Program

Lafayette Trail

Subject

Event, People

Location

211 Green St, Fayetteville, NC 28301, USA

Lat/Long

35.053942, -78.87761

Grant Recipient

The Lafayette Trail, Inc.

When America declared its independence on July 4, 1776, the thirteen colonies were pulled into a conflict with one of the world’s most formidable powers, Great Britain. The colonies’ actions against Great Britain inspired a young French aristocrat and military officer, Marquis de Lafayette, to depart his native France to fight in the American Revolution. Lafayette served as a commander with the Continental Army throughout the war and helped secure French support for the American cause. This support played an integral part in securing American victory during the war. Celebrated as a hero in the U.S and France, Lafayette eventually returned to his home country. In 1824 Marquis de Lafayette was invited to visit the United States for the first time in 41 years. As an American hero and one of the only surviving commanders from the Revolution, Lafayette’s visit to the U.S. was highly anticipated and met with a great deal of enthusiasm and excitement. Lafayette’s Tour extended from 1824 to 1825. During this time he visited Washington D.C., as well as major cities and small communities across 24 states.

On March 4, 1825, and despite inclement weather, General Lafayette was warmly welcomed to the City of Fayetteville. 19th-century French writer and diplomat André-Nicolas Levasseur traveling with the General and documented the trip in his journal (translated to English from Lafayette en Amérique, journal d’un voyage, 1829, vol. 2).  Levasseur wrote of their arrival to Fayetteville:

“On March 4, we arrived in the pretty City of Fayetteville, situated on the western bank of the Cape Fear River. The weather was dreadful, the rain fell in torrents, and yet, several miles before the City, the road was covered with men and children on horseback, and militiamen on foot; in the City the streets were covered with a crowd of ladies dressed in all their finery, who were rushing incautiously across the rivulets to approach the General’s carriage, so seized by the pleasure of gazing on him that they didn’t appear to notice the deluge that seemed destined to engulf them.”

Levasseur continued:

“They conducted General Lafayette onto a raised platform facing City Hall where he was welcomed and addressed in the name of the City Council by Chief Justice Toomer.”

Later that evening General Lafayette attended a ball held in his honor. The following afternoon he departed for Cheraw, on his way to Camden.