replica of the frigate Hermione , used to bring French troops and funds to American revolutionaries in 1780 . People watch as the replica of the historic vessel sails in the Charente Estuary in Fouras .
The Hermione carried France 's George Washington to America in 1780 . Was sent to warn Marquis de Lafayette French troops were being sent . They were being deployed to help the revolutionaries defeat Red Coats . The replica set sail on Saturday for it 's maiden voyage across the Atlantic .