Visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to the United States (1824-25)
Encyclopedia
From July 1824 to September 1825, the last surviving French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 General of the Revolutionary War, the Marquis de Lafayette, made a famous tour of the 24 states
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. At many stops on this tour he was received by the populace with a hero's welcome, and many honors and monuments were presented to commemorate and memorialize the Marquis de Lafayette's visit.

Reason for the visit

The Marquis de Lafayette led troops alongside George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 in the American Revolution over 40 years earlier. He fought in several crucial battles including the battle of Brandywine
Battle of Brandywine
The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and...

 in Pennsylvania, and the Siege of Yorktown
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...

 in Virginia.

The Marquis had returned to France and pursued a political career championing the ideals of liberty that the fledgeling U.S. Republic represented. After the Marquis left the French legislature in 1824, President James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...

 invited him to tour the United States, partly to instill the Spirit of 1776
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...

 in the next generation of Americans and partly to celebrate the nation's 50th anniversary.

The traveling party

During his trip, he visited all of the American states and travelled more than 6000 miles (9,656 km).
Lafayette was accompanied by, among others, his son Georges Washington de La Fayette
Georges Washington de La Fayette
Georges Washington de La Fayette was the son of Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, the French officer and hero of the American Revolution, and Adrienne de La Fayette. Lafayette named his son in the honour of George Washington, with whom he fought in the Revolutionary War.-Life:From 1783, La...

. The main means of transportation for the Party were stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...

, horseback, canal barge and steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...

.

Welcoming celebrations

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 negro who adopted his last name to honour the Marquis, (he was the first US double agent spy), the story of the event was reported by the Richmond Enquirer.

General timeline

He left France on an American merchant vessel
Merchant vessel
A merchant vessel is a ship that transports cargo or passengers. The closely related term commercial vessel is defined by the United States Coast Guard as any vessel engaged in commercial trade or that carries passengers for hire...

, the Cadmus, on July 13, 1824. Lafayette's extended tour began on August 15, 1824, when he arrived at Staten Island, New York. Lafayette toured the northern and eastern states in the fall of 1824, including stops at Monticello
Monticello
Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...

 to visit Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

 and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, where he was received at the White House by President James Monroe. Lafayette began his tour of the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

 in March 1825, arriving at the Fort Mitchell
Fort Mitchell, Alabama
Fort Mitchell is an unincorporated community in Russell County, Alabama, United States. The area was originally a garrisoned fort intended to provide defense for the area during the Creek War. The community is the home of the Fort Mitchell National Cemetery....

 crossing of the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...

 on March 31.

Detailed timeline

(incomplete)

1824

  • July 13 — Left France
  • August 15 — Lafayette arrived at Staten Island, New York
  • August 20 — Left New York
  • August 20 — New Rochelle, NY
  • Traveled through and made stops in New Haven, CT, Providence, RI, and Boston, MA
  • August 25 — Cambridge, MA
  • August 31 — Left Boston, traveled through and made stops at Lexington, Concord, Salem, Marblehead, and Newburyport, MA
  • September 1 — Portsmouth, NH
  • September 2 — Boston, MA, Lexington, MA
  • September 3 — Worcester, MA, Tolland, CT
  • September 4 — Hartford, CT, Middletown, CT
  • September 5 — New York, NY
  • September 11 — New York, NY, celebrated the 47th anniversary of the Battle of Brandywine
    Battle of Brandywine
    The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and...

     with French residents
  • October 6 — Lafayette escorted to Wilmington, Delaware
    Wilmington, Delaware
    Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...

     by the Grand Lodge of Delaware Masons.
  • October 12 — The Marquis de Lafayette arrived in the District of Columbia.
  • October 15 — The Marquis de Lafayette spent the entire evening at Arlington House
    Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
    Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, formerly named the Custis-Lee Mansion, is a Greek revival style mansion located in Arlington, Virginia, USA that was once the home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. It overlooks the Potomac River, directly across from the National Mall in Washington,...

    , although he returned to his hotel in Washington at night.
  • October 17 — Lafayette visited Mount Vernon
    Mount Vernon
    The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...

     and George Washington's tomb (in Virginia)
  • October 22 — Lafayette arrives in Norfolk, Virginia
    Norfolk, Virginia
    Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

     and spends four days there and in Portsmouth
  • October — Arrives in Richmond on a steamer from Norfolk.
  • November 4 — Lafayette visited Jefferson at Monticello
    Monticello
    Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...

  • November 8 — Lafayette attended a public banquet at the University of Virginia
    University of Virginia
    The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

     in nearby Charlottesville
    Charlottesville, Virginia
    Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...

  • Early December — Washington, D.C. visiting the White House, George Washington's relatives, the Navy Yard
    Navy Yard
    Navy Yard may refer to:* Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts* Brooklyn Navy Yard, the New York Naval Shipyard* Charleston Navy Yard, South Carolina* San Francisco Naval Shipyard, California* Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California...

    , Columbian College (now Gallaudet University
    Gallaudet University
    Gallaudet University is a federally-chartered university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing, located in the District of Columbia, U.S...

    ). On Dec. 8 and 9 he made official visits to the Senate and then the House of Representatives.
  • December 15 — Lafayette was feted at the first commencement ceremony of George Washington University
    George Washington University
    The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...

     in Washington, D.C.

1825

  • March 2–3 — Raleigh, North Carolina
    Raleigh, North Carolina
    Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

    : Lafayette was reunited with Colonel William Polk
    William Polk (colonel)
    Colonel William Polk was a North Carolina, banker, educational administrator, political leader, renowned Continental officer in the War for American Independence, and survivor of the 1777/1778 encampment at Valley Forge....

     who had fought beside him at the Battle of Brandywine
    Battle of Brandywine
    The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and...

     where both had been wounded.
  • March 19 — Savannah, Georgia
    Savannah, Georgia
    Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

  • May 4 — Nashville, Tennessee
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

  • May 11–13 — Louisville, Kentucky
    Louisville, Kentucky
    Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

  • May 14 — Attended dinner and a ball Frankfort, Kentucky
    Frankfort, Kentucky
    Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...

  • May 15 — Spent the night at the home of Major John Keene, five miles from Lexington, Kentucky
    Lexington, Kentucky
    Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

  • May 16–17 — Attended a military parade and speeches at Transylvania University
    Transylvania University
    Transylvania University is a private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with the Christian Church . The school was founded in 1780. It offers 38 majors, and pre-professional degrees in engineering and accounting...

     and the Lexington Female Academy in Lexington, Kentucky
    Lexington, Kentucky
    Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

  • May 18 — Georgetown, Kentucky
    Georgetown, Kentucky
    Georgetown is a city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 29,098 at the 2010 census. The original settlement of Lebanon, founded by Rev. Elijah Craig, was renamed in 1790 in honor of President George Washington. It is the home of Georgetown College, a private liberal arts...

  • May 19–20 — Cincinnati, Ohio
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

  • May 21 — Maysville, Kentucky
    Maysville, Kentucky
    Maysville is a city in and the county seat of Mason County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,993 at the 2000 census, making it the fiftieth largest city in Kentucky by population. Maysville is on the Ohio River, northeast of Lexington. It is the principal city of the Maysville...

  • June 4 — Lafayette gives speech at Eagle Tavern, Lafayette Square, Buffalo
    Lafayette Square, Buffalo
    Lafayette Square is a park in the center of downtown Buffalo, Erie County, New York, United States that hosts a Civil War monument. The block, which was once square, is lined by many of the city's tallest buildings...

  • June 7 — Lafayette receives local Revolutionary War veterans at Silvius Hoard's Tavern, Rochester, NY
  • June 20 — Lafayette visits Germantown and Chestnut Hill
    Chestnut Hill
    -Geography:* Chestnut Hill, Cumbria, England* Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States* Chestnut Hill Cove, Maryland, United States* Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States* Chestnut Hill, West Virginia, United States...

    , near Philadelphia.
  • June 26 — departed Chester, Pennsylvania
    Chester, Pennsylvania
    Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...

     for the Brandywine Battlefield
    Brandywine Battlefield
    Brandywine Battlefield Historic Site is a historical park that was operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, on , near Chadds Ford, Delaware County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is part of the site of the Battle of Brandywine fought on September 11, 1777, during the...

     ending the day in West Chester
    West Chester, Pennsylvania
    The Borough of West Chester is the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,461 at the 2010 census.Valley Forge, the Brandywine Battlefield, Longwood Gardens, Marsh Creek State Park, and other historical attractions are near West Chester...

    .
  • June 27 — departed West Chester, Pennsylvania
    West Chester, Pennsylvania
    The Borough of West Chester is the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,461 at the 2010 census.Valley Forge, the Brandywine Battlefield, Longwood Gardens, Marsh Creek State Park, and other historical attractions are near West Chester...

     for Lancaster
    Lancaster, Pennsylvania
    Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...

    .
  • Late June — departed Lancaster
    Lancaster, Pennsylvania
    Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...

     for Baltimore, Maryland, via Port Deposit, Pennsylvania and Harve de Grace, Maryland. Spends 2 days in Baltimore.
  • July 25 — Lafayette again in Wilmington, Delaware
    Wilmington, Delaware
    Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...

  • Late August — Lafayette returned to Mount Vernon.
  • September 6 — Washington, D.C. addressed a joint session of Congress and celebrated his birthday at a White House banquet
  • September 7 — Return to France on the frigate USS Brandywine
    USS Brandywine (1825)
    USS Brandywine was a wooden-hulled, three-masted Frigate of the United States Navy bearing 44 guns which had the initial task of conveying the Marquis de Lafayette back to France...

    .

Honors received during the trip

Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....

 was named after him. Late in the trip, he again received honorary citizenship of Maryland. He was voted, by the U.S. Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

, the sum of $200,000 and a township
Township (United States)
A township in the United States is a small geographic area. Townships range in size from 6 to 54 square miles , with being the norm.The term is used in three ways....

 of land located in Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...

 to be known as the Lafayette Land Grant
Lafayette Land Grant
The Lafayette Land Grant was a gift by the government of the United States of just over of real estate in central Leon County, Florida, United States.-Origins:...

.

1825: Conveying Marquis de Lafayette back to France

The Marquis had expressed his intention of sailing for home sometime in the late summer or early autumn of 1825. President John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...

 decided to have an American warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...

 carry the Marquis de Lafayette back to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. Adams chose a recently built 44-gun frigate (originally named Susquehanna) for this honor, and accordingly, as a gesture of the nation’s affection for Lafayette, the frigate was renamed Brandywine
USS Brandywine (1825)
USS Brandywine was a wooden-hulled, three-masted Frigate of the United States Navy bearing 44 guns which had the initial task of conveying the Marquis de Lafayette back to France...

to commemorate the battle in which the Frenchman had shed his blood for American freedom. Launched on June 16, 1825, and christened by Sailing Master Marmaduke Dove, Brandywine was commissioned on August 25, 1825, Capt. Charles Morris in command.

Lafayette enjoyed a last state dinner
State dinner
A state dinner is a dinner or banquet paid by a government and hosted by a head of state in his or her official residence in order to renew and celebrate diplomatic ties between the host country and the country of a foreign head of state or head of government who was issued an invitation. In many...

 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
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

 toward the open ocean.

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 the ultra reactionary King Charles X
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...

, Brandywine's honored passenger returned home.

External links

  • www.nndb.com
  • www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
  • His tour is the subject of an essay presented by writer Sarah Vowell
    Sarah Vowell
    Sarah Jane Vowell is an American author, journalist, essayist and social commentator. Often referred to as a "social observer," Vowell has written five nonfiction books on American history and culture, and was a contributing editor for the radio program This American Life on Public Radio...

     in "Reunited", episode #291 of radio show This American Life
    This American Life
    This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...

    .
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