1824–25 tour by Revolutionary War general de Lafayette
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.
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.[2] Further, Lafayette was being monitored by the dying king.[3] 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[4] and partly to celebrate the nation's 50th anniversary.[5]
Lafayette visited all of the American states and traveled more than 6,000 miles (9,656 km),[6][7] accompanied by his son
Georges Washington de La Fayette, named after George Washington, and others.[4] He was also accompanied for part of the trip by social reformer
Frances Wright.[8] The main means of transportation were stagecoach, horseback, canal barge, and steamboat.[9]
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.[10] More than a century later, various towns continued to honor their own "Lafayette Day".
September 10 – Visits
African Free School No. 2 on Mulberry Street; celebrated with a short speech by 11-year old pupil
James McCune Smith, later a prominent anti-slavery scholar, writer, and physician.[14]
September 11 – Celebrates the 47th anniversary of the
Battle of Brandywine with French residents of New York[15]
September 19 – Stops in
Red Hook[22] and visits Janet Montgomery at her home
Montgomery Place. Also stops in
Fishkill Landing on the return to New York City. At Fishkill Landing he is welcomed at the home of Caroline De Windt, granddaughter of former U.S. President
John Adams[23]
September 28 – Visit to Philadelphia with a
parade followed by speeches at the State House (
Independence Hall) under Philadelphia architect
William Strickland's Triumphal Arches
October 8[27] to October 11[28] – Toured Baltimore and met with surviving officers and soldiers of the Revolution
October 12 – Arrives in Washington, D.C., paraded into town, welcomed by the mayor in the U.S. Capitol rotunda, and celebrated with illuminations throughout the city and with a rocket show.[29][30]
October 15 – Spends the entire evening at
Arlington House, although he returns to his hotel in Washington, D.C., at night
October 17 – Visits
Mount Vernon and George Washington's tomb in Virginia
October 18–19 – Arrives by steamer in
Petersburg, Virginia, for visit to
Yorktown and festivities marking the 43rd anniversary of the battle; spent eight days in the Tidewater of Virginia (Norfolk and Portsmouth) area. This was one of his longest stays of the grand tour because it was the site of the American and French victory over the British at Yorktown. He arrived in Yorktown on October 18 on a ship where a water-borne honor guard escorted him to a specially constructed Yorktown wharf, where he was greeted by a crowd of 15,000 people. Gov.
James Pleasants and Virginia militia general Robert Barraud Taylor (of the 1813
Battle of Craney Island) gave speeches in his honor. During the visit, the party visited temporary monuments, including a 45-foot tall arch at the site of his courageous
assault at Redoubt #10 and a 76-foot tall obelisk at the site of the
British surrender. A mass assembly greeted him at
Surrender Field. He visited
Williamsburg, Virginia and the
College of William & Mary from October 19–22 and stayed in the
Peyton Randolph House in Williamsburg. He attended an honorary banquet at
Raleigh Tavern with Chief Justice
John Marshall and Secretary of War
John Calhoun. His party rode to
Jamestown, Virginia and traveled to Portsmouth to see
Norfolk Naval Shipyard. While in Hampton Roads, he visited the unfinished
Fort Monroe, and then Colonel
Abraham Eustis escorted him to inspect the
Old Point Comfort stronghold, which had been designed by French-born engineer
Simon Bernard. On October 25, he left the Tidewater area on a ship bound for Richmond.[31]
October – Arrives in
Richmond, Virginia, on a steamer from Norfolk[35]Edgar Allan Poe is in the youth honor guard in Richmond that welcomed him when he arrived. Lafayette briefly reunites with
James Armistead Lafayette when he spots him amongst the crowd of people.[36]
On November 2 – Left Richmond for
Monticello to visit Jefferson[37]
November 20, 21, 22 – visits Fredericksburg, VA with several parties in his honor, including 2 in City Hall, now the Fredericksburg Area Museum. The following week he expected to spend time at Woodlawn near Mount Vernon, and at Mount Vernon. He expected to be in Annapolis on December 15. ref information in a letter in the Fredericksburg Museum, cited 2019/5/1. Letter is in Lafayette's handwriting.
Early December – Stays in Washington, D.C., visiting the White House, meeting several times with President Monroe and George Washington's relatives; visits the
Washington Navy Yard
December 8 and 9 – Makes official visits to the Senate and addresses Congress at the House of Representatives[15]
December 15 – Feted at the first commencement ceremony of the Columbian College in the District of Columbia (now the
George Washington University)[30][39]
February 23, 1825 – Sets off on the southern leg of his tour[43] Because the route from Richmond to Raleigh was by
carriage over poor roads, the traveling party was obliged to take the sandy "Lower Road" by
Suffolk and
Halifax.[44]
February 25 – Interviewed by Poulson's Advertiser, a Philadelphia newspaper, recalls his wound at Brandywine[45]
February 27 – Traveled to Northampton Court House (present-day
Jackson, North Carolina) where he met the official North Carolina greeting party[46] and stayed at
Eagle Tavern in Halifax, North Carolina.[47]
March 4-5 - Visited his namesake town
Fayetteville, North Carolina.[44] Admirers stood in mud and pouring rain to welcome him. He was feted with a formal dinner, a ball, and multiple military displays.[50]
March 15 – Arrives in
Charleston, South Carolina, and enjoys three days of balls, fireworks, and reunions; is reunited with
Francis Kinloch Huger, who is the son of his comrade
Benjamin Huger and who tried to free Lafayette from an Austrian prison around 1795[51]
April 4–6 – Party boards the Balize and the Henderson and makes its way over the
Alabama River through
Selma, Alabama, through the capital city of
Cahaba, and then meet with members of the French
Vine and Olive Colony near
Demopolis, then makes an overnight visit to
Claiborne, where he was entertained at a ball in the Masonic Lodge, still standing today.[4]
May 8–9 – Their steamboat Mechanic sinks on the
Ohio River; all passengers reach shore safely, but Lafayette loses property and money;[63] the party is picked up the following day by the passing steamboat Paragon[9][64]
June 2 – Stayed overnight in Waterford at Reed's Hotel. After breakfast shown
Eagle Hotel (under construction) Escorted to Erie by Colonel Colt and distinguished party.[69][70][71]
September 6 – Lafayette arrives in Washington, D.C., where he meets the new U.S. President
John Quincy Adams, addresses a joint session of Congress and celebrates his 68th birthday at a White House banquet with President Adams.[15]
September 7 – Lafayette leaves Washington, D.C., en route to France on the frigate
USS Brandywine.[6]
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.[93]
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.[94][95][96]
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.[97]
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.
Notes
^Lafayette was already a "natural born" American citizen via his pre-Constitution Maryland citizenship.[90]
^"1824."The People's Chronology. Ed. Jason M. Everett. Vol. 1. Gale Cengage, 2006. eNotes.com. December 12, 2012.
^Kent, Emerson.
"The Man With 'Great Zeal to the Cause of Liberty'". Emerson Kent. Retrieved 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.
^
abcdefghijklmLevasseur, Auguste. Alan R. Hoffman (trans.) Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825. Lafayette Press, Manchester, NH (2006).
^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.
^Sherman, Mark (July 5, 2014).
"Poe and Independence Day (blog post from Saturday, July 05, 2014)". The Poe Museum. Retrieved 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) "..
^Catherine Bishir; Jerry L. Cross & Walter D. Best (June 1979).
"The Cellar"(PDF). National Register of Historic Places – Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
^Murray, Elizabeth Reid (1983). Wake [Capital County of North Carolina]. Vol. 1. Raleigh, North Carolina: Capital County Publishing Company. pp. 222–226.
ASINB000M0ZYF4.
^"Centennial of the Visit of General Lafayette to Shawneetown". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 18 (2): 350–362. July 1925.
JSTOR40187193.
^Rietveld, Ronald D. (2006). "Abraham Lincoln's Thomas Jefferson". In Pederson, William D.; Williams, Frank J. (eds.). The Great Presidential Triumvirate at Home and Abroad: Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln. New York: Nova Science Publ. p. 42.
ISBN1600213189.
^"General Lafayette in Maine".
Sprague's Journal of Maine History. Vol. 2. p. 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.
^"General Lafayette in Maine".
Sprague's Journal of Maine History. Vol. 2. p. 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
^"General Lafayette in Maine".
Sprague's Journal of Maine History. Vol. 2. p. 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
^"General Lafayette in Maine".
Sprague's Journal of Maine History. Vol. 2. p. 206. and about 9 o'clock a.m. (June 24, 1825), General LaFayette entered the town of Portland.
^"General Lafayette in Maine".
Sprague's Journal of Maine History. Vol. 2. p. 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.
^The History of University of Vermont Buildings: 1800–1947 The J.L. Hills papers. Burlington, Vermont: Special Collections Department, University of Vermont Libraries. 1949. pp. 6, 68.