Please note that the following is a digitized version of a selected article from White House History Quarterly, Issue 72, originally released in print form in 2024. Single print copies of the full issue can be purchased online at Shop.WhiteHouseHistory.org No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All photographs contained in this journal unless otherwise noted are copyrighted by the White House Historical Association and may not be reproduced without permission. Requests for reprint permissions should be directed to rights@whha.org. Contact books@whha.org for more information. © 2024 White House Historical Association. All rights reserved under international copyright conventions.
20
ALAMY
The Marquis de Lafayette’s Return to the United States 1824–1825 R I C H A R D F. G R I M M E T T
white house history quarterly
21
22
white house history quarterly
T H E JA M E S M O N R O E M U S E U M A N D U N I V E R S I T Y O F V I R G I N I A S P E C I A L C O L L E C T I O N S
previous spread The Marquis de Lafayette by Rembrandt Peale, 1825. opposite With this letter to President James Monroe dated May 10, 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette accepted an invitation to make a return visit to the United States. He explained, “No Answer Can I find more Congenial to those feelings than to Embark as Soon as possible for the Beloved Shores I Have for so many Years longed to Revisit.”
of the Union, Levasseur kept richly descriptive journals, recording Lafayette’s daily activities. These journals were later published in two volumes in French and in English in 1829. Levasseur’s entries in his journals are a particularly useful supplement to the accounts of Lafayette’s visit to Washington, D.C., reported in contemporaneous newspapers, as Levasseur participated with Lafayette in private events not open to the public.2 Lafayette departed France on July 13, 1824, and arrived in New York City on August 16, 1824. He was greeted with much fanfare and spent the next days in the city meeting officials and residents at a variety of events and dinners. He then departed New York City on August 20 for an extended series of visits to several states in New England. After returning to New York City on September 5, he visited other New York area sites, then made his way south through New Jersey and Delaware, arriving in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 8. On October 12, Lafayette arrived in Washington, D.C. As in the other places he had visited, he received an elaborate reception. Lafayette and his party approached the Capitol Building via East Capitol Street to the entrance to Capitol Square. Here was erected an Arch of Triumph through which Lafayette would pass to reach the Capitol
ALAMY
right Lafayette lands in New York beginning his return tour of the United States, August 16, 1824.
on february 7, 1824, president james monroe sent a letter to the Marquis de Lafayette informing him of Monroe’s wish and that of Congress that Lafayette visit the United States once again. Monroe advised Lafayette that the timing of such a visit was for the marquis to decide, but that when he chose to do so, a ship would be sent to convey him to his adopted country. Lafayette was a revered figure to leaders of the American War for Independence. At the age of 19, he volunteered to serve in the Continental Army at his own expense. He was commissioned a major general and became a close aide to General George Washington. Lafayette was wounded in the battle with British forces at Brandywine in Pennsylvania but recovered to serve as a successful commander under Washington. He played an instrumental role in the defeat of the British army of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781 and was present at the British surrender there.1 Lafayette enthusiastically agreed to visit the United States but chose to travel on a commercial vessel, declining the offer of passage from France on a U.S. vessel commissioned to transport him. Accompanying Lafayette on his trip was his son, George Washington Lafayette, and his secretary, Auguste Levasseur. During Lafayette’s thirteen-month journey to all twenty-four of the states
white house history quarterly
23
24
Columbia and heard a speech from the mayor of Washington, Roger Chew Weightman. Lafayette then proceeded down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, flanked on both sides of the street by well-wishers extending their greetings.4 Levasseur gave a detailed account of what he and Lafayette saw upon their arrival at the White House and what occurred in their private audience with President Monroe and senior members of the government. We arrived at the president’s mansion, which is a very simple building, but in good taste: it is constructed of very hard white stone, has but one story, and terminates by a platform in the Italian style. The first floor is somewhat raised from the ground, and an elegant peristyle leads to it. The yard in front of the house is surrounded by a handsome iron railing, having three gates, which are neither defended by guards, constables, nor insolent lackies. The crowd which accompanied the procession stopped in front of the railing, and none but the city authorities accompanied us into the house. A single domestic opened the principal door, and we were immediately introduced into
white house history quarterly
Crowds welcome Lafayette on his return visit to America, 1824.
S P E C I A L C O L L E C T I O N S & C O L L E G E A R C H I V E S , S K I L L M A N L I B R A R Y, L A FA Y E T T E C O L L E G E
Building. This arch was described in detail in the Daily National Intelligencer. Across the tops of the columns supporting the arch was a label stating in large gold letters, “A grateful Nation will not forget him who generously volunteered in her defense.” At the top of the arch was a pedestal with an eagle bearing in its beak a gold scroll with the words, “Lafayette, the associate of Washington, and Liberty’s friend.” On the front of the arch was a purple scroll with the words, “Hail, friend of Freedom” in gold letters, supported by two female figures decorated with blue and gold scarfs. The columns of the arch were decorated with wreaths of laurel, evergreen, and blue drapery. On passing through the arch, Lafayette was greeted by a group of twentyfive young girls, dressed in white, representing the twenty-four states and the District of Columbia. Each girl held a miniature American flag with the name of a state inscribed on it. The girl representing the District of Columbia stepped forward to Lafayette, gave a brief speech, and welcomed him to the nation’s capital.3 Inside the Capitol Building, Lafayette met with the welcoming committee of the District of
L E F T : S P E C I A L C O L L E C T I O N S & C O L L E G E A R C H I V E S , S K I L L M A N L I B R A R Y, L A FA Y E T T E C O L L E G E / R I G H T : S O C I E T Y O F T H E C I N C I N N AT I
Lafayette’s travels in Virginia included a stop at Mount Vernon, where he visited the tomb of his old friend George Washington (above left). Lafayette’s portrait at Yorktown (above right) commemorates his return to the battlefield exactly forty-three years after the British surrendered there.
the hall of audience, which is of considerable size, elliptical in shape, and decorated and carpeted with a remarkable correctness of taste. The president at the upper end of the room, was seated upon a chair not differing in form or elevation from the rest, and had near him the four secretaries of the cabinet, the officers of the army and navy; some senators and public officers were arranged in a semicircle on his right and left. Like the president, they were all dressed in plain blue, without lace, embroidery or decorations, without any of those puerile ornaments for which so many silly men dance attendance in the antichambers of European palaces.5 After Lafayette was greeted by those present, Monroe told him that he was welcome to stay at the White House during his visit to Washington but that the citizens of Washington had insisted he reside at a hotel reserved for him in the city. Monroe added that the next evening he would host a White House dinner for him with the senior members of the government.6
During his brief, initial stay in Washington, Lafayette visited Georgetown and toured the Capitol Building and the Navy Yard complex. Soon he began his planned visit to Virginia. At the beginning of this journey, he made a point to visit Mount Vernon, where he made an emotional private visit to the grave of George Washington. Then he proceeded through cities of Virginia to the Yorktown battlefield. On his return trip to Washington, he visited with former President Thomas Jefferson at Monticello and toured the University of Virginia with him. After leaving Monticello, Lafayette visited with James Madison at his residence, Montpelier. In late November, Lafayette was back in Washington.7 Upon his return, Lafayette reviewed requests for him to visit the southern and western states. He decided to do so, but the approaching winter months made such a trip impractical at that time. That trip was deferred until early 1825, when the weather would be better. During this extended period in Washington, Lafayette was invited to make an official visit to Congress. On December 9 he visited the Senate, and on December 10 attended
white house history quarterly
25
a joint session of Congress held in the chambers of the House of Representatives.8 There he became the first foreign dignitary to address Congress. After he entered the House chamber, he was greeted with an address by the Speaker of the House, Henry Clay. Lafayette replied with an extemporaneous speech in English. He said, in part: Well may I stand firm and erect, when, in their names, and by you, Mr. Speaker, I am declared to have, in every instance, been faithful to those American principles of liberty, equality, and true social order, the devotion to which, as it has been from my earliest youth, so it shall continue to be to my latest breath. . . .
In the days following Lafayette’s address to Congress, actions were taken to reward Lafayette for his service to the United States in the American Revolution in a more tangible way. On December 23, 1824, the Senate cleared legislation for President Monroe’s signature that granted Lafayette $200,000, and a township tract of land (24,000 acres). This legislation was signed into law by President Monroe on December 28, 1824. Levasseur states that Lafayette was wholly ignorant of this gift by the United States until the act granting it was presented to him. He was embarrassed by the generosity and was inclined to refuse it given all the affection and tributes already given to him during his trip. But he agreed to accept it, not wishing to give offense to the United States that had so honored him.10 During the winter months in Washington, Lafayette attended many receptions and events in the region. On January 18, 1825, in the Capitol Rotunda, he presented his portrait, by the French painter Ary Scheffer, to Congress. Finally, after extensive preparations were completed, Lafayette embarked on his tour of the southern and western states on February 23, with the intention of
26
concluding it in time to be present in Boston on June 17 for the anniversary celebration of the Battle of Bunker Hill.11 During the next several months, Lafayette traveled throughout the southern and western states. On his return to the East through New York State he traveled on major sections of the new Erie Canal. He arrived in Boston on June 15, ensuring his attendance at the Bunker Hill celebrations. Then, on June 17, Lafayette laid the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill monument. Before leaving Massachusetts, he made a final visit to former President John Adams at his home in Quincy.12 Lafayette then began a whirlwind tour of New England states before returning to New York City for the Fourth of July observances. Lafayette and his party decided at this point that they should soon return to France. They made a final visit to Philadelphia before
white house history quarterly
The full-length portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette by Ary Scheffer, presented by Lafayette to Congress in 1825, was widely copied and circulated throughout America. It hangs in the chambers of the House of Representatives today.
C O L L E C T I O N O F T H E U. S . H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N TA T I V E S
Sir, I have been allowed, forty years ago, before a committee of congress of thirteen states, to express the fond wishes of an American heart; on this day, I have the honour and enjoy the delight, to congratulate the representatives of the Union, so vastly enlarged, on the realization of those wishes, even beyond human expectation, and upon the almost infinite prospects we can with certainty anticipate.9
S P E C I A L C O L L E C T I O N S & C O L L E G E A R C H I V E S , S K I L L M A N L I B R A R Y, L A FA Y E T T E C O L L E G E
In the summer of 1825, General Lafayette attends the laying of the Bunker Hill Monument cornerstone (right) and arrives in Philadelphia (below) as welcoming crowds surround his carriage.
white house history quarterly
27
visiting Washington once again. On his approach to Washington on August 1, Lafayette and his party were met by George Washington Adams, the eldest son of now President John Quincy Adams, who conveyed the president’s invitation that Lafayette be his guest at the White House for the remainder of his visit. Lafayette agreed and resided at the White House, when in Washington, until his departure for France.13 Before he left, Lafayette wanted to visit former President Monroe, and so on August 6 he and President Adams traveled to Oak Hill, Monroe’s estate in Virginia. A few days later, Lafayette made a final tour of Virginia, also visiting Thomas Jefferson at Monticello one last time, where James Madison and James Monroe joined the company. It was a poignant last reunion of the three former presidents with their French comrade, Lafayette. Following this visit, Lafayette accepted the offer of President Adams to permit a newly commissioned U.S. frigate to escort him back to France. The frigate was named Brandywine after the Revolutionary War battle in which Lafayette had been wounded, fighting for the American cause. The departure date was set for September 7.14 On September 6, 1825, an intimate dinner was held at the White House to celebrate Lafayette’s birthday that day. Present were senior civilian and military leaders of the United States and the mayor of Washington, D.C. Levasseur wrote that while the dinner was a celebration of Lafayette’s birthday, it was “very serious, I may say, almost sad. We were all too much pre-occupied by the approaching journey to be joyous: we already felt, by anticipation, the sorrowfulness of separation.” But the dinner concluded with memorable toasts. President Adams broke with the existing diplomatic custom that toasts were not made at a presidential dinner. He rose and proposed: “To the 22nd of February and 6th of September, birthdays of Washington and Lafayette.” In reply, Lafayette stood, thanked the president for his toast, and said: “To the fourth of July. The birth-day of liberty in both hemispheres.”15 September 7, the day Lafayette was to depart Washington, “dawned radiantly” in Levasseur’s words. In the city, shops were closed and a crowd of citizens surrounded the White House. Lafayette emerged from his quarters at 11:00 a.m. and walked to the room where President Adams, his cabinet, and public and military officials awaited his arrival. The president addressed Lafayette at
30
length, expressing gratitude for the major sacrifices the marquis had made in his youth by coming to support the United States in its endeavor for independence. Adams then said: You are ours by that more than patriotic self-devotion with which you flew to the aid of our fathers at the crisis of their fate. Ours by that long series of years in which you have cherished us in your regard. Ours by that unshaken sentiment of gratitude for your services which is a precious portion of our inheritance. Ours by that tie of love, stronger than death which has linked your name, for the endless ages of time, with the name of Washington. . . . In the mean time, speaking in the name of the whole people of the United States, and at a loss only for language to give utterance to that feeling of attachment with which the heart of the nation beats, as the heart of one man—I bid you a reluctant and affectionate farewell.16 Lafayette was deeply affected by the president’s remarks. After pausing to collect his thoughts, he replied: To have been, in the infant and critical days of these states, adopted by them as a favourite son, to have participated in the toils and perils of our unspotted struggle for independence, freedom and equal rights, and in the foundation of the American era of a new social order, which has already pervaded this, and must, for the dignity and happiness of mankind, successively pervade every part of the other hemisphere, to have received at every stage of the revolution, and during forty years after that period, from the people of the United States, and their representatives at home and abroad, continual marks of their confidence and kindness, has been the pride, the encouragement, the support of a long and eventful life. He continued: Yet, gratifications still higher await me; in the wonders of creation and improvement that have met my enchanted eye, in the unparalleled and self-felt happiness of the people, in their rapid prosperity and insured security, public and private, in a practice of
white house history quarterly
Le General Lafayette by Achile Moreau, after Jean August Dubouloz, 1825, imagines Lafayette on the Brandywine en route to France following his farewell tour of America. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and other spirits from the American Revolution appear from the heavens to drive away the storms at sea and guide his safe voyage home.
good order, the appendage of true freedom, and a national good sense, the final arbiter of all difficulties, I have had proudly to recognise a result of the republican principles for which we have fought, and a glorious demonstration to the most timid and prejudiced minds, of the superiority, over degrading aristocracy or despotism, of popular institutions founded on the plain rights of man, and where the local rights of every section are preserved under a constitutional bond of union.
S O C I E T Y O F T H E C I N C I N N AT I
Lafayette concluded, saying: God bless you, sir, and all who surround us. God bless the American people, each of their states, and the federal government. Accept this patriotic farewell of an overflowing heart; such will be its last throb when it ceases to beat.17 After Lafayette and Adams embraced, said their last farewell, and Lafayette had entered his carriage, Levasseur noticed that “the colours of the troops which were drawn up before the president’s
house were bowed to the earth.” Lafayette’s party, joined by the secretaries of state, treasury, and the navy, proceeded with an honor procession down Pennsylvania Avenue, then Seventh Street to the Potomac River wharf. There a steamboat, Mount Vernon, took them down river to meet the U.S. frigate, Brandywine, the ship that would take Lafayette and his party back to France. The Brandywine departed Chesapeake Bay on September 8, 1825, arriving in Havre, France, on October 8. Lafayette’s thirteen-month American adventure was over.18 The remembrance of Lafayette’s visit and tour of the United States lasted long after his departure for France. Within a decade of his visit the President’s Park north of the White House came to be called Lafayette Park. Throughout the states he had visited, counties, towns, streets, and squares were named in honor of him. In 1891, a statue of Lafayette was erected in the southeast corner of the park in Washington that bears his name.19 The personal sacrifices Lafayette made to fight for American independence were publicly and
white house history quarterly
31
32
white house history quarterly
B O T H P H O T O G R A P H S T H I S PA G E : G E T T Y I M A G E S
The Scheffer portrait of Lafayette remains in the U.S. Capitol today. It is seen in the chambers of the House of Representatives just to the right of President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he delivers his 1941 State of the Union Address and more recently in the remodeled chambers as President Reagan addresses both houses of Congress on the State of the Union in 1982.
A L L P H O T O G R A P H S T H I S PA G E , B R U C E W H I T E F O R T H E W H I T E H O U S E H I S T O R I C A L A S S O C I AT I O N
Seen in the early spring of 2015, Lafayette Park (right), which occupies the north side of President’s Park in front of the White House, was named for General Lafayette following his 1824–25 visit to America. His statue (below left) was erected in the park in 1891. He is remembered in the White House itself with a bust, seen above the Cross Hall just outside of the Red Room, as well as a clock and other pieces that feature his likeness.
white house history quarterly
33
dramatically recognized on July 4, 1917. when American General John J. Pershing and members of the Allied Expeditionary Force assembled at Lafayette’s grave at Picpus Cemetery in Paris. On that occasion, U.S. Army Colonel Charles E. Stanton, of Pershing’s staff, gave a memorial address on behalf of the United States, recalling Lafayette’s military service for the United States in its war for independence. Colonel Stanton noted that the United States armed forces were there now to return that service by supporting France, and its allies, against Germany in a different war. Stanton concluded his address by saying: America has joined forces with the allied powers, and what we have of blood and treasure are yours. Therefore, it is with loving pride that we drape the colors in tribute to this citizen of your great Republic, and here and now, in the shadow of the illustrious dead, we pledge our heart and honor in carrying this war to a successful issue. Stanton then stood at attention by the grave, raised a salute, and said, “Lafayette, we are here!”20
notes
2. Auguste Levasseur, Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825; or. Journal of a Voyage to the United States, 2 vols., trans. John D. Godman (Philadelphia: Cary and Lea, 1829). A modern translation of Levasseur’s journals is Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825: Journal of a Voyage to the United States, trans. Alan R. Hoffman (Manchester, N.H.: Lafayette Press, 2006). The original 1829 English translation by Godman is used in this article, as it is based on a contemporaneous understanding of the French language at the time Levasseur’s journals were published. 3.
“Arrival of the Nation’s Guest,” Washington Daily National Intelligencer, October 14, 1824, 2; Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 1:173–74; “Entry of Gen. Lafayette,” Washington Gazette, October 13, 1824, 3.
4. Alan C. Clark, “General Roger Chew Weightman, a Mayor of the City of Washington,” Records of the Columbia Historical Society 22 (1919): 67–70 ; Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 1:173–74. 5.
Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 1:174.
6. The hotel reserved for Lafayette and his party was the Franklin Hotel, located at Eighteenth and I Streets NW and owned by John Gadsby. Clark, “General Roger Chew Weightman,” 74; “Entry of Gen. Lafayette”; Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 1:174–75. 7. Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 1:180–85, 212–22; Unger, Lafayette, 355. For Lafayette’s visits with Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, see also Jonathan Gross, “Monticello, Montpelier, and Oak Hill: General Lafayette Pays His ‘Leaving Calls’ to
34
Presidents Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe in Retirement,” White House History Quarterly, no. 51 (Fall 2018): 74–83. 8.
Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 2:11–17; Unger, Lafayette, 356.
9.
Quoted in Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 2:16–17. The text of Lafayette’s speech to the joint session of Congress was printed in the official proceedings of the House of Representatives on December 10, 1824, reprinted the next day in the Washington Daily National Intelligencer, December 11, 1824, 3.
10. Washington Daily National Intelligencer, December 23, 1824, 2–3, also “An Act Concerning General Lafayette,” December 31, 1824, 2; Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 2:18–20. The township of land to be granted to Lafayette was from unsold public lands, specifically a section of Tallahassee, Florida, which became a city in 1825. Lafayette never settled or developed this land. He later sold it to speculators for a reported $100,000. Marian Klaman, The Return of Lafayette, 1824–1825 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1975), 109–15. 11. Klaman, Return of Lafayette, 122; Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 2:29–30; “Portrait of General Lafayette,” Columbian Star, January 22, 1825, 3. Today the portrait of Lafayette is mounted on a wall in the House of Representatives, to the left of the Speaker’s rostrum. 12. Details of Lafayette’s visits to the southern and western United States are given in Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 2:30–200.
white house history quarterly
The American flag, placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution, flies perpetually above Lafayette’s tomb in Picpus Cemetery in Paris. Soil from Bunker Hill in Boston, carried home from America to France by Lafayette, was spread at the site. The cemetery also holds the graves of more than 1,000 people executed in 1794 during the Reign of Terror.
GETTY IMAGES
1. The best single volume biography of Lafayette is Harlow Giles Unger, Lafayette (Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley and Sons, 2002). It provides the facts and history of Lafayette’s life before and after his participation in the American Revolution and his travels to the United States, based on the best available primary and secondary French and English works on Lafayette’s life. Lafayette’s formal full name was Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. His shortened formal name was Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. He was usually referred to as Marquis de Lafayette or Lafayette.
ALAMY
Crowds surround the tomb of the Marquis de Lafayette in Picpus Cemetery during a World War I visit by General John J. Pershing and his staff. Colonel Robert Stanton spoke at the event, famously saying “Lafayette, we are here,” July 4, 1917.
13. Klaman, Return of Lafayette, 184–85; Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 2:241–43. 14. Klaman, Return of Lafayette, 186–87; Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 2:243–44.
U.S. officer in France attend a remembrance at Lafayette’s grave and replace the existing American flag with a new one. Unger, Lafayette, 425.
15. Toasts quoted in Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 2:247–48. The guest list of Lafayette’s birthday dinner is given in the John Quincy Adams Digital Diary, www.masshist.org, diary 49, “Rubbish III,” diary and miscellaneous entries, 1803–1845, 752. 16. Quoted in Levasseur, Lafayette in America, 2:248, 251–52. 17. Quoted in ibid., 2:252–54. 18. Ibid., 2:254–60; Washington Daily National Intelligencer, September 7, 1825, 3. 19. In June 1834, just after Lafayette’s death on May 20, 1834, Congress passed an appropriation bill that provided $1,000 for “planting trees and repairing the fence in Lafayette square, north of the President’s house.” James M. Goode, The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C.: A Comprehensive Guide (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974), 371–73. 20. The Skillman Library archive at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, has the full text of Colonel Stanton’s speech of July 4, 1917, and related materials. See “Lafayette We Are Here!” on the Lafayette College website, www.sites.lafayette.edu. Every year on July 4, the U.S. ambassador to France and the senior
white house history quarterly
35