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LAFAYETTE’S TOUR

Program
Lafayette Trail
Subject
Event, People, Site
Location
500d Bull St, Savannah, GA 31401, USA
Lat/Long
32.079722, -81.091111
Grant Recipient
The Lafayette Trail, Inc.
Historic Marker

LAFAYETTE’S TOUR

Inscription

LAFAYETTE'S TOUR
ON MARCH 19, 1825, GENERAL
LAFAYETTE ARRIVED IN SAVANNAH.
ESCORTED HERE ON MARCH 21, HE
LAID THE CORNERSTONE FOR THE
NATHANAEL GREENE MONUMENT.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2025

Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene, of Rhode Island, died near Savannah on June 19, 1786, at Mulberry Grove Plantation which had been granted to him by this State in appreciation of his services in the Revolution. The memorial’s first cornerstone was laid on March 21, 1825, by Marquis de Lafayette during his visit to Savannah, 50 years after the end of the Revolution. That day, Lafayette, along with a group of freemasons, soldiers, citizens, and clergymen, marched to the square where a ceremony was held, and Lafayette gave a memorable speech. The city proceeded with the construction and installation of the monument, finally completing it in 1830.

General Greene’s remains were originally interred in the burial ground now known as Colonial Cemetery. Although it was known that Greene was buried in this cemetery, the exact location of his remains was unknown, as vandalism during the Civil War obscured many burial sites. In 1901, his remains were located in a burial vault and exhumed. A year later, he was reinterred in Johnson Square, at the base of the monument.