Visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to the United States explained

From July 1824 to September 1825, the French Marquis de Lafayette, the last surviving major general of the American Revolutionary War, made a tour of the 24 states in the United States. He was received by the populace with a hero's welcome at many stops, and many honors and monuments were presented to commemorate and memorialize the visit.

Background

Lafayette led troops under the command of George Washington in the American Revolution over 40 years earlier, and he fought in several crucial battles, including the Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania and the Siege of Yorktown in Virginia. He had then returned to France and pursued a political career championing the ideals of liberty that the American republic represented.

He helped to write the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen with Thomas Jefferson's assistance, which was inspired by the United States Declaration of Independence. He also advocated the end of slavery, in keeping with the philosophy of natural rights. After the storming of the Bastille in July 1789, he was appointed commander-in-chief of France's National Guard and tried to steer a middle course through the years of the French Revolution. In August 1792, radical factions of the revolution took control of the government and ordered Lafayette's arrest, so he fled to the Austrian Netherlands. He was captured by Austrian troops and spent more than five years in prison. Lafayette returned to France after Napoleon Bonaparte secured his release in 1797, though he refused to participate in Napoleon's government or his military conquests. After the Bourbon Restoration of 1814, he became a liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies, a position which he held for most of the remainder of his life.

The Bourbon constitutional monarchy had been restored in France for at least ten years, but King Louis XVIII was reliant on a wheelchair in the spring of 1824 and suffering from severe health issues that proved fatal by late summer.[1] Further, Lafayette was being monitored by the dying king.[2] Lafayette left the French legislature in 1824, and President James Monroe invited him to tour the United States, partly to instill the "spirit of 1776" in the next generation of Americans[3] and partly to celebrate the nation's 50th anniversary.[4]

Lafayette visited all of the American states and traveled more than 6000miles,[5] [6] accompanied by his son Georges Washington de La Fayette, named after George Washington, and others. He was also accompanied for part of the trip by social reformer Frances Wright.[7] The main means of transportation were stagecoach, horseback, canal barge, and steamboat.[8]

Different cities celebrated in different ways. Some held parades or conducted an artillery salute. In some places schoolchildren were brought to welcome the Marquis. Veterans from the war, some of whom were in their sixties and seventies, welcomed the Marquis, and some dined with him. While touring Yorktown, he recognized and embraced James Armistead Lafayette, a free man of color who adopted his last name to honor the Marquis (he was the first US double agent spy); the story of the event was reported by the Richmond Enquirer.[9] More than a century later, various towns continued to honor their own "Lafayette Day".

Timeline

Lafayette left France on the American merchant vessel, on July 13, 1824, and his tour began on August 15, 1824, when he arrived at Staten Island, New York. He toured the Northern and Eastern United States in the fall of 1824, including stops at Monticello to visit Thomas Jefferson and Washington, D.C., where he was received at the White House by President James Monroe. He began his tour of the Southern United States in March 1825, arriving at the Fort Mitchell, Alabama crossing of the Chattahoochee River on March 31.

1824

1825

Honors received during the trip

Fayetteville, North Carolina was named after Lafayette in 1783, before the trip.[87] The College of William and Mary conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws on October 20, 1824. Late in the trip, he again received honorary citizenship of Maryland. Congress voted him $200,000 and a township of land in Tallahassee, Florida, known as the Lafayette Land Grant.[88] [89] On 9 October 1824 Lafayette received an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine. A round plaque is affixed to the spot where the honor was conferred in Davidge Hall in Baltimore, Maryland.

1824: Visit to Monticello

Lafayette arrived at Monticello on November 4 in a carriage provided by Jefferson with a military escort of 120 men. Jefferson waited outside on the front portico. By this time some 200 friends and neighbors had also arrived for the event. Lafayette's carriage pulled up to the front lawn where a bugle sounded the arrival of the procession with its revolutionary banners waving. Lafayette was advanced in age and slowly stepped down from the carriage. Jefferson was 81 and in ill health, and he slowly descended the front steps and began making his way towards his old friend. His grandson Randolph was present and witnessed the historic reunion: "As they approached each other, their uncertain gait quickened itself into a shuffling run, and exclaiming, 'Ah Jefferson!' 'Ah Lafayette!', they burst into tears as they fell into each other's arms." Everyone in attendance stood in respectful silence, many of them stifling sobs of their own. Jefferson and Lafayette then retired to the privacy of the house and began reminiscing over the many events and encounters which they shared years before.[90]

The next morning, Jefferson, Lafayette, and James Madison rode to the Central Hotel in Charlottesville in Jefferson's landau. They were escorted by mounted troops and followed by the local townspeople and other friends. They were greeted and honored with speeches, then departed the hotel at noon and set out for a banquet at the University of Virginia which Jefferson was anxious for Lafayette to see; he had postponed the commencement of classes for the event. After a three-hour dinner, Jefferson had someone read a speech that he had prepared for Lafayette, as his voice was weak and could not carry very far. This proved to be Jefferson's last public speech. Lafayette later accepted Jefferson's invitation for honorary membership to the university's Jefferson Literary and Debating Society. Lafayette bid Jefferson goodbye after an 11-day visit.[91] [92] [93]

1825: Return to France

Lafayette had expressed his intention of sailing for home sometime in the late summer or early autumn of 1825. President John Quincy Adams decided to have an American warship carry him back to Europe, and he chose a recently built 44-gun frigate named Susquehanna for this honor. However, it was renamed USS Brandywine to commemorate the battle in which the Frenchman had shed his blood for American freedom and as a gesture of the nation's affection for Lafayette. Brandywine was launched on June 16, 1825, and christened by Sailing Master Marmaduke Dove; she was commissioned on August 25, 1825, with Captain Charles Morris in command.

Lafayette enjoyed a last state dinner to celebrate his 68th birthday on the evening of September 6, and then embarked in the steamboat Mount Vernon on the 7th for the trip downriver to join Brandywine. On the 8th, the frigate stood out of the Potomac River and sailed down Chesapeake Bay toward the open ocean. As he sat on the Brandywine ready to depart, General Isaac Fletcher conveyed greetings from Revolutionary War compatriot General William Barton, and also explained that Barton had been in debtors' prison in Danville, Vermont, for 14 years. Lafayette promptly paid Barton's fine and thus allowed him to return to his family in Rhode Island.[94]

After a stormy three weeks at sea, the warship arrived off Le Havre, France, early in October, and, following some initial trepidation about the government's attitude toward Lafayette's return to a France now ruled by King Charles X, Brandywine's honored passenger returned home.

In 1829, Auguste Levasseur, Lafayette's private secretary, published his travel's notes and memoirs in two volumes with the title of Lafayette en Amérique, en 1824 et 1825 ou Journal d'un voyage aux États-Unis. That same year, one translation appeared in German and two in English (New York City and Philadelphia), titled Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825: Journal of a Voyage to the United States. A fourth translation, this time in Dutch, was published in 1831. Since then, Levasseur's work has been an important source of information to historians.

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.enotes.com/1824-reference/ "1824."
  2. Web site: Kent. Emerson. The Man With 'Great Zeal to the Cause of Liberty'. Emerson Kent. December 12, 2012. Lafayette was very much against the Bourbon Restoration, including their excessive spending, and began to plot against the King, who in turn tried to monitor him closely..
  3. Web site: Lafayette's Visit to Alabama . Encyclopedia of Alabama . May 18, 2012 . November 7, 2012.
  4. Book: Glatthaar, Joseph T.. Forgotten Allies, The Oneida Indians and the American Revolution. James Kirby Martin . 2007. Macmillan Publishers. 978-0-8090-4600-3., p.3
  5. Book: Clary, David. Adopted Son: Washington, Lafayette, and the Friendship that Saved the Revolution. Bantam Books. 2007. New York, New York. 978-0-553-80435-5., pp. 443–444
  6. Book: Loveland, Anne. Emblem of Liberty: The Image of Lafayette in the American Mind. LSU Press. 1971. 0-8071-2462-1., p. 3
  7. Web site: Frances Wright . Monticello.org . November 7, 2012.
  8. News: Barcousky. Len. Eyewitness 1825: Pittsburgh honors 'The Nation's Guest' . November 7, 2012. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 9, 2008.
  9. Book: Kimball, Gregg D.. William Fitzhugh Brundage. William Fitzhugh Brundage. Where These Memories Grow: History, Memory, and Southern Identity. https://books.google.com/books?id=rLIi3mSQiHgC&pg=PA60. August 15, 2016. 2000. UNC Press Books. 60. 4. The Shaping of Black Memory in Antebellum Virginia 1790–1860. 978-0807848869.
  10. Levasseur, Auguste. Alan R. Hoffman (trans.) Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825. Lafayette Press, Manchester, NH (2006).
  11. An Officer in the Late Army A Complete History of Marquis de Lafayette Major-General in the American Army in the War of the Revolution. Columbus: J. & H. Miller, Publishers, 1858.
  12. Book: Stauffer . John . The Black Hearts of Men: Radical Abolitionists and the Transformation of Race . limited . 2002 . Harvard University Press . Cambridge, MA . 0-674-00645-3 . 86-87.
  13. Nutt, John J., Newburgh, her Institutions, Industries, and Leading citizens (Newburgh: Ritchie & Hull, 1891), 55–56.
  14. Web site: 2022-04-22 . LAFAYETTE’S TOUR . 2023-04-17 . William G. Pomeroy Foundation . en-US.
  15. Web site: The Eagle's history of Poughkeepsie : from the earliest settlements 1683 to 1905. Edmund. Platt. August 20, 1905. Poughkeepsie : Platt & Platt. Internet Archive.
  16. Web site: 2022-08-05 . LAFAYETTE’S TOUR . 2023-04-17 . William G. Pomeroy Foundation . en-US.
  17. Web site: 2022-10-19 . LAFAYETTE’S TOUR . 2023-04-17 . William G. Pomeroy Foundation . en-US.
  18. Web site: 2022-04-25 . LAFAYETTE’S TOUR . 2023-04-17 . William G. Pomeroy Foundation . en-US.
  19. Web site: 2022-10-21 . LAFAYETTE’S TOUR . 2023-04-17 . William G. Pomeroy Foundation . en-US.
  20. Web site: 2022-10-21 . LAFAYETTE’S TOUR . 2023-04-17 . William G. Pomeroy Foundation . en-US.
  21. Web site: General Lafayette's Dinner Invitation Letter – L42-252 Livingston Masonic Library . 2022-12-24 . nymasoniclibrary.pastperfectonline.com.
  22. Web site: Newspaper Article of General Lafayette Dinner – L44-253 Livingston Masonic Library . 2022-12-24 . nymasoniclibrary.pastperfectonline.com.
  23. Web site: Gould's History of Freemasonry Throughout the World – Volume 5 . Phoenixmasonry.org . November 7, 2012.
  24. Web site: Sherman. Mark. Poe and Independence Day (blog post from Saturday, July 05, 2014). The Poe Museum. July 5, 2014. March 6, 2018. "While in Baltimore during the same United States tour, Lafayette visited Poe's grandfather's grave. According to J. Thomas Scharf's Chronicles of Baltimore (1874) "...
  25. Book: Scharf. John Thomas. The Chronicles of Baltimore: Being a Complete History of "Baltimore Town ". 1874. Turnbull Brothers. Baltimore. 415. "On the 11th General LaFayette left the city with an escort for Washington.".
  26. Book: Clark, Allen C.. Records of the Columbia Historical Society. 1919. 67–75. John B. Larner. General Roger Chew Weightman.
  27. Web site: Customs Today . Cbp.gov . November 7, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111023174408/http://www.cbp.gov/custoday/dec2000/tradition.htm . October 23, 2011 . dead .
  28. Web site: History's Safe Harbor, Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia . Pps.k12.va.us . November 7, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120731043848/http://pps.k12.va.us/uploadedFiles/About/Departments/SocialStudies/History_Book_low_res.pdf . July 31, 2012 . dead .
  29. Web site: History Engine: Tools for Collaborative Education and Research | Episodes . Historyengine.richmond.edu . November 7, 2012.
  30. News: Erickson. Mark St. John. Hampton Roads swooned over Lafayette's 1824 return as a Revolutionary War icon. March 6, 2018. Daily Press. October 22, 2014.
  31. Web site: Newspaper Article: The Life of Edgar Allan Poe – Part 2 . Richmondthenandnow.com . January 13, 1935 . November 7, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121201011449/http://richmondthenandnow.com/Newspaper-Articles/Poe-2.html . December 1, 2012 . dead .
  32. Jacoby, Oren (Director) . Lafayette: The Lost Hero . Television . https://web.archive.org/web/20190925070245/https://weta.org/press/lafayette-forgotten-hero-american-revolution-revealed-new-pbs-documentary. September 25, 2019. dead. 2010.
  33. Agee, Helene. Facets of Goochland County's History, Richmond, VA: Dietz Press, 1962
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  36. Book: Kayser . Elmer Louis . Bricks without Straw: The Evolution of George Washington University . 1970 . The George Washington University . Washington, DC . 0-390-49615-4 . 52–54 . May 14, 2020.
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  38. [Niles' Register]
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  40. https://archive.org/stream/historyofperseve00egle#page/n149/mode/2up History of Perseverance Lodge : No. 21, F. & A. M., Penn'a., at Harrisburg
  41. Web site: Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette – Entries – KnowLA, Encyclopedia of Louisiana.
  42. Web site: Lafayette's Visit | NCpedia. ncpedia.org.
  43. Web site: An 1825 Interview with Lafayette. www.ushistory.org.
  44. Web site: Marker: A-65.
  45. Web site: Marker: E-68.
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  52. Web site: Georgia History Timeline / Chronology 1825 . Ourgeorgiahistory.com . November 7, 2012.
  53. Web site: Marquis de Lafayette in Georgia. New Georgia Encyclopedia.
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  56. Book: Fortier, Alcée. A History of Louisiana. New York: Manzi, Joyant & Co. . 1904., vol. 3, p. 207.
  57. Web site: General Lafayette's 1825 Visit to Baton Rouge . Historical Baton Rouge blog . November 24, 2012.
  58. Web site: A Look Back • Lafayette receives joyous welcome to St. Louis in 1825. Tim. O'Neil.
  59. Book: Butterworth. Hezekiah. In The Boyhood of Lincoln. 1907. D. Appleton and Company. New York.
  60. Centennial of the Visit of General Lafayette to Shawneetown. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. July 1925. 18. 2. 350–362. 40187193.
  61. Lloyd's Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters, Cincinnati, Ohio; James T. Lloyd & Co, 1856, pp. 260–261; cited by gendisasters.com, "Cannelton (Lafayette Spring), IN Steamer MECHANIC Sinking, May 1825". Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  62. Book: Rietveld, Ronald D.. The Great Presidential Triumvirate at Home and Abroad: Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln. 2006. Nova Science Publ.. New York. 1600213189. Pederson, William D. . Williams, Frank J.. 42. Abraham Lincoln's Thomas Jefferson.
  63. Web site: Indiana at 200 (25): Marquis de Lafayette a Big Hit in Jeffersonville . Neal . Andrea . May 19, 2014 . Indiana Policy Review . June 6, 2015.
  64. Kleber, John E., The Kentucky Encyclopedia, University Press of Kentucky, 1992, pp. 528–529
  65. Web site: A City of Presidents. A Self-Guided Walking Tour . . . January 20, 2014.
  66. name=Daughters of the American Revolution commemorative plaque on site
  67. Erie Gazette June 16, 1825
  68. Erie Dispatch June 25, 1825
  69. Lavasseur Chapter XII published 1829
  70. Book: Sprague's Journal of Maine History . General Lafayette in Maine . 2 . 206 . LaFayette, on his way to Maine, passed the night of June 23, 1825, in Dover, N.H. On the evening of that day, a committee of citizens of South Berwick waited on 'him and invited him to breakfast with them the next morning, which invitation he accepted..
  71. Book: Sprague's Journal of Maine History . General Lafayette in Maine . 2 . 206 .
  72. Book: Sprague's Journal of Maine History . General Lafayette in Maine . 2 . 206 . He, was then escorted to Cleaves' H ot-el in Saco.
  73. Book: Sprague's Journal of Maine History . General Lafayette in Maine . 2 . 206 . From Cleaves' Hotel, he was escorted to the house of Captain Seth Spring in Biddeford, who was a soldier of the revolution, and in the battle of Bunker Hill.
  74. Book: Sprague's Journal of Maine History . General Lafayette in Maine . 2 . 206 . On Saturday morning, at 7 o'clock, he was escorted by a numerous cavalcade as far as the village of Scarborough, where he was received with the same feeling of gratitude by the people, that had cheered him on all his journey through the States.
  75. Book: Sprague's Journal of Maine History . General Lafayette in Maine . 2 . 206 . and about 9 o'clock a.m. (June 24, 1825), General LaFayette entered the town of Portland..
  76. Book: Sprague's Journal of Maine History . General Lafayette in Maine . 2 . 206 . LaFayette left town Sunday morning about 7 o'clock without any parade and returned to Saco on his way to Vermont. He took breakfast at Captain Spring's in Biddeford, ... he set out for Concord, where he arrived the same night..
  77. Web site: A day with Lafayette in Vermont. Jay Read. Pember. August 20, 1912. Woodstock, VT : Elm Tree Press. Internet Archive.
  78. The History of University of Vermont Buildings: 1800–1947 Book: The J.L. Hills papers. Special Collections Department, University of Vermont Libraries. Burlington, Vermont. 1949. 6, 68.
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  83. Book: Jenkins, Charles Francis . Lafayette's Visit to Germantown, July 20, 1825: An Address Delivered Before the Pennsylvania Genealogical Society, March 1, 1909, the Pennsylvania Historical Society, May 10, 1909, the Site and Relic Society of Germantown, May 20, 1910, the City History Society of Philadelphia, Jan. 11, 1911 . 1911 . W. J. Campbell . en.
  84. Web site: Home – Wyck. Wyck. en-US. July 14, 2016.
  85. Family history written record
  86. Web site: Washington & Lafayette. Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens. August 12, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080617231937/http://www.mountvernon.org/visit/plan/index.cfm/pid/349/. June 17, 2008. dead. dmy-all.
  87. https://www.fayettevillenc.gov/our-city/community/about-fayetteville
  88. Web site: Historic Markers Program of America . Historicmarkers.com . August 9, 2009.
  89. Book: Holbrook, Sabra. Lafayette, Man in the Middle. 1977. Atheneum. 0-689-30585-0. registration. lafayette man in the middle.., p. 177
  90. Book: Mapp, Alf J.. Jefferson: Passionate Pilgrim. Rowman & Littlefield. 1991. 9780517098882. Mapp. 328.
  91. Book: Malone, Dumas . 978-0-316-54478-8 . The Sage of Monticello . 6 . Jefferson and His Time . Little Brown . 1981 . Malone81. 403–04.
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  93. Book: Crawford, Alan Pell . Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson . Random House Digital . 2008 . Crawford2008 . registration . 9781400060795. 202–03.
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