Lafayette

The Marquis de Lafayette: A Short Biography

November 17, 2022 by James S. Kaplan 1 Comment

2024 will mark the 200th anniversary of the return of the Marquis de Lafayette (Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette) to America. In 1824, almost 50 years after the start of the American Revolution, the 68-year-old Lafayette was invited by President James Monroe, an old Revolutionary War comrade and lifelong friend, to tour the United States.

Lafayette’s visit was one the major events of the early 19th century. It had the effect of unifying a country sometime fractured by electoral discord and reminding Americans of their hard won democracy. [Read more…] about The Marquis de Lafayette: A Short Biography

Why Not? The Return of Lafayette’s Hermoine in 2024

November 3, 2022 by James S. Kaplan 1 Comment

In 1992, the shipyard at Rochefort France where the Hermione – the ship that brought Lafayette to America – had been constructed in 1780 was apparently in decline.

Several local entrepreneurs conceived of the idea that a replica of the Hermione should be built and sailed to the United States as a goodwill gesture. It was hoped that the project would perhaps improve the local economy and also remind Americans of the important historical ties between the United States and France. [Read more…] about Why Not? The Return of Lafayette’s Hermoine in 2024

New Roadside Markers To Honor Lafayette

September 12, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

In celebration of the Marquis de Lafayette’s 265th birthday, the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and The Lafayette Trail, Inc. have announced the launch of a new historic marker series commemorating the French General’s involvement and service during the American Revolution. [Read more…] about New Roadside Markers To Honor Lafayette

The Marquis de Lafayette (Podcast)

October 20, 2021 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

You know “America’s favorite fighting Frenchman” is the Marquis de Lafayette. But what do you know about Lafayette and his life?

How and why did this French-born noble end up fighting in the American Revolution? [Read more…] about The Marquis de Lafayette (Podcast)

Lafayette’s 1824-25 Farewell Tour Commemoration

June 8, 2021 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

In 1824, the French aristocrat Lafayette (Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette), who had played a key role in securing victory over the British during the American Revolution, was invited by President James Monroe to visit the United States, then about to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Upon his arrival on Staten Island, the general was greeted with open arms. He had been a favorite of General Washington, who had acted as a surrogate father to the young Lafayette.

As an advocate for democracy in both the American colonies and in France, and a proponent of abolition, the Frenchman was warmly welcomed on a thirteen-month tour of the United States. His visit spanned a highly controversial 1824 presidential election season in which the House of Representatives selected John Quincy Adams over the highest vote-getter, Andrew Jackson. Lafayette has been seen by historians as a uniting force, whose presence served to remind Americans of their mutual bonds. [Read more…] about Lafayette’s 1824-25 Farewell Tour Commemoration

Castle Clinton: New York’s Almost Forgotten Landmark

March 24, 2020 by Theresa DeCicco Leave a Comment

An often overlooked and forgotten New York City landmark, Castle Clinton welcomed many of the city’s residents into its walls as a place of innovation, entertainment, and new beginnings.

The circular sandstone fort which currently stands in Battery Park, was built to improve harbor fortifications in 1811. The Southwest Battery, as it was known, never fired a shot. [Read more…] about Castle Clinton: New York’s Almost Forgotten Landmark

Lafayette In New York: A Hero and Aging General Returns

October 15, 2018 by Jack Kelly 10 Comments

The New York welcome is famous. Charles Lindbergh was paraded up Broadway under a deluge of ticker tape after flying the Atlantic solo in 1927. The Apollo 11 astronauts received an even grander reception 42 years later when they returned from the moon.

But no one was ever given a welcome like the one that Lafayette received in 1824. He was returning, one last time, to see the country whose independence he had fought for almost a half century earlier. His tour was a sensation. Echoes of it can be seen across New York to this day. [Read more…] about Lafayette In New York: A Hero and Aging General Returns

Tammany and NYC’s Fourth of July Celebrations

June 22, 2018 by James S. Kaplan 3 Comments

In 1776 John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail about July 4:

“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

242 years after John Adams’ exhortation, people in the city of New York are still struggling with how to celebrate July 4, and its meaning. In the City of New York July 4 celebrations held after the enactment of the U.S. Constitution were anything but nonpartisan. [Read more…] about Tammany and NYC’s Fourth of July Celebrations

Lafayette: Hero of Two Worlds, Champion of Liberty

April 17, 2016 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

He used civil disobedience before Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. made it a thing. Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, French aristocrat and military officer, fought for the United States in the American Revolutionary War and influenced America’s founding fathers on issues like slavery and capital punishment.

Veteran journalist and self-proclaimed Lafayette historian Donald Miller’s seventh book, Lafayette: His Extraordinary Life and Legacy (iUniverse, 2015) looks in depth at one of the most influential men in French and American history. [Read more…] about Lafayette: Hero of Two Worlds, Champion of Liberty

Marquis de Lafayette’s Visit To Fort Hunter

July 28, 2015 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

If you visit Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site in Fort Hunter, you will be following in the footsteps of Marquis de Lafayette, who visited by canal boat in 1825.

A French aristocrat, Lafayette fought with George Washington’s army during the American Revolution. At some point while in America the Frenchman visited Johnstown and was entertained by the families of Jacob and Thomas Sammons, who leased the former Johnson Hall for four years after the Loyalist Johnson family fled to Canada. Lafayette played a key role in the British defeat at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781. [Read more…] about Marquis de Lafayette’s Visit To Fort Hunter