Retracing 200-year-old steps of a French born U.S. hero
October 19, 2023 at 3:10 a.m.
Across the nation, there are dozens of counties, cities, towns, villages, streets and squares named after a Frenchman who fought for the United States during the Revolutionary War. Port Chester is among them, being home to Lafayette Drive.
A large portion of them were named following a specific event, and they follow the path of one man’s trip across what the United States was nearly 200 years ago.
In August of 1824, the last surviving general of the Revolutionary War was invited to tour the country by President James Monroe. Initially, the general only intended to visit the original 13 colonies that founded the States, but the tour was so popular that he went on to visit all 24 states incorporated at the time.
When Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, more commonly known simply as the Marquis de Lafayette, partook in what is now known as Lafayette’s Farewell Tour, he stopped by countless villages and cities in the U.S.
Today, his name has become a popular one, largely due to his featured character role in the hit musical “Hamilton.” But that idolization by the American people is not new.
According to Peter Feinman, president of the Institute of History, Archeology, and Education, Lafayette’s visit was incredibly popular. “There’s no doubt about it,” the Port Chester resident said, “he was just popular. It was really just a successful tour.”
But what made this French citizen’s tour so well-known in the U.S.?
Born into an aristocratic family in the south of France in 1757, Lafayette was a wealthy nobleman of the time. Due to several deaths in the family, he inherited the family fortune at the age of 13 and became one of the wealthiest aristocrats of the time.
After the start of the American Revolution, he became sympathetic to the colonists fighting against the British Empire.
While the nation of France was more interested in the British losing the war because they had recently lost the French and Indian War several years prior and were bitter enemies, Lafayette was more invested. He truly believed in the ideals of the American Revolution.
Going against the orders of King Louis XVI, he smuggled himself out of Europe in 1777 by paying for his own voyage across the Atlantic, arriving in South Carolina where he officially reported for duty. At just 19 years old, he was made a major general, one of the youngest to ever hold the rank.
Fighting in dozens of battles, including several alongside George Washington before he became the first president, he reportedly used his own personal wealth to feed and clothe his soldiers. He would ultimately go down in history as an instrumental force leading to America’s victory, as he would function as a liaison between the colonists and France, securing his native country’s support—without aid from the French, it’s likely the colonists would not have succeeded in the revolution.
At the Battle of Yorktown, the last major land battle of the Revolutionary War, American and French troops moved to take control of Yorktown, Va. Outnumbered three to one, the American troops relied on the French fleet to flank the British, turning the battle into a siege. After three weeks of fighting, the British surrendered, leading to the creation of the United States of America.
Upon his return to France, Lafayette played a large role in his native land’s own revolution. He, with the help of fellow American hero Thomas Jefferson, drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen—a document that was framed using the Declaration of Independence as a starting point which is considered constitutional law to this day.
For his efforts in both revolutions, Lafayette was lauded as a “Hero of Two Worlds,” and remained influential throughout his life. In 1803, Jefferson offered to make him governor of the Louisiana Territory, though he declined. An offer he did accept, however, was the chance to visit the U.S. by his old friend, President James Monroe.
His Farewell Tour in 1824 would prove to be his last time in the country, but it was also an extremely productive trip. In the span of 13 months, he visited hundreds of communities. One of the first was an area known as Saw Pit, which in 1868 would incorporate as the Village of Port Chester.
Next year will mark the 200th anniversary of the renowned Farewell Tour, and Feinman was an integral part in getting it recognized on a local level through the proclamations declaring Aug. 18, 2024, Lafayette Day in the Villages of Port Chester and Rye Brook, as well as the Town of Rye.
At the Port Chester Board of Trustees meeting where it was discussed on Aug. 30, Trustee Bart Didden called the proclamation a “no brainer,” and Mayor Luis Marino said it had his full support. Though it should be noted that Aug. 18 is not the day Lafayette was here.
“I approached the idea with George Latimer,” Feinman said, referring to the Westchester County Executive, “and he said we can’t do it on Aug. 20, the day that he actually came, because that’s a Tuesday.”
Latimer told him that it would be harder to gather support for an event if it fell on a weekday and pushed for the Sunday before. Thus, communities across Westchester will be celebrating his visit two days early.
Though it’s still to be determined how the local municipalities will recognize Layfette Day next year, it’s all part of a national movement.
The American Friends of Lafayette, a nonprofit organization, has been preparing for the bicentennial for several years. They’ve organized a reenactment of his tour, including a portrayal of the man himself, who will be stopping by as many places as possible, doing what he did based on newspaper reports from the time.
“The newspapers don’t call it Port Chester, they call it Saw Pit, our old name,” Feinman explained. “And they report that he drank a glass of wine there.” That detail is noteworthy, he said, because that kind of thing isn’t reported about any other community in the area. In fact, it’s so notable that the reenactor will do the same when he arrives in the Village.
While details of the celebration are still up in the air, that weekend will most likely see a variety of festivities across the different communities.
It’ll be part of a 13-month-long celebration spanning 24 states, honoring a man who loved this country enough to name his son after the first president, was one of only seven people who have been named honorary U.S. citizens, and in death was buried under soil from the site of the famed Revolutionary War battle Bunker Hill.
Without him, the United States would not exist as it does today. Fortunately, there are plenty of reminders around the nation that make it easy to remember the name Lafayette.
Comments:
You must login to comment.