Potus Geeks Summer Reruns: The Return of the Marquis de Lafayette
In order to commemorate the approach of the 50th birthday of the United States in 1826, President James Monroe issued an invitation to visit to an old friend of the nation, Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette. The French nobleman had been commissioned as a Major General by Congress in 1777 at the age of 20, but he was now in his late 60s. The visit was arranged to take place from August 1824 (190 years ago this month) to September 1825. Lafayette graciously accepted the offer and during the visit he traveled to all 24 American states. He traveled more than 6,000 miles (9,656 km) in total.
Lafayette arrived from France at Staten Island in New York, on 15 August 1824. He was greeted to an artillery salute. Among the towns and cities he visited, included Fayetteville, North Carolina, the first city named in his honor. The local citizenry gave him an enthusiastic welcome when he visited there in March of 1825. During this tour he embraced James Armistead Lafayette, a free slave who took his last name to honor him, while in Yorktown, Virginia. The story of the event was reported by the Richmond Enquirer. On 17 October 1824, Lafayette visited Mount Vernon and George Washington's tomb. On 4 November 1824, he visited Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, and four days later he attended a public banquet at the University of Virginia. He accepted an invitation for honorary membership to the University's Jefferson Literary and Debating Society. In late August 1825, he returned to Mount Vernon. Lafayette visited New York before returning to France on the frigate USS Brandywine. Late in the trip, he again received honorary citizenship of Maryland. He was voted, by the U.S. Congress, the sum of $200,000 and a township of land located in Tallahassee, Florida to be known as the Lafayette Land Grant.
Throughout the trip Lafayette was accompanied by his son Georges Washington de La Fayette. The visit overlapped the end of James Monroe's term in office, the election of 1824 and the subsequent controversy that led to the election of John Quincy Adams. President Adams decided to have an American warship carry Lafayette back to Europe. 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 to commemorate the battle in which Lafayette had shed his blood for American freedom. Launched on June 16, 1825, Brandywine 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, 1825. He then embarked in the steamboat Mount Vernon on the 7th for the trip downriver to join Brandywine. On the 8th, the frigate sailed down Chesapeake Bay toward the open ocean. After a stormy three weeks at sea, the warship arrived off Le Havre, France, early in October.
Lafayette arrived from France at Staten Island in New York, on 15 August 1824. He was greeted to an artillery salute. Among the towns and cities he visited, included Fayetteville, North Carolina, the first city named in his honor. The local citizenry gave him an enthusiastic welcome when he visited there in March of 1825. During this tour he embraced James Armistead Lafayette, a free slave who took his last name to honor him, while in Yorktown, Virginia. The story of the event was reported by the Richmond Enquirer. On 17 October 1824, Lafayette visited Mount Vernon and George Washington's tomb. On 4 November 1824, he visited Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, and four days later he attended a public banquet at the University of Virginia. He accepted an invitation for honorary membership to the University's Jefferson Literary and Debating Society. In late August 1825, he returned to Mount Vernon. Lafayette visited New York before returning to France on the frigate USS Brandywine. Late in the trip, he again received honorary citizenship of Maryland. He was voted, by the U.S. Congress, the sum of $200,000 and a township of land located in Tallahassee, Florida to be known as the Lafayette Land Grant.
Throughout the trip Lafayette was accompanied by his son Georges Washington de La Fayette. The visit overlapped the end of James Monroe's term in office, the election of 1824 and the subsequent controversy that led to the election of John Quincy Adams. President Adams decided to have an American warship carry Lafayette back to Europe. 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 to commemorate the battle in which Lafayette had shed his blood for American freedom. Launched on June 16, 1825, Brandywine 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, 1825. He then embarked in the steamboat Mount Vernon on the 7th for the trip downriver to join Brandywine. On the 8th, the frigate sailed down Chesapeake Bay toward the open ocean. After a stormy three weeks at sea, the warship arrived off Le Havre, France, early in October.